I.

Introduction

1. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, appointed by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office to examine the information and reports submitted under articles 19, 22 and 35 of the Constitution by States Members of the International Labour Organisation on the action taken with regard to Conventions and Recommendations, held its 62nd Session in Geneva from 12 to 25 March 1992. The Committee has the honour to present its report to the Governing Body.

2. The present composition of the Committee is as follows:

Mr. Benjamin AARON (United States),

Mr. Roberto AGO (Italy),

Mrs. Badria AL-AWADHI (Kuwait),

Mr. Prafullachandra Natvarlal BHAGWATI (India),

The Right Honourable Sir William DOUGLAS, PC, KCMG (Barbados),

Mr. Arnold GUBINSKI (Poland),

Mr. Semion A. IVANOV (Russian Federation),

Bernd Baron von MAYDELL (Federal Republic of Germany),

Mr. Kéba MBAYE (Senegal),

Mr. Cassio MESQUITA BARROS (Brazil),

Mr. Benjamin Obi NWABUEZE (Nigeria),

Mr. Edilbert RAZAFINDRALAMBO (Madagascar),

Mr. José María RUDA (Argentina),

Mr. Antti Johannes SUVIRANTA (Finland),

Mr. Boon Chiang TAN (Singapore),

Mr. Fernando URIBE RESTREPO (Colombia),

Mr. Jean Maurice VERDIER (France),

Mr. Budislav VUKAS (Croatia),

Sir John WOOD (United Kingdom),

Mr. Toshio YAMAGUCHI (Japan),

3. The Committee elected Mr. J.M. RUDA as Chairman and Mr. E. RAZAFINDRALAMBO as Reporter of the Committee.

4. In pursuance of its terms of reference, as revised by the Governing Body at its 103rd Session (Geneva, 1947), the Committee was called upon to examine:

5. The Committee, after an examination and evaluation of the above-mentioned reports and information, drew up its present report, consisting essentially of the following three parts: Part One is the General Report in which the Committee reviews general questions concerning international labour standards and related instruments and their implementation. Part Two contains observations concerning particular countries on the application of ratified Conventions (see section I and paragraphs 103 to 133 below), on the application of Conventions in non-metropolitan territories (see section II and paragraphs 103 to 133 below), and on the obligation to submit instruments to the competent authorities (see section III and paragraphs 134 to 144 below). Part Three, which is published in a separate volume (Report III (Part 4B)) reviews the reports supplied by governments under article 19 of the Constitution on the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention (No. 26) and Recommendation (No. 30), 1928; the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention (No. 99) and Recommendation (No. 89), 1951; and the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention (No. 131) and Recommendation (No. 135), 1970 (see paragraphs 145 to 150 below).

6. In carrying out its task, which consists of indicating the extent to which the situation in each State appears to be in conformity with the terms of the Conventions and the obligations undertaken by that State by virtue of the ILO Constitution, the Committee has followed the principles of independence, objectivity and impartiality set forth in its previous reports. It has continued to apply the working methods recalled in its 1987 report. One such method is the spirit of mutual respect, cooperation and responsibility which has consistently prevailed in the Committee's relations with the International Labour Conference and its Committee on the Application of Standards, whose proceedings the Committee takes fully into consideration, not only in respect of general matters concerning standard-setting activities and supervisory procedures, but also in respect of specific matters concerning the way in which States fulfil their standard-setting obligations.

7. The Committee has examined the views expressed during the examination of the general part of its report by the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference, at its 78th Session (1991). It notes the suggestion concerning the possible implementation of the provisions of article 37, paragraph 2, of the Constitution. By virtue of this paragraph, the Governing Body may make and submit to the Conference for approval "rules providing for the appointment of a tribunal for the expeditious determination of any dispute or question relating to the interpretation of a Convention", such tribunal being bound by the judgements or advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice. The implementation of this provision of the Constitution should be submitted to the competent bodies of the ILO for a prior in-depth examination.

II. GENERAL

Membership of the Organisation

8. Since the Committee's last session the number of member States of the ILO has risen from 148 to 153. Albania was readmitted on 22 May 1991. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia rejoined the Organisation on 4 October 1991, 3 December 1991 and 13 January 1992 respectively. The Republic of Korea joined the Organisation on 9 December 1991.

New standards adopted by the Conference in 1991

9. The Committee notes that at its 78th Session (June 1991), the International Labour Conference adopted the Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Convention (No. 172) and Recommendation (No. 179), 1991.

10. The Social Security (Seafarers) Convention (Revised) (No. 165), 1987, will come into force on 2 July 1992.

Ratifications and denunciations

11. In 1991, 58 ratifications by 29 member States were registered. The total number of ratifications at 31 December 1991 was 5,562. Between the beginning of 1992 and 25 March 1992, ten ratifications by three member States have been registered.

12. The total number of denunciations not accompanied by the ratification of a revised Convention was 67 at 25 March 1992.

13. Since the Committee's last session, the Director-General has registered eight denunciations not accompanied by the ratification of Conventions. They concerned the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89): (a) the Government of Cuba did not state the reasons for its decision; (b) the Government of Greece, in a letter of 21 February 1992 concerning the denunciation of Convention No. 89, indicated that the reason for this denunciation was its commitment to harmonising national legislation with that of the European Communities, and particularly Directive 76/207 concerning the principle of equal treatment of men and women in conditions of work. It also points out that the reasons justifying the prohibition of the night work of women at the time of the Convention's adoption have changed and that the conditions of night work have improved considerably. The Government adds that a growing number of authorisations for night work have been granted in both the public and private sectors, particularly in traditionally "female" occupations such as the textile industry. The Government states that the denunciation was preceded by the consultations provided for in the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144); (c) the Government of Italy, in a communication dated 26 February 1992, indicated that it decided to denounce the Convention in order to make ILO standards consistent with those of the European Communities. The Government indicated that the decision was taken after consultation with the parties concerned; (d) the Government of Portugal indicated, in a communication dated 26 February 1992, that the provisions of the national legislation giving effect to Convention No. 89 are no longer relevant at present and could impair the principle of equality between the sexes. In addition, the Government refers to the need to harmonise the national legal order and European Community law as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Communities; (e) the Government of Belgium, in a communication dated 27 February 1992, denounced the Convention. It did not indicate the reasons for this decision; (f) in a communication dated 27 February 1992, the Government of Spain explained that the denunciation of this Convention was due to the fact that its provisions are not in keeping with article 14 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 which sets forth, as a fundamental right, the prohibition of all types of discrimination based on sex, and with other provisions of Spanish law; (g) the Government of France, in a communication dated 27 February 1992, stated that it had denounced the Convention for exceptional reasons, which had to do with a serious risk of incompatability in its international commitments. Recalling a judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Communities (the Stoeckel case (No. 345/89 of 22 July 1991)) which noted incompatabilities between French legislation on night work and Directive 76-207 concerning equal conditions of work for men and women, the Government referred to a letter of the Commission of the Communities, dated 18 December 1991, urging it to bring its legislation into conformity with the Directive. The denunciation of the Convention was preceded by consultations with each representative trade union organisation and the National Advisory Committee for the ILO. The Government indicates that the procedure for the approval of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), was due to begin; (h) the Government of Switzerland, by a memorandum dated 27 February 1992, indicated that the decision to denounce the Convention had been taken after the matter had been discussed by the Federal Labour Committee, which had been extended for the occasion to include representatives of the women's organisations concerned. The Government indicated that Switzerland's main economic competitors, particularly the member States of the European Economic Communities, are not bound by this Convention or are in the process of freeing themselves from their obligations and that Switzerland's competitiveness would be impaired if it were to forego denouncing the Convention. The Government recalls that night work constitutes an undeniable burden on the health and well-being of workers, whatever their sex, and that in this context, account should be taken of the principle of equality between men and women set forth in the Federal Constitution. Furthermore, the Government plans to reinforce protection for all persons working at night and to offset, as far as possible, the disadvantages connected with night work by a series of protective measures. The principles and objectives of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), will be taken into consideration when the national legislation is revised following the denunciation of the Convention. The Government indicates that it will be able to examine in time whether the necessary conditions exist for the ratification of Convention No. 171.

14. The Committee expresses its concern at these denunciations. It expresses the hope that all governments concerned will examine the possibility of ratifying the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), to ensure the necessary protection for all persons working at night.

15. The Director-General registered the denunciations of the Convention concerning Statistics of Wages and Hours of work, 1938 (No. 63), by Germany; the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) by Colombia; and the Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62) by Guatemala. The denunciation of Spain of the Sickness Insurance (Sea) Convention, 1936 (No. 56), and the Social Security (Seafarers) Convention, 1946 (No. 70) will be registered when Convention No. 165 comes into force on 2 July 1992. These denunciations followed automatically from the ratification by these countries of revising Conventions.

16. The Director-General also registered, on 13 February 1992, the denunciation of the Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 96), by the Netherlands, which in 1952, in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention, accepted the provisions of Part II of the Convention, which envisage the progressive abolition of fee-charging employment agencies conducted with a view to profit and the regulation of other agencies. At the same time, the Director-General registered the ratification and the acceptance, in accordance with the above provision of the Convention, of Part III, which provides for the regulation of fee-charging employment agencies, including those conducted with a view to profit.

