WORLD OF WORK
No. 29, April / May 1999

274^th Governing Body

GB discusses Declaration
on fundamental rights,
Myanmar, Asian financial crisis

Considers programme budget proposals
to sharpen focus of ILO activities

GENEVA - The ILO Governing Body, at its 274^th session held on 4-25 March 1999, settled a number of outstanding technical questions related to the follow-up of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 1998. It also asked the Director-General to urgently contact the Government of Myanmar regarding a 1998 Commission of Inquiry finding that the use of forced labour was pervasive in the country, and it held a special symposium on the Asian financial crisis.

Mr. Juan Somavia, who was sworn in as the new Director-General of ILO, underlined the promotional nature of the Declaration, insisting on its value for "ensuring respect for fundamental rights at work and acting as a powerful spur to national and international efforts to translate economic growth into social equity and employment in countries at all stages of the development path".

He promised reinforced ILO technical cooperation for countries working to ratify and implement the fundamental Conventions and the terms of the Declaration.

A first global report, on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, will be prepared for discussion at the International Labour Conference in June 2000. Similar reports on forced labour, the effective elimination of child labour and discrimination in employment will be produced in the years ahead.

The Governing Body also decided that a group of experts would be charged with presenting the conclusions of the annual reports to the Governing Body: seven eminent persons will examine information compiled by the Office on the basis of replies from member States concerned, supplemented by information from employers' and workers' organizations. The Director-General was asked to nominate the group of experts for approval by the Governing Body in November 1999. Since the March 1998 session of the ILO's Governing Body, 33 new ratifications of the core Conventions have been registered.

• Myanmar: GB reacts

The GB expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of action to comply with the recommendations of a 1998 Commission of Inquiry which detailed "the pervasive use of forced labour imposed on the civilian population throughout Myanmar by the authorities". It asked the Director-General again to contact the Government to obtain information on any measures it might have taken and to repeat an offer of technical assistance in this regard.

The Director-General was requested to present his findings in a written report on or before 21 May, 1999 taking into account any information received from the Government as well as information from workers' and employers' organizations and from other reliable sources.

It also decided that the November session of the Governing Body will include an item entitled: "Measures including recommendations under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution, to secure compliance by the Government of Myanmar with the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry". Article 33 allows the ILO to consider any measures necessary to secure compliance with recommendations of a Commission of Inquiry.

• Budget proposals: Sharpening activities focus

A US$ 481,050,000 budget for ILO activities around the world in 2000-01 will be formally submitted for approval to the next session of the International Labour Conference (1-17 June 1999) following a decision reached by the GB.

The current proposal increases resources for all the regional programmes, with greatest emphasis on Africa and Asia. In the 2000-01 budget proposals, net cost savings have enabled a small increase in real terms of US$ 785,000 compared with the current 1998-99 biennium, a sum which will be applied to substantive programme activities.

The ILO's programme and budget sharpens the focus of ILO activities by setting out four strategic objectives for the ILO at the turn of the next century: to promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work; to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and income; to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all; and to strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.

Under each strategic objective, a number of international focus programmes (InFocus) of high priority will concentrate and integrate activities already under way while responding to new needs and demands. InFocus programmes cover the promotion of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the progressive elimination of child labour, reconstruction and employment-intensive investment, economic and social security in the next century, the boosting of employment through small enterprise development, safety and health at work, the investment in knowledge, skills and employability and the strengthening of the social partners.

The ILO will also develop a rapid-response capacity to address unforeseen events in order to be able to come quickly to terms with critical situations affecting the world of work, such as those unleashed by the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

• Social initiatives and social dimension of globalization on the agenda

Following its discussion at the November 1998 session of the GB, the Working Party on the Social Dimensions of the Liberalization of International Trade further examined the implications of private sector initiatives, such as codes of conduct and social labelling, for ILO research and operational projects.

After an extensive exchange of views, there was general agreement on the need for further and expanded research on private sector initiatives, to be developed in the 2000-01 programme of work. On the other hand, it was too early to envision the pro-active engagement of the Organization in verifying enterprise performance or in selecting and promoting recommended benchmarks.

The Working Party also discussed a series of country studies on the social impact of globalization. The ILO has completed studies in six countries (Bangladesh, Chile, Mauritius, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Switzerland). The reports show that the liberalization of trade holds the prospect of rising standards of living while substantial adjustment costs are involved in the process of globalization.

Among these costs are rising inequalities in most of the countries under study and a decrease of the demand for unskilled labour. There is also a real danger that short-term capital flows, instead of being a mere reflection of developments in the real economy, determine exchange rates, trade, and employment levels in emerging markets. None of the countries under study, however, has expressed a desire to adopt protectionist solutions.

The studies also show that national governments are not powerless in the face of globalization. The ILO advocates action on four fronts: education and training, social safety nets, labour law and industrial relations, and core labour standards, and says that product-market reforms facilitating innovation and the creation of new enterprises are as important as labour market reforms.

The Governing Body, composed of 28 government members, 14 employer members and 14 worker members, convenes three times annually. It is the executive arm of the ILO and takes decisions on the implementation of ILO policies and programmes. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialized countries. The remaining members are elected for three years by governments, workers and employers, respectively, taking account of regional distribution.

• Asian Crisis: Social policy in view

A Symposium devoted to the Asian financial crisis highlighted the extremely high social impact of the crisis, which has resulted in a substantial rise in open unemployment and underemployment, and a significant decline in real earnings concentrated mostly in sectors of the economy linked to international trade and financial flows.

Workers and the emerging middle-class in urban areas were the worst affected since the rural economy had been relatively insulated from the effects of the crisis. Among the victims of the crisis, vulnerable groups such as women, children, and migrant workers suffered most.

While there are now encouraging signs that currency and financial markets have begun to stabilize and that the preconditions for recovery are in place, complacency must be avoided. The crisis has forged a recognition that the deficiencies of the pre-crisis economic and social systems need to be remedied.

It was agreed that a common new vision for reform is emerging, which recognizes the importance of democracy as a guarantor of basic human rights, the value of social dialogue for sustaining democracy, and an open policy debate. At this stage, the highest priority should be given to the strengthening of systems of social protection. Possible measures include the introduction of unemployment insurance and the expansion of social assistance schemes to relieve extreme poverty.

The ILO and other agencies with a social mandate should work more closely together in order to be better prepared to deal with future crises.

In reviewing ILO action in response to the crisis, the symposium highlighted the following issues:

• The ILO needs to strengthen its capacity to respond rapidly to major crises. This involves greater flexibility in reallocating internal resources as well as an augmented capacity to mobilize external resources to put in place emergency programmes to deal with the most dire social problems during crisis situations.

• There should be a strengthened capacity to anticipate the onset of crises in order to allow for preventive action and a greater degree of preparedness to mitigate the social costs of crises. This will involve an improved information system for the monitoring and analysis of economic and social developments.

• ILO action should be based on the clear recognition that policy reform and building new institutions are complicated both in terms of design and implementation. It requires sustained effort that is backed up by high-quality technical studies and policy advice.

• The ILO should act as a catalyst and facilitator to put in place well-designed programmes of training, retraining, job placement, and the promotion of self-employment targeted to the specific needs of retrenched workers.

Source: Press Release ILO/99/8.

ILO estimates over one million work-related fatalities
each year as workplace