17. With reference to its comments on the application of Convention No. 96, in which it notes the increasing problems encountered by many countries in the observance of the obligations under Part II of the Convention due to the developments that have occurred in the management of labour markets, the Committee notes that the Netherlands nevertheless remains bound by the obligations of the Convention.

Constitutional and other procedures

18. The Committee was informed of the following decisions taken by the Governing Body in cases involving recourse to the constitutional procedures of complaint and representation and other procedures.

A. Complaints submitted under article 26 of the ILO Constitution

Complaint against Nicaragua

19. The Committee takes note of the report of the Commission of Inquiry established to examine a complaint alleging non-compliance by Nicaragua of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), submitted under article 26 of the ILO Constitution by several Employers' delegates to the 73rd (1987) Session of the International Labour Conference. At its 250th (May-June 1991) Session the Governing Body noted the report of the Commission of Inquiry.

Complaint against Romania

20. The Committee takes note of the report of the Commission of Inquiry established to examine the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), by Romania, which was adopted on 28 March 1991. At its 250th (May-June 1991) Session, the Governing Body noted the report of the Commission of Inquiry. The Committee notes that the Government is recommended to inform the supervisory bodies of the results achieved as regards reparations for the discrimination suffered by members of national minorities or by persons persecuted for political reasons, and to supply detailed information on all developments in the annual reports on the application of Convention No. 111. The Committee also notes with interest that, in accordance with the request by the Governing Body, the conclusions and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry have been published in Romanian in order to permit their dissemination to the persons concerned.

Complaint against Sweden

21. By a letter dated 24 June 1991, addressed to the Director-General, the Employers' delegate of Sweden to the 78th (1991) Session of the International Labour Conference submitted a complaint against Sweden alleging that it had failed to apply satisfactorily the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147). As invited, the Swedish Government submitted its observations on this complaint. At its 252nd (March 1992) Session, the Governing Body decided to postpone consideration of this matter to a later session.

B. Representations submitted under article 24 of the ILO Constitution

Representation concerning Turkey

22. The representation concerning Turkey, presented in June 1982 by the General Confederation of Norwegian Trade Unions under article 24 of the Constitution, regarding the non-observance of the Right of Association (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 (No. 11), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), was examined by the Committee on Freedom of Association together with several complaints submitted by a number of international trade union organisations (Cases Nos. 997, 999 and 1029). At its 252nd (March 1992) Session, the Governing Body approved the final conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association.

Representation concerning the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

23. At its 251st (November 1991) Session, the Governing Body declared closed the procedure concerning the representation presented in 1985 by the Egyptian Trade Union Federation alleging non-observance by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). This procedure had been suspended in 1988 pending the results of negotiations between the interested parties. By a letter dated 22 September 1991, the Egyptian Trade Union Federation informed the Director-General that an agreement had been reached on settling the entitlements of the Egyptian workers expelled from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 1987 and that the representation had been withdrawn.

Representation concerning Iraq

24. The Committee established to consider the representation made by the Egyptian Trade Union Federation in November 1990 alleging non-observance by Iraq of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and the Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118), adopted its report. The Governing Body approved this report at its 250th (May-June 1991) Session. It declared closed the procedure and invited the Government of Iraq to supply information to the ILO supervisory bodies on the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to give effect to the recommendations concerning the application of Conventions Nos. 95, 105 and 19 (in relation with Convention No. 118).

Representation concerning Yugoslavia

25. At its 250th (May-June 1991) Session, the Governing Body declared receivable the representation made in June 1991 by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleging non-observance by Yugoslavia of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and set up a tripartite committee.

Representation concerning Venezuela

26. At its 251st (November 1991) Session, the Governing Body declared receivable a representation made by the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers and Associations of Commerce and Production (FEDECAMARAS) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) alleging non-observance by the Government of Venezuela of the Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4), the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), and the Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (No. 158). The Governing Body set up a tripartite committee to examine this representation and, in accordance with established practice, referred the aspects of the representation concerning the observance of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 to the Committee on Freedom of Association.

Representation concerning Czechoslovakia

27. The Committee set up to examine the representations made by the Trade Union Association of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia on 23 October 1991 and by the Slovak Confederation of Trade Unions (CS-KOS) on 11 November 1991 alleging non-observance by the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), adopted its report. This report was adopted by the Governing Body at its 252nd (March 1992) Session. The Governing Body declared closed the procedure initiated as a result of the representations made by the above two workers' organisations and invited the Government to undertake appropriate consultation with the International Labour Office in carrying out the recommendations and to provide full information in the reports due by virtue of article 22 of the Constitution on the measures taken in accordance with the recommendations, in order to enable the present Committee to follow up the matters in question as of its March 1993 Session.

C. Special procedures concerning freedom of association

28. At each of its last three meetings (May 1991, November 1991 and February 1992), the Committee on Freedom of Association has had before it an average of 85 cases concerning more than 40 countries from all parts of the world, cases in which it presented interim or final conclusions, or cases of which the examination has been adjourned pending the arrival of information from the governments (278th to 282nd Reports). Some of these cases have been before the Committee on two occasions. Moreover, since March 1991, nearly 50 new cases have been submitted to the ILO.

29. The Committee of Experts has noted that the Governing Body Committee on Freedom of Association has recommended that the present Committee's attention be drawn to certain aspects of the conclusions adopted on a number of the cases it examined. These cases included those concerning Chad (Case No. 1592), Costa Rica (Case No. 1483), the Dominican Republic (Case No. 1549), Honduras (Case No. 1568), Norway (Case No. 1576), Pakistan (Case No. 1534), Paraguay (Case No. 1546), the Philippines (Cases Nos. 1570 and 1585), Romania (Case No. 1571), and Turkey (Cases Nos. 997, 999, 1029, 1582 and 1583).

30. In accordance with the procedure for the examination of complaints against States which are members of the United Nations but not of the ILO, the complaint submitted in May 1988 by the Congress of South African Trade Unions against South Africa, alleging various violations of trade union rights in South Africa, was referred for examination to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association. This Commission held its first meeting in Geneva from 21 to 23 October 1991 to take cognisance of the case and determine its procedure. Its second meeting was held from 7 to 22 February 1992 in South Africa, where the Commission heard the representatives of the parties and witnesses.

Functions in regard to other international and regional instruments

A. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

31. In accordance with the procedure approved by the Governing Body at its 236th (May 1987) Session, by a communication dated 18 November 1991, the International Labour Office conveyed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for transmission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, information concerning the situation in two States (Panama and the Syrian Arab Republic) whose reports were communicated to the Office by the United Nations. These reports concerned the implementation of articles 6 to 9 of the Covenant, which deal with the right to work, the right to just and favourable conditions of work, freedom of association and the right to social security.

B. United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

32. In conformity with Article 22 of this Convention, the ILO was represented at the Eleventh Session (20-31 January 1992) of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which is responsible for examining reports on the application of the Convention from States which are parties to it. At the invitation of the above Committee, the Office submitted a report to the session on the application of the Convention in the areas which are within the scope of its activities.

C. European Code of Social Security and Protocol thereto

33. In accordance with the established supervisory procedure, 15 reports on the European Code of Social Security and the Protocol thereto, which had been submitted by all the States having ratified these instruments, were sent to the Office by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. After examining all these reports, the Committee was able to observe that the great majority of the States parties to the Code and the Protocol continue to apply them in full or nearly in full. The conclusions of the Committee regarding these reports will be sent to the Council of Europe. The Committee also noted that a representative of the ILO participated as technical adviser in the meeting of the Steering Committee for Social Security of the Council of Europe, held in Strasbourg in October 1991. As in previous years, the Steering Committee approved the conclusions of the present Committee.

D. European Social Charter and Additional Protocol

34. In the context of collaboration with the Council of Europe, an ILO representative attended, in an advisory capacity and in accordance with article 26 of the European Social Charter, the 103rd to 105th Sessions of the Committee of Independent Experts set up to supervise the application of the Charter, held in Strasbourg, respectively, in April, May and July 1991. Furthermore, a representative of the International Labour Office participated in the meetings of the Committee for the European Social Charter which, inter alia, formulated a draft Protocol to amend the Charter intended to improve the effectiveness and operation of its supervisory procedure. The work of this Committee is intended to give a new stimulus to the Social Charter and will continue this year.

35. The International Labour Office was represented at the first Ministerial Conference on the European Social Charter and at the ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Charter (Turin, 21 and 22 October 1991). The Committee was informed that on that occasion the Protocol to amend the Charter was adopted.

36. The Social Charter has been ratified by Finland (29 April 1991), Luxembourg (10 October 1991) and Portugal (30 September 1991); it has been signed by Hungary (13 December 1991), Liechtenstein (9 October 1991) and Poland (26 November 1991). The Additional Protocol was ratified on 29 April 1991 by Finland (Sweden ratified it on 5 May 1989; three ratifications are necessary for its entry into force). The Protocol to amend the Charter has been signed by the following countries: Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

37. The Committee welcomes the excellent collaboration between the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe in the activities relating to the Social Charter. It also notes with interest the adoption of conclusions XII.1 of the Committee of Independent Experts relating to the twelfth supervisory cycle of the European Social Charter (1988/1989).

Collaboration with other international organisations

Cooperation with the United Nations, its specialised agencies and other institutions as regards standards

38. In the context of the collaboration established with other international organisations on questions concerning the supervision of the application of international instruments relating to subjects of common interest, copies of the reports received under article 22 of the Constitution were forwarded to the United Nations and to other specialised agencies and intergovernmental organisations with which the ILO has entered into special arrangements for this purpose.

39. Thus, in accordance with established practice, copies of the reports received on the Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117), were forwarded for comments to the United Nations, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Copies of the reports on the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141), were forwarded to the FAO, the UNESCO and the United Nations. A copy of a report on the Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149), was forwarded to the World Health Organisation (WHO). A copy of a report on the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), was sent to the WHO, UNESCO and the United Nations. Copies of reports on the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), were forwarded to UNESCO. Furthermore, copies of reports on the Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115), were forwarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Copies of reports on the Prevention of Accidents (Seafarers) Convention, 1970 (No. 134), and the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147), were forwarded to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

40. These organisations were invited to be represented at the sittings of the Committee of Experts at which the Conventions in question were discussed.

41. The Committee has already noted the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989, which, as of 1 March 1992, has been ratified by 105 countries. Certain provisions of the Convention relate to fields which are already covered by international labour standards: freedom of association (Article 15), social security (Article 26) and protection against economic exploitation (Article 32). By virtue of Article 45 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ILO was represented at the first meeting of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, held in Geneva from 30 September to 18 October 1991, in which the internal rules were adopted and cooperation with the specialised agencies was examined. This question is to be examined once again by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in order to consider, inter alia, questions relating to the exchange of information.

42. In the field of the rights of the child, the Committee notes that the immediate objective of the Interdepartmental Project on the Elimination of Child Labour, as set out in the Budget for 1992-93, is to facilitate and promote the ratification and wider observance of international labour standards on child labour, especially the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). Two areas have been singled out for priority action: preventing the employment of children in hazardous work or employment; and protecting the youngest and most vulnerable children. The Interdepartmental Project is intended to complement the standard-setting activities undertaken up to now through the collection and dissemination of information which can be used by ILO constituents to develop policies for the protection of children and the promotion of action at the national level. The Committee considers that this Interdepartmental Project can constitute a valuable contribution by the ILO in the fields within its competence in assisting States to apply the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Matters relating to human rights

43. The Committee recalls that international labour standards embody the human rights that lie within the ILO's mandate. It is the Committee's practice to note developments in this area in its General Report.

44. The Committee notes with interest the preparations under way for the World Conference on Human Rights, which has been called by the United Nations General Assembly for 1993. It has been informed that the ILO is taking an active part in the discussions leading up to the World Conference, and joins with the Governing Body's expression of support at its 252nd (March 1992) Session for the objectives of the World Conference and for the ILO's continued participation.

45. The Committee recalls that in its previous report it noted the creation of a joint working group composed of representatives of the ILO and of the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, with a view to closer cooperation between the two organisations in human rights matters. The Committee is glad to note that this joint working group has met regularly in the intervening year, and that its discussions have led to increased exchanges of information and collaboration on several projects in this area. The Committee encourages the continuation of these efforts.

46. The Committee also notes that 1993 has been declared "International Year for the World's Indigenous People" by the United Nations General Assembly. Recognising the vital role the ILO has to play in promoting the rights of these peoples around the world, the Committee notes with interest the decision of the General Assembly to request the ILO to participate closely with the Under-Secretary-General for Human Rights in coordinating activities for the International Year.

47. The Committee notes that the General Assembly of the United Nations declared the period 1990-1999 as the International Decade of International Law. Recognising the important contribution to international law made by the ILO's work in setting and supervising the application of international labour standards, the Committee notes the activities undertaken in the first term (1990-92) during the Decade, and the ILO's collaboration with the United Nations in this respect. It urges the International Labour Office to pursue this collaboration in the future.

Questions concerning the application of Conventions

Application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)

48. This year the Committee has continued its examination of the application of the Convention in the period 1988-90 in 53 countries - including seven non-metropolitan territories. The comments which follow cover the same period as that referred to in paragraphs 46 to 50 of last year's report. Given that the problems dealt with by the Convention are constantly evolving, the Committee has nevertheless endeavoured in both its individual and its general comments to take account of subsequent changes. It has thus had regard to data supplied by the Employment and Development Department of the ILO, which gave the Committee the same invaluable technical help as in previous years, in some cases by PREALC, or published by such international bodies as the OECD and the United Nations Economic Commissions for Latin America and Europe.

49. Examination of 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries' reports shows the uncertainty of the employment situation in the region. The position is overshadowed by the debt burden and the requirements of structural adjustment, weak growth and even recession in economic activity, which are in some countries leading to increased unemployment and particularly underemployment (Honduras, Panama, Peru). Other countries' reports refer to apparently more favourable developments, but lower declared unemployment levels should not be allowed to conceal persistent massive underemployment (Paraguay) or growth of the precarious informal sector at the cost of the organised sector (Bolivia, Chile). In most of these countries, much of the active population is still in insecure employment where productivity and pay are low. Some governments deplore the persistence of informal employment (Chile); others have undertaken to amend legislation to promote greater flexibility in employment (Ecuador, Panama, Peru). The Committee notes that the employment objective has been written into the national development plans of some countries (Panama, Paraguay). Intervention funds have been added to the special employment programmes which have long been the only instrument of employment policy (Bolivia, Honduras, Panama). In more and more countries, greater attention is being given to the improvement of vocational training, especially for the young and for women (Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, Paraguay).

50. The Committee has also examined the application of the Convention in several developing countries in Africa. Those countries' reports generally contain very little statistical information, although some governments indicate they are trying to improve their labour market information systems (Uganda). Implementation of employment objectives laid down in development plans and programmes meets with manifold constraints imposed by the need for structural adjustment, population growth, migration and skills mismatch. It is because of unemployment among first-time jobseekers - whether they are qualified or unskilled (Algeria, Comoros, Uganda) - and the reforms resulting from labour being shed in the public sector (Guinea) that vocational training has taken on such importance in employment policies in these countries.

51. The Committee notes that despite similar difficulties, one of the few Asian countries it has considered (Philippines) has almost met the employment objectives it set itself; while in another, which is a case apart (Hong Kong), the situation is one of full employment.

52. The fact that the economic situation is unfavourable for employment in the OECD countries was noted last year by the Committee and is now confirmed. With one exception (Japan), the employment gains of two years' sustained growth have been lost, and unemployment levels have reached or surpassed those of 1988. There can be great regional disparity in unemployment (Belgium, Canada, Italy) and in most countries there is a large group of long-term unemployed. Notwithstanding this economic and social context, several governments continue to pursue as their immediate aims reducing inflation, controlling public spending and improving the supply side, at the cost of the aim of full employment. In addition, labour market policies stress "active" measures, especially training. Unemployment assistance has tended to be restrictively applied. Countries hitherto little affected have had to adapt quickly available means to deal with, for them, an abnormally high level of unemployment (Austria, Norway, Sweden). Yet the Committee notes that measures of labour market policy alone do not seem to achieve any lasting reduction in unemployment. Even active measures should not, moreover, be misused, for their function is to contribute effectively to long-term entry into employment, as one government (France) emphasised. They need to be reinforced by, rather than take the place of, an overall policy that is conducive to the promotion of productive employment.

53. The Committee has continued to follow carefully the application of the Convention in countries undergoing a transition to the market economy. It notes with interest that several countries readily supplied information on recent developments, thus showing the importance they attach to international labour standards in a period of difficult adjustment (Czechoslovakia, Mongolia, Poland). All these countries are experiencing - in different degrees, depending on their circumstances and the speed and the nature of the reforms engaged - steep growth in unemployment resulting from the disruption of former stability in conditions where, according to one government (Czechoslovakia), full employment was only ensured by damaging productivity and living standards, and where, says another (Romania), huge underemployment was concealed. Establishing an efficient labour market appears, then, essential to the reforms. It is important for countries to recall that, although restructuring is likely to create increased unemployment, the principles of the Convention should not be forgotten or allowed to lapse. It appears that this is understood. The Committee has noted with interest the adoption of employment legislation which conforms to the spirit and sometimes the letter (Czechoslovakia) of the Convention. Reports show the efforts made and the difficulties encountered in finding resources for setting up employment services and for training and retraining workers on a large scale while at the same time trying to guarantee some degree of social protection for workers without jobs.

54. The Committee's considerations this year bring to light the increasing internationalisation of employment problems. In varying ways and degrees, every country that has reported has had to face restructuring, involving adjustment and labour force adaptation. Developing countries and those undergoing transition to the market economy are acutely affected by the question of equitable distribution of the costs and benefits of adjustment; but so too it would appear are industrialised market economy countries where it is recognised that long-term unemployment and various insecure kinds of employment easily lead to more and more of the active population being marginalised. As indicated in Part IX of the Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169), international cooperation to promote employment needs to be increased in the context of the changes which the interdependent world economy is undergoing. The ILO's technical cooperation continues to give useful assistance in pursuing the aims of the Convention. The Committee also notes the attention given in most countries to education and training as essential ingredients in employment policy. In its 1991 General Survey, it has stressed the many close and necessary links between the Convention and the 1975 instruments concerning vocational guidance and vocational training in the development of human resources. It has also in individual comments repeatedly noted the relation to other standards, such as those on employment services and placement agencies, in the context of recent developments in the organisation and operation of labour markets. Since such a large number of reports refer to persistent difficulties in this respect, the Committee would in conclusion re-emphasise the importance of giving full effect to Article 3 of the Convention, regarding the consultation of interested persons. Wide-ranging social dialogue embracing representatives of workers in the informal and rural sectors and covering all aspects of economic policy affecting employment is a precondition to the implementation of effective employment policy. Such dialogue is imperative when, as the Conference Committee underlined in 1991, the social dimension is indispensable to successful structural adjustment; and this implies that ILO standards on employment, basic rights and tripartism must lie at the heart of restructuring programmes.

Application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129)

55. This year the Committee has examined the application of these Conventions in many countries. It recalls that labour inspection is a key element in workers' protection and that it should consequently be given all due priority by bodies of all kinds which have to design global policies and programmes in this area. In the comments it has made, the Committee has borne in mind in particular the essential requirement in both Conventions that workplaces should be inspected as often and as thoroughly as necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions. The Committee has, in several cases, identified various elements in the Conventions which have a direct bearing on the ability to meet this requirement, such as the need to ensure that officials who are labour inspectors have all the necessary powers and do not have extraneous duties which prejudice their ability to discharge their primary inspection function; the need for sufficient staff and material resources (especially means of transport) to be allocated to the labour inspectorate; the need for effective cooperation between units in different government departments responsible for different aspects of labour inspection in terms of the Conventions; and the need to collate statistics of inspection activities and publish annual inspection reports, as well as to communicate such reports to the ILO. Publishing and communicating reports in this way enables both an informed assessment of the practical aspects of labour inspection at the national and international levels and a determination of what improvements are called for.

56. The Committee naturally appreciates that for many developing countries in particular there are often financial constraints on the labour inspection services, which make it hard for the officials concerned to meet the requirements of the Conventions. The Committee strongly believes that governments should give greater weight in public spending decisions to the obligations created by ratification of the Conventions and the need to ensure that duly enacted legal provisions in the labour sphere are complied with. Similarly, the Committee would stress the contribution which labour inspection can make to overall economic development and the husbanding of valuable resources, by helping to diminish illegality and consequent inefficiency in the workplace and thus both directly and indirectly promoting greater productivity.

57. The Committee would suggest two courses open to governments which despite financial strictures wish to make progress in implementing the labour inspection instruments. One is to apply to the full the Convention's provisions as to collaboration between the labour inspectors and employers and workers and their organisations: this, it seems to the Committee, will show ways not only to target limited inspection resources and facilitate inspection visits that take place in a correct and helpful manner but also to determine rational priorities for the government's policy for further development of the inspection system. The second, parallel, course is in suitable cases to enlist the ILO's technical cooperation with more specific objectives: in addition to the general aim of strengthening labour inspectorates through training and enhanced administration, governments might, in the Committee's view, place greater emphasis on improving implementation of the basic requirements of Conventions Nos. 81 and 129 by referring to its observations and direct requests addressed to them. Finally, the Committee notes that the obligations of Convention No. 81 have (with 107 ratifications) been very widely accepted; but it would at the same time encourage all States which have not yet ratified the Convention to reconsider doing so in the light of the above paragraphs. It also hopes that States - especially those in which the agricultural sector occupies a large part of the population - will do the same in respect of Convention No. 129.

Application of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)

58. In its 1990 General Observation and General Report, the Committee pointed to a number of factors which are central to an effective application of the Convention and suggested that, in taking measures, governments might wish to seek advice and technical cooperation from the International Labour Office. In its review of governments' reports, the Committee has noted that a number of governments have followed this course of action and requested assistance to further their implementation of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee has also noted with interest that, shortly after ratifying the Convention, one country sought and received from the Office assistance to overcome the difficulties impeding effective implementation of its obligations. This was the first time in the 40 years since the adoption of the Convention that the Office had received a formal request for general assistance in applying it. In view of the requirements of this fundamental Convention, which necessitates a wide range of practical measures in order to be fully applied, the Committee hopes that the Office will do its utmost to respond to the other requests for technical assistance as soon as possible.

Application of Conventions on the minimum age for admission to employment (Nos. 5, 59 and 138)

59. When examining the reports submitted under article 22 of the ILO Constitution, the Committee has noted certain difficulties in the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), to which it refers in greater detail in the observations and direct requests which it is addressing to the States concerned. The first difficulty arises out of the absence of general provisions to prohibit employment or work of any other type by children, particularly in respect of agriculture and work carried on by the persons concerned on their own account. It has had the opportunity to examine the labour legislation that has been adopted recently in several countries and notes that the provisions of the labour codes concerned, which apply by definition only to employees, or even only to employees in the private sector, are not sufficient to cover such situations. The Committee wishes to draw the attention of governments to the importance that attaches to the existence of legislation that establishes an unequivocal minimum age for admission to all types of employment and occupation, subject to the provisions of the Conventions which admit individual or collective exceptions in respect of certain forms of light work, within the framework of a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons. In this connection, the Committee recalls the link established by the Conventions between the age of compulsory education and the minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee invites governments to re-examine this question when undertaking the changes to laws and regulations which may be necessitated due to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in order to bring their legislation into conformity with Convention No. 138 on this point.

60. Another difficulty arises out of the existence of laws which authorise exceptions to the minimum age for admission to employment or work for persons who are apprentices in enterprises. These laws are not in conformity with the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 5), or the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention (Revised), 1937 (No. 59), which only admit exceptions from the established minimum age in respect of work done by children in technical schools. The Committee recalls that apprenticeship is explicitly provided for in Article 6 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), under which the Convention does not apply to work done by persons of at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority, after consultation with the organisations of employers and workers concerned, and is an integral part of a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking. In the light of the above, the Committee invites the countries which have ratified Conventions Nos. 5 and 59 to examine once again the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 138.

61. Finally, the Committee trusts that the reports requested on the Conventions on the minimum age of admission to employment will include in future general information on the manner in which the Conventions are applied, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, information on the school attendance rates of children and the compulsory school-leaving age, when such an age has been established, extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported and the sanctions imposed.

Matters relating to "international" shipping registers and flag transfers

62. Last year, the Committee referred in paragraphs 56 and 57 of its report to certain queries which had arisen in relation to the application of certain Conventions in countries which have opened "international" shipping registers. Ships on such registers are subject to special rules as to taxation, and problems may arise through foreign seafarers sometimes covered by different collective agreements being employed on them. The Committee notes the discussion of this subject in the Conference Committee at the 78th Session (1991) of the International Labour Conference and at the 26th Session (October 1991) of the Joint Maritime Commission (JMC). The JMC adopted a resolution concerning structural changes in the shipping industry, which referred in particular to this question: the resolution calls for, inter alia, study of the effects both of "international" registers and of external ship management on seafarers' working and living conditions.

63. The Committee notes that these registers are of particular concern to the ILO because of their potential impact on the application of international labour standards. It hopes that the study envisaged will deal not only with "international" registers but also with other aspects of flag transfer where labour standards problems may arise, and that it will throw light on how relevant international labour Conventions are applied or taken into consideration in respect of the ships concerned. In the meantime, the Committee has in its present report addressed observations to the Governments of Denmark and Norway, as to the application of the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147), in this regard, and to the Government of France (Southern and Antarctic Territories) as to the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

Application of Conventions to offshore industrial installations

64. The Committee notes a communication from the Trades Union Congress of the United Kingdom (TUC), dated 22 January 1992, in which the TUC welcomes the decision of the British Government in March 1991 to transfer responsibility for offshore health and safety from the Department of Energy to the Health and Safety Executive. The TUC had been pressing for this separation of responsibilities for more than ten years. The decision brought practice in the United Kingdom into line with that in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, where an independent safety inspectorate reports to the Ministry of Labour. The TUC also welcomes the decision of the Government to allocate three times as much resources to the inspection of safety on offshore industrial installations. The TUC hopes to see a significant reduction in the health and safety hazards in this, one of the most dangerous sectors of British industry.

65. Referring to the comments that the Committee has been making since 1981 on the question of the application of international labour Conventions to offshore industrial installations, the TUC states that it shares the hope of the Committee of Experts that it will soon be able to carry out an examination of the principal issues raised in this field on the basis of a comparative study of law and practice in some of the countries concerned.

Application of Conventions in export processing zones or enterprises

66. The Committee notes the discussion in the Conference Committee on the application of standards (June 1991) concerning the application of Conventions in export processing zones or enterprises. It recalls that since 1981 it has regularly examined the question of the incidence on the application of ratified international labour Conventions of the establishment of export processing zones or enterprises. At first, it requested governments to supply information on this matter in their reports under article 22 of the Constitution; it has since been pursuing its examination, where appropriate, within the framework of the regular supervision of the application of ratified Conventions in the observations and direct requests addressed to the countries concerned. Once again, this year, comments have concerned mainly the application of the freedom of association Conventions (Nos. 87 and 98), the protection of maternity (Convention No. 3) and equal remuneration (Convention No. 100).

67. The Committee hopes that countries which are preparing or have adopted special legislation for export processing zones will not fail to consult the competent departments of the ILO in order to ensure that these texts are in conformity with the provisions of the Conventions that they have ratified. It also invites employers' and workers' organisations to make appropriate comments in this respect.

III. DIRECT CONTACTS AND COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF

Standard

A. Direct contacts and cooperation in the field of standards

68. Direct contacts missions concerning freeedom of association took place in Costa Rica (April 1991) and in Colombia (September 1991). The direct contacts mission which visited the Dominican Republic in January 1991 to examine the situation of Haitian workers on sugar plantations was followed by a mediation mission in August 1991 to the Dominican Republic and Haiti at the request of the Government of Haiti and with the agreement of the Government of the Dominican Republic.

69. The regional advisers on standards, whose task is to assist governments in finding solutions to standards-related problems, visited the following countries: Africa: Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe; Americas: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela; Asia and the Pacific: China, Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

70. The programme of courses and seminars designed to familiarise national labour administration officials and representatives of employers' and workers' organisations with the obligations of member States and the standards-related procedures of the ILO was continued.

71. During 1991, 13 participants and one observer from the following 14 countries received training with the International Labour Standards Department: Angola, Benin, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

72. Since April 1991, several regional and subregional seminars have been organised on international labour standards; the Sixth Latin American Regional Seminar on National and International Labour Standards (San José, Costa Rica); a Subregional Seminar on Freedom of Association (Brisbane, Australia); an Asian and Pacific workshop on standards-related subjects (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); and a Tripartite Subregional Seminar for the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment in Employment for Central and Eastern European Countries (Prague, Czechoslovakia).

73. Cooperation activities and the promotion of standards also took place through participation in seminars (and particularly tripartite seminars), meetings, symposia and through the provision of advisory services on international labour standards in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Czechoslovakia, Denmark (Greenland), Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saint Lucia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

74. The Eleventh Asian Regional Conference, which took place in Bangkok from 26 November to 2 December 1991, addressed questions concerning international labour standards on the basis of the Director-General's Report.

B. Standards and technical cooperation

75. The Committee was informed of the Governing Body's discussion at its 252nd (February-March 1992) Session on the subject of the relations between international labour standards and technical cooperation, and of the views expressed concerning the logic and coherence that must characterise the relation between international labour standards and the technical cooperation undertaken by the ILO.

76. Technical cooperation can be used more systematically and broadly to assist member States who so wish to improve the application of Conventions, to give effect to the comments of the ILO supervisory bodies and to promote tripartism. The major orientations of technical cooperation programmes are generally covered by a number of the standards adopted by the International Labour Conference.

77. Apart from human rights Conventions, the ILO's technical cooperation activities have constantly to be guided by many important Conventions, including: the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141), the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150), the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), and many others, as well as various Recommendations, including: the Tripartite Consultation (Activities of the International Labour Organisation) Recommendation, 1976 (No. 152) and the Cooperatives (Developing Countries) Recommendation, 1966 (No. 127).

78. For many years, the Committee has been pointing out the link between standards and technical cooperation in certain specific cases, such as in its comments concerning reports on ratified Conventions, in the general part of its annual report and in the general surveys carried out under article 19 of the Constitution of the ILO. The Committee has been informed that the attention of ILO departments, both at headquarters and in the field, has been drawn specifically to certain comments that the present Committee, or the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards have made in this respect. The Committee wishes to emphasise the value that it attaches to the information reported to it concerning the manner in which these comments are followed up. The Committee will continue to draw the attention of governments to the value of having recourse to ILO technical cooperation in cases in which it considers that the application of a ratified Convention is coming up against difficulties that could be overcome with the help of such cooperation.

79. The Committee appeals to the international institutions which contribute to the financing of technical cooperation activities to give priority to requests that are made in this context. The Committee considers that such requests are especially important when they come from countries facing the social consequences of structural readjustment measures or armed conflict, external debt problems or problems related to the elimination of child labour through, for example, measures to combat poverty.

80. At the practical level, the Committee notes with satisfaction the various measures that have been taken in this context. Since its last session, several seminars and workshops have been organised concerning the relations between international labour standards and technical cooperation. Three such workshops, intended mainly for ILO officials and experts, were held in Geneva with the participation of representatives of multi-bilateral donors. Furthermore, similar workshops gathering together representatives of donor countries and organisations as well as of governments, employers and workers, members of Parliament and academics were held in Harare (Zimbabwe), San José (Costa Rica), Manilla (Philippines), Monterey (Mexico), Montevideo (Uruguay), Asunción (Paraguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Islamabad and Lahore (Pakistan), New Delhi (India) and Dacca (Bangladesh).

81. The Committee wishes to place particular emphasis on the support provided in this task by the ILO Training Centre in Turin. The Centre's Statute provides in Article I, inter alia, that the object of the Centre is to "provide training activities at the service of economic and social development in accordance with, and through, the promotion of international labour standards". The Trainer's Guide on "International Labour Standards and Development" was tried out at the Turin Centre and has now been published. The Committee hopes that the importance given to international labour standards will be maintained and developed, for example, through the inclusion in future of specialised courses on international labour standards in the Centre's programmes.

IV. ACTION CONCERNING THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION: SPECIAL REPORTS ON THE DISCRIMINATION (EMPLOYMENT AND OCCUPATION) CONVENTION, 1958 (No. 111), FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE NOT RATIFIED IT

82. To strengthen the procedures for supervising the constitutional obligation of non-discrimination, the ILO Governing Body decided at its 208th (November 1978) and 209th (February-March 1979) Sessions, that governments of countries which had not ratified the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), should be asked to submit reports under article 19 of the ILO Constitution every four years. At the time of its decision, the Governing Body specified that these reports should be in addition to those normally required under article 19 on other instruments and that governments should only be asked to reply to a limited number of questions, essentially concerning the difficulties of ratification, measures envisaged to overcome them and the prospects of ratification in the near future.

83. To date, such reports on Convention No. 111 have been requested in 1979 and 1983. In 1980 and 1984, the Committee included a section in its General Report, summarising and commenting on the information received and evaluating ratification prospects. In 1987, detailed reports were requested under article 19 on the Convention and its accompanying Recommendation, and they were used, along with the reports submitted under articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution by States that have ratified Convention No. 111, as a basis for the Committee's General Survey of 1988 concerning equality in employment and occupation. This is therefore the third time that the Committee has been called upon to examine reports under the special procedure established by the Governing Body.

84. In 1991, 40 member States which had not yet ratified the Convention were again asked to supply special reports under article 19 (see list in Appendix I). Since the report requests were sent out, five States have joined or rejoined the Organisation: Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Korea. They have not been asked to submit special reports under article 19. Latvia has already ratified the Convention.

85. As at 1 March 1992, Convention No. 111 had been ratified by 110 member States; since the 1988 General Survey, three ratifications have been registered (Cameroon, Latvia, Uruguay).

86. The Committee notes that, of the 40 member States asked to supply reports, the following 18 have done so: Bahamas, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, China, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mauritius, Suriname, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe. The following 11 non-metropolitan territories have also sent reports: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat, St. Helena.

87. The Committee notes with regret that at the time of its present examination, information has not been received from the following 22 countries: Bahrain, Cambodia, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, El Salvador, Grenada, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Zaire. It hopes that these countries will supply the necessary information at an early date so that the Conference and the Governing Body can carry out their work.

88. Of the 18 countries whose reports have been examined by the Committee, five have stated that they are envisaging ratification of the Convention at a more or less early date. The Governments of Belize and Burundi state that they envisage ratification of the Convention. The Government of Botswana states that ratification is being examined and could take place before the end of 1992. The Government of Equatorial Guinea states that it is ready to ratify the Convention in the near future, but gives no further details. The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania states, as it did in its report of 1984, that there are no legal or practical obstacles to ratification, which is now envisaged.

89. Four countries state that they are examining the question of ratification. The Government of the United States indicates that it is examining the prospect of ratification and that a tripartite federal advisory committee chaired by the Secretary of Labor has endorsed a comprehensive legal review of the Convention to determine whether there are any legal obstacles to its ratification. It points out that the examination and the necessary consultations will take time. The Government of the United Arab Emirates states that it is unable to set a specific date for the ratification of the Convention, but that the instrument will be included in the Conventions which are to be the subject of forthcoming studies in the area of international labour standards. The Government of Uganda indicates that it has set up a Constitutional Commission and a Law Reform Commission to examine the national legislation and that, following their work, the advisability of ratification will be considered. The Government of Zimbabwe states, as it did in the previous report, that it needs more time to fully assess the effects of the national legislation before making any amendments to bring it into conformity with the Convention and deciding to ratify it.

90. Two countries state that ratification is not envisaged. The Government of Bahamas indicates that it has taken steps to give effect to the aims and objectives of the Convention but that the question of ratification does not arise. The Government of Mauritius does not envisage ratification as employers are free to hire and dismiss provided that they observe the legislation in force. For this reason and because placement services are free, it considers that there is no need to pursue a national policy of equality in respect of employment under the direct control of a national authority.

91. Seven countries have referred to difficulties standing in the way of ratification. The Government of China considers that although there are no discrepancies between the national legislation and the Convention, there are as yet no specific laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation, and that the legislation in force does not contain sufficiently specific provisions to implement the Convention so that, in practice, cases of discrimination, particularly against women, have occurred on occasion; it considers that it would therefore be premature to ratify the Convention at this stage, but states that it is ready to make efforts to eliminate discrimination in employment to accelerate the possibility of ratification. The Government of Fiji indicates that ratification is not envisaged for the time being and considers that the main obstacle to ratification is the public sector job quota reserved for indigenous populations in the Constitution. The Government of Ireland states that the legislation on equality in employment only prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex and marital status, and that ratification is therefore not possible; it refers to the many government initiatives to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for women and to proposed amendments to the legislation to make it more effective in this area, but states that it is unable to provide details. The Government of Japan provides no information on ratification; it refers to its previous reports in which it stated that measures to counter discrimination based on social origin were still being pursued though other problems remained to be settled, such as the promotion of equality of opportunity for women. The Government of Kenya states that, although it wishes to ratify this important Convention, the provisions of the law concerning, firstly, the obligation for women workers who have taken two months' maternity leave to forfeit their right to annual leave during the same year, and, secondly, the denial to married women civil servants of the entitlement to a housing allowance unless they work and live away from their husbands, prevent ratification of the Convention. It indicates, however, that the amendment of these provisions is being examined. The Government of Suriname refers to difficulties connected with the absence of legal provisions on minimum wages and a system of job classification which would reduce inequalities in remuneration between men and women (such a system exists only in the public service and the larger enterprises); it refers to large disparities in wages and a high unemployment rate as well as a severe lack of statistical data on employment and wages in the rural and informal sectors. It states that it has not yet conducted a systematic inquiry into the application of the Convention.

92. The Government of the United Kingdom refers to specific difficulties that still stand in the way of ratification. It states that one of the major difficulties is that British nationals born outside the national territory or the dominions can be excluded from certain jobs, which constitutes discrimination on the ground of national extraction. It states, however, that there are no plans at present to adopt measures to give full effect to the provisions of the Convention. It indicates that the Trades Union Congress (TUC) submitted a proposal on 1 November 1990 that the Convention should be ratified and that it replied that the question of ratification continued to be reviewed. The non-metropolitan territories of the United Kingdom (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat, Saint Helena) state, in general, that they cannot ratify the Convention as long as the United Kingdom has not done so. The territories of Anguilla, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hong Kong and Saint Helena consider that effect is given to the Convention in their territories or that it could be given with a view towards ratification. The territory of Jersey states that a Special Committee was set up on 29 January 1991 to examine the situation regarding equality between men and women and to make recommendations to the authority. Certain territories (Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat) refer to restrictions on the immigration or employment of foreigners, but these questions are not covered by the Convention.

93. The Committee recalls that the wording of the Convention is sufficiently flexible to meet requirements which vary greatly from one country to another. It aims to eliminate discrimination in employment and occupation, on grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, social origin and national extraction. The Convention requires countries that have ratified it to declare and pursue a national policy to eliminate discrimination by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any administrative instructions which are inconsistent with the policy and to adopt positive measures which contribute to promoting equality of opportunity and treatment generally.

94. As regards certain difficulties mentioned above, the Committee points out that the Convention does not cover distinctions which are made on the basis of citizenship between the citizens of the country concerned and persons with a different citizenship. It covers distinctions made between citizens based on their place of birth or their foreign extraction or origin. The Committee recalls, moreover, that under Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Convention "any Member may, after consultation with representative employers' and workers' organisations, where such exist, determine that other special measures designed to meet the particular requirements of persons who, for reasons such as sex, age, disablement, family responsibilities or social or cultural status, are generally recognised to require special protection or assistance, shall not be deemed to be discrimination". Such special measures may include provisions adopted for ethnic groups which have been subjected to discrimination in the past. In this connection, the Committee refers to paragraphs 146, 147 and 156 of its General Survey of 1988 on equality in employment and occupation.

95. The Committee hopes that the countries which envisage or are considering the possibility of ratification will be able to ratify the Convention in the near future and that countries still encountering certain difficulties will overcome them rapidly or re-examine them in the light of the above considerations, in cases where there are no real obstacles to ratification.

96. Since implementation of the procedure for the submission of four-yearly special reports by States that have not ratified the Convention, 14 ratifications have been registered. When the Governing Body initiated the procedure, it also invited the Director-General to take measures to encourage ratification of Convention No. 111, particularly through direct contacts. Such contacts can help governments in their examination of the question of ratification and can assist them in taking measures to overcome difficulties encountered. They have proved to be useful in the past. The Committee calls on member States whose national law or practice create obstacles to ratification to make use of this assistance. The Committee also recalls that in 1973 the Governing Body instituted a procedure for "special studies" on situations relating to the elimination of discrimination in employment, with a view to assessing the facts and seeking solutions in certain situations of discrimination based on the criteria set forth in Convention No. 111. Such studies can be conducted at the request of governments or employers' or workers' organisations. The Committee points out that the scope of this procedure is general and is not limited to countries that have ratified the Convention.

V. ROLE OF EMPLOYERS' AND WORKERS' ORGANISATIONS

97. At each session, the Committee draws the attention of governments to the role that employers' and workers' organisations are called upon to play in the application of Conventions and Recommendations and to the fact that numerous Conventions require consultation with employers' and workers' organisations, or their collaboration in a variety of measures. The Committee has once again noted with satisfaction that almost all governments have indicated in the reports supplied under article 22 of the Constitution the representative organisations of employers and workers to which, in accordance with article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, they have communicated copies of the reports supplied to the ILO (Endnote 1). Almost all governments have also indicated the organisations to which they have communicated copies of the information supplied to the ILO on the submission to the competent authorities of the instruments adopted by the Conference (Endnote 2) and the reports due under article 19 of the Constitution.

98. In accordance with established practice, the ILO sent to the representative organisations of employers and workers a letter concerning the various opportunities open to them of contributing to the implementation of Conventions and Recommendations, accompanied by relevant documentary material, and a list of the reports due from their respective governments and copies of the Committee's comments to which governments were invited to reply in their reports.

Observations made by employers' and workers' organisations

99. Since its last session, the Committee has received 201 observations, 48 of which were communicated by employers' organisations and 153 by workers' organisations. This is the highest number of observations ever received. It shows again the interest of employers' and workers' organisations in the implementation of ILO standards and reflects the constant efforts made by the supervisory bodies of the Office to give interested organisations complete information on their role in this area.

100. The majority of observations received (188) relate to the application of ratified Conventions (Endnote 3). Thirteen observations relate to the reports provided by governments under article 19 of the Constitution relating to the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Convention (No. 26) and Recommendation (No. 30), 1928, the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention (No. 99) and Recommendation (No. 89), 1951, and the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention (No. 131) and Recommendation (No. 135), 1970 (Endnote 4).

101. The Committee notes that, of the observations received this year, 92 were transmitted directly to the ILO, which, in accordance with established practice, referred them to the governments concerned for comment. In 109 cases the governments transmitted the observations with their reports, sometimes adding their own comments. Part Two of this Report contains the Committee's comments on cases where the observation raised an issue concerning the application of ratified Conventions.

102. The Committee also examined a number of other observations by employers' and workers' organisations whose examination had been postponed from the last session, because the observations of the organisations or the replies of the governments had arrived just before or just after the session. It has had to postpone the examination of a number of observations to its next session, when they were received too close to or even during the Committee's present meeting, to allow sufficient time for the governments concerned to make comments and for the Committee to consider the matters involved.

103. The Committee notes that in most cases the organisations of employers and workers had endeavoured to gather and present precise facts on the application in practice of ratified Conventions. It notes that the matters dealt with in these observations have touched on a very wide range of Conventions relating to the following subjects: protection of the right to organise and the right to collective bargaining, discrimination, forced labour, employment policy, labour inspection, tripartite consultations relating to international labour standards, maritime labour.

104. The Committee finally notes that the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) has now received 51 ratifications. The Committee hopes that, in accordance with the favourable ratification prospects noted in the General Survey on the Convention in 1982, (Endnote 5) many further countries will be able to ratify it, all the more since some have recently adopted provisions to establish tripartite bodies for ILO activities, with reference to the 1976 instruments.

VI. REPORTS ON RATIFIED CONVENTIONS (articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution)

Supply of reports

105. The Committee's principal task consists of the examination of the reports supplied by governments on Conventions which have been ratified by member States or which have been declared applicable to non-metropolitan territories.

106. In accordance with the procedure for reporting that has been in force since 1977, detailed reports from all ratifying States, covering the period ending 30 June 1991, were due to be examined this year in respect of 42 Conventions (Endnote 6). In addition, detailed reports were also requested from certain governments on other Conventions, in accordance with the criteria for more frequent reporting approved by the Governing Body and set out in paragraph 38 of the Committee's 1977 Report.

Reports requested and received

107. A total of 2,019 detailed reports were requested from governments on the application of Conventions ratifed by member States (article 22 of the Constitution). At the end of the present session of the Committee, 1,413 of these reports had been received by the Office. This figure corresponds to 69.9 per cent of the reports requested, compared with 71.9 per cent last year. The Committee regrets that, as indicated in paragraph 118 below, a number of reports received are incomplete and do not enable it to reach conclusions regarding the application of the Conventions concerned. A table showing reports received and reports overdue, classified by country and by Convention, is to be found in Part Two (section 1, Appendix I). Another table (section I, Appendix II) shows, for each year in which the Committee has met since 1933, the number and percentage of reports which were received by the prescribed date, by the date of the meeting of the Committee and by the date of the session of the International Labour Conference.

108. In addition, 398 reports were requested on Conventions which have been declared applicable with or without modifications to non-metropolitan territories (articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution). Of these, 309 reports, or 77.6 per cent, had been received by the end of the Committee's session, in comparison with 80.5 per cent in 1991. A list of the reports received and those which are overdue, classified by territory and by Convention, may be found appended to section II of Part Two of this Report.

109. Apart from the above-mentioned reports, 21 governments also supplied general reports on the Conventions for which detailed reports were not due for the period under review: Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

110. In those cases in which the reports were not accompanied by copies of the relevant legislation, statistical data or other documentation necessary for their full examination, and in which this material was not otherwise available, the Office, as requested by the Committee, wrote to the governments concerned asking them to supply the necessary texts in order to enable the Committee to fulfil its task.

Compliance with reporting obligations

111. Most of the governments from which reports were due on the application of ratified Conventions have supplied all or most of the reports requested, as can be seen from Appendix I to Part Two, section I. However, 40 governments have not complied with their obligation to supply reports on ratified Conventions. Thus, all or the majority of the reports due this year have not been received from the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Central African Republic, Congo, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, France (Southern and Antarctic Territories), Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Ireland, Jordan, Lesotho, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Qatar, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zaire. No reports have been received for the past two or more years from the following countries: Albania, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Lao People's Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone.

112. The Committee urges the governments of these countries, and also of those which have sent only some of the reports due, to make every effort to supply the reports requested on ratified Conventions. Where no reports have been sent for a number of years, it often seems likely that some particular problem of an administrative or technical nature is preventing the government concerned from fulfilling its obligations under the ILO Constitution, and it may be that in cases of this kind assistance from the Office, in particular the help of the regional advisers on standards, could enable the government to overcome its difficulties.

Late reports

113. The Committee is once again bound to emphasise the importance of communicating reports in due time. Reports are requested on ratified Conventions by 15 October each year at the latest. Due consideration is given, when fixing this date, to the time required to translate the reports, where necessary, to conduct research into legislation and other necessary documents, and to examine reports and legislation, etc. The supervisory procedure can function correctly only if reports are communicated in due time. This is particularly true in the case of first reports or reports on Conventions where there are serious or continuing discrepancies, which the Committee has to examine in greater depth.

114. The Committee observes that the great majority of reports are thus received between the time-limit fixed and the date on which the Committee meets: by 15 October 1991 the proportion of reports received was only 13.3 per cent. The Committee is very concerned at this percentage, which is still very low, and notes that it is often the first reports and those relating to Conventions on which the Committee has made comments that are received the latest. In these circumstances, the Committee has been bound in recent years to postpone to its following session the examination of an increasing number of reports, since they could not be examined with the necessary care owing to lack of time. It has thus had to examine a number of reports at its present session held over from 1991.

115. The Committee can only express once again its great concern over this state of affairs, despite the relief that the four-year system of reporting and the various measures of assistance provided by the Office are intended to introduce. The Committee trust that governments will in future endeavour to observe the time-limits laid down for the sending of their reports so that it can carry out its supervisory function adequately.

116. Furthermore, the Committee notes that for several years a number of countries have been regularly supplying the reports due on ratified Conventions in the period between the end of its work and the beginning of the International Labour Conference or during the Conference. The Committee notes with concern that this practice disturbs the regular functioning of the supervisory system and contributes to making it more burdensome.

Supply of first reports

117. A total of 54 first reports of the 93 due on the application of ratified Conventions were received by the time that the Committee's session opened. A number of countries have failed to supply first reports, some of which are more than a year overdue. Thus, certain first reports on ratified Conventions have not been received from the following States since 1988: Ghana (Convention No. 148); Netherlands: Aruba (Conventions Nos. 121, 140 and 142 and, since 1989: Netherlands: Aruba (Convention No. 141) and, since 1990: Ecuador (Convention No. 153). The Committee recalls that particular importance attaches to the first reports on the basis of which it makes its initial assessment of the observance of ratified Conventions. The Committee therefore requests the governments concerned to make a special effort to supply these reports.

Replies to comments of the supervisory bodies

118. Governments are requested to reply in their reports to the observations and direct requests of the Committee, and the majority of governments have provided the replies requested. In accordance with the established practice, the International Labour Office has written to all the governments who failed to provide such replies, requesting them to supply the necessary information. Of the 33 governments to which such letters were sent, only nine have provided the information requested.

119. The Committee notes with concern that there are still a large number of cases in which there has been no reply to its comments. These cases can be grouped as follows:

120. This represents a total of 328 cases (Endnote 7), in comparison with 299 last year and 220 the previous year. The Committee is most concerned by the very high number of these cases. It is bound to repeat the observations or direct requests already made on the Conventions in question.

121. The failure of the governments concerned to fulfil their obligations considerably hinders the work of the Committee of Experts and that of the Conference Committee, and the Committee of Experts cannot over-emphasise the special importance of ensuring the dispatch of the reports and the replies to its comments on time.

Examination of reports

122. In examining the reports received on ratified Conventions and on Conventions that have been declared applicable to non-metropolitan territories, the Committee has followed its usual practice of assigning to each of its members the initial responsibility for a group of Conventions. Reports received early enough are sent to the members concerned in advance of the Committee's session. Each member submits his preliminary conclusions on the instruments for which he is responsible to all his colleagues for their examination. These conclusions are then presented to the Committee in plenary sitting by the author for discussion and approval.

Observations and direct requests

123. In the majority of cases, the Committee has found that no comment is called for regarding the way in which a ratified Convention has been implemented. In other cases, however, the Committee has found it necessary to draw the attention of the governments concerned to the need to take further action to give effect to certain provisions of Conventions or to supply additional information on given points. As in previous years, its comments have been drawn up in the form either of "observations", which are reproduced in the Report of the Committee, or of "direct requests", which are not published in the report, but are communicated directly to the governments concerned.

124. As previously, the Committee has indicated by footnotes the cases in which, because of the nature of the problems met in the application of the Conventions concerned, it has seemed appropriate to ask the governments to supply a detailed report earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Under the system of spacing out reports over a four-year period, which applies to most Conventions, such early reports have been requested after an interval of either one or two years, according to circumstances. In some instances, the Committee has also requested the government to supply full particulars to the Conference at its next session in June 1992.

125. The observations of the Committee appear in Part Two (sections I and II) of the present report, together with a list, under each Convention, of any direct requests. An index of all observations and direct requests - classified by country - will be found at the beginning of this report.

Cases of progress

126. In accordance with its usual practice, the Committee has drawn up a list of the cases in which it has been able to express its satisfaction at certain measures taken by governments to make the necessary changes in their law or practice following comments by the Committee on the degree of conformity between national law or practice and the provisions of a ratified Convention. Details concerning the cases in question are to be found in Part Two of this report and cover 50 instances in which measures of this kind have been taken in 30 States and 4 non-metropolitan territories. The full list is as follows:

States Conventions Nos.

Angola 105

Non-metropolitan territories

Denmark

France

United Kingdom

127. Thus, the total number of cases in which the Committee has been led to express its satisfaction with the progress achieved following its comments has risen to 1,948 since the Committee began listing them in its reports in 1964. In addition, there have been many cases in which the Committee has been able to note with interest various measures that have been taken following its comments with a view to ensuring a fuller application of ratified Conventions. All these cases provide an indication of the efforts made by governments to ensure that their national law and practice are in conformity with the provisions of the ILO Conventions they have ratified.

128. These cases do not, however, as the Committee regularly points out, exhaust the instances in which Conventions and Recommendations have a measurable influence on the law and practice of member States. For example, the Committee has again noted a number of cases this year in which it is clear from the first report on the application of a Convention that new legislative or other measures were adopted shortly before or after ratification.

Practical application

129. As in previous years, the Committee has been concerned with assessing, on the basis of the information available, the extent to which the national legislation giving effect to ratified Conventions is applied in practice. A number of questions designed to elicit information on this point are included in the report forms approved by the Governing Body for the Conventions, and the replies of governments to these questions constitute an appreciable, though uneven, source of information on practical application available to the Committee. The Committee has also taken into account other authoritative sources of information. These consist of the annual reports of labour inspection services, statistical year-books published in the States or by the ILO, observations of employers' and workers' organisations, compilation of judicial or administrative decisions, reports on direct contacts, reports of technical cooperation projects and missions, and other official publications such as manuals, studies and economic and social development plans.

130. The Committee notes with regret that this year only some 50 per cent of the reports supplied on Conventions for which information on practical application was specifically requested contained such data. Although this figure is slightly higher than that of 1991, it is significantly lower than that of 1990, which was 56 per cent, and a good deal lower than the 63 per cent of 1989. The Committee cannot but be concerned by such a reduction in the amount of information received, without which it is unable to form a clear idea of the extent to which ratified Conventions are effectively applied. It therefore appeals to governments to make every effort to include the information requested in their future reports.

131. The following countries have provided information on practical application in more than half the reports concerned: Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia.

132. The Committee wishes particularly to thank governments that have given information on practical application in their reports, as this information has greatly helped it in assessing more accurately the extent to which ratified Conventions are actually applied in these countries.

133. As in previous years, the Committee has addressed direct requests to certain countries which have not replied to the questions in the report forms on practical application. The Committee notes that again, this year, the majority of countries in question are developing countries and that certain of them have referred specifically to difficulties of a financial or administrative nature which are preventing them from compiling the statistical and other information requested. The Committee is of the opinion that these are also cases in which technical assistance from the International Labour Office could assist these countries in overcoming the difficulties in question.

134. The Committee also notes with interest the judicial and administrative decisions on questions of principle relating to the application of ratified Conventions to which certain countries have referred in their reports. Nevertheless, the Committee regrets that only 31 reports contain information of this kind and thereby throw additional light on the problems raised in these cases by the practical application of the Conventions in question.

135. For many years, the Committee has been noting that provisions concerning sanctions to secure observance of measures taken under the provisions of Conventions to ensure their application are often inadequate because the sanctions laid down do not have a sufficiently dissuasive effect, particularly where violations of basic human rights are concerned. It once again draws attention to the importance of establishing effective sanctions and of adopting monetary penalties, particularly in countries with high rates of inflation, in order to ensure that they exert an effective preventive influence against acts contrary to the guarantees laid down by international labour Conventions. One government (Czechoslovakia) has provided information on measures adopted to increase the rate of fines imposed for violations of the provisions of the labour legislation, particularly in the area of safety and health, to take account of inflation. The Committee requests governments to indicate in their reports the measures taken to examine the need to adapt monetary penalties from time to time in the light of inflation or to determine the amount of such penalties in such a way as to take account of currency fluctuations.

VII. SUBMISSION OF CONVENTIONS AND

Recommendations

136. In accordance with its terms of reference, the Committee this year examined the following information (Endnote 8) supplied by the governments of member States, pursuant to article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation:

77th Session

137. The Committee notes with interest that the governments of the following member States have indicated that they have submitted to the authorities considered by them to be competent the instruments adopted by the Conference at its 77th Session: Australia, Barbados, Belarus, Brazil, Burundi, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Ghana, Iceland, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Japan, Malta, Mauritania, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe.

31st to 76th Sessions

138. The Committee notes with interest that considerable efforts have been made by several countries to submit instruments adopted by the Conference since its 31st Session to the competent authorities, particularly in the following cases: Dominican Republic (63rd to 77th Sessions), Grenada (69th to 75th Sessions), Malawi (20 Conventions adopted from the 55th to 75th Sessions), Swaziland (70th and 74th to 76th Sessions, and certain instruments adopted at the 77th Session).

139. The table in Appendix I to section III of Part Two of the report of the Committee shows the position of each member State as it emerges from the information supplied by the governments, with regard to the discharge of the obligation to submit the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference to the competent authorities. Appendix II shows the overall position in this respect for the instruments adopted from the 31st to the 77th Sessions of the Conference.

General aspects

140. The Committee notes with concern that many countries are late - sometimes very late - in submitting to the competent authorities the instruments adopted by the Conference. In other cases, submission does not appear to have been accompanied by proposals on the action to be taken concerning the instruments being considered.

141. The Committee wishes to stress that the submission to the competent authorities of the instruments adopted by the Conference is a fundamental obligation which constitutes the indispensable first step in implementing international labour standards. In order that national authorities may be kept up to date on the standards adopted at the international level which may require action in each State so as to give effect to them at the national level, submission should be made as early as possible and in any case within the time-limits set by article 19 of the ILO Constitution. Governments, however, remain entirely free to propose any action which they may judge appropriate in respect of Conventions and Recommendations. The principal aim of the submission is to encourage a rapid and responsible decision by each country on the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference.

Comments of the Committee and replies from governments

142. In section III of Part Two of this report, the Committee makes individual observations on the points that it considers should be brought to the special attention of governments. In one of these observations, for example, the Committee has expressed its satisfaction at the measures taken in the Dominican Republic for the submission of instruments to the competent authorities. In addition, requests with a view to obtaining supplementary information on other points have also been addressed directly to a number of countries, which are listed at the end of that section.

143. The Committee regrets to note that a number of governments have again failed to provide replies to its comments, even after reminders have been sent by the Office in accordance with the request made to it by the Committee. The Committee again expresses the hope that governments will endeavour in future to supply all the required information and documents.

144. The Committee wishes once more to point out the importance of the communication by governments of the information and documents called for in points II and III of the questionnaire in the Memorandum adopted by the Governing Body. Some countries do not communicate the information and documents in question. The Committee trusts that the governments concerned will take suitable measures to comply with the Memorandum on submission to the competent authorities.

Special problems

145. The Committee notes with regret that no information has been supplied by the following 15 countries showing that the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference during at least the last seven sessions (70th to 77th) (Endnote 9) have in fact been submitted to the competent authorities: Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belize, Congo, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Zaire. The increase in relation to the past three years in the number of countries that are lagging so far behind in this respect is one of the Committee's main concerns. Indeed, there is a danger that certain countries may find it difficult if not impossible to bring themselves up to date. What is more, neither the legislative authorities nor public opinion in these countries are regularly informed of the existence of new instruments as the Conference adopts them, which defeats the real purpose of the obligation to submit explained in paragraph 141 above. However, the Committee would like to point out once again that the obligation of submission does not imply that governments must ratify the Conventions or accept the Recommendations in question. The Committee therefore expresses the firm hope that the governments concerned will promptly undertake to submit the instruments of the sessions indicated and that it will be able to note the progress made in this respect in its next report. The Committee again recalls that governments have the possibility of asking the International Labour Office for the technical assistance it is able to extend to them to attempt to solve this type of problem.

Submission of certain instruments to the appropriate authorities of the European Communities

146. During the past year, several Member States of the EEC (Denmark, France, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom) stated that they have submitted the Chemicals Convention (No. 170) and Recommendation (No. 177), 1990, to the appropriate authorities of the European Communities, in accordance with the procedure of which the Committee learned a few years ago in connection with the Hours of Work and Rest Periods (Road Transport) Convention, 1979 (No. 153), and the Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162), and their accompanying Recommendations. All these governments except one have also submitted the instruments in question to their national Parliaments or have undertaken to do so. In their reports, they specified that the consultations provided for in article 23, paragraph 2, of the ILO Constitution and by the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) will be pursued at the national level. The Committee discussed the question of the submission of certain ILO instruments to the authorities of the European Communities at length in its General Report of 1990.

VIII. INSTRUMENTS CHOSEN FOR REPORTS UNDER ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONSTITUTION

147. In accordance with the decisions taken by the Governing Body, governments were requested to supply reports under article 19, paragraphs 5 and 7, of the ILO Constitution on the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention (No. 26) and Recommendation (No. 30), 1928; the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention (No. 99) and Recommendation (No. 89), 1951; the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention (No. 131) and Recommendation (No. 135), 1970, and a report concerning the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

148. As regards the reports examined for the General Survey on Conventions Nos. 26, 99 and 131, and Recommendations Nos. 30, 89 and 135, a total of 710 reports were requested and 463 received (Endnote 10). This represents 65.2 per cent of the reports requested.

149. As regards Convention No. 111, dealt with in the special General Survey, of a total of 40 reports requested 18 have been received (Endnote 11). This represents 45 per cent of the reports requested.

150. More particularly, the Committee notes with regret that the following States have not, for the past five years, supplied any of the reports on unratified Conventions and Recommendations requested under article 19 of the Constitution: Cambodia, El Salvador, Grenada, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.

151. The Committee can only urge governments once again to provide the reports requested, so that its General Survey can be as comprehensive as possible.

General Survey

152. Part III of this report (issued separately as Report III (Part 4B)) contains the General Survey of the Committee on questions covered by Conventions Nos. 26, 99 and 131 and Recommendations Nos. 30, 89 and 135. This survey, in accordance with the practice followed in previous years, has been prepared on the basis of a preliminary examination by a working party comprising three members of the Committee, appointed by it.

153. The Committee has learned that Mr. Thiecouta Sidibé, Director of the International Labour Standards and Human Rights Department, is to retire shortly. His vast experience and the wisdom of his advice have been of the utmost value to the Committee in the fulfilment of its tasks, and it wishes to express its deepest gratitude for the services he has rendered throughout his long career at the Office.

154. Lastly, the Committee would like to express its appreciation of the invaluable assistance again rendered to it by the officials of the ILO, whose competence and devotion to duty make it possible for the Committee to accomplish its increasingly complex tasks in a limited period of time.

Geneva, 25 March 1992. (Signed) J.M. Ruda,

E. Razafindralambo,

Section IV

Appendix I

List of the 40 ILO member States which have been asked to submit reports on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)

Member States Reports received Reports not received

Bahamas X

Total: 40 18 22

Additional list concerning non-metropolitan territories

Member States Reports received Reports not received

Australia

Norfolk Island X

Denmark

Faeroe Islands X

Netherlands

Netherlands Antilles X

United Kingdom

Anguilla X

United States

Guam X

Total: 21 11 10

Endnotes

Endnote 2

Endnote 3

Endnote 4

Endnote 5

Endnote 6

Endnote 7

Endnote 8

Endnote 9

Endnote 10

Endnote 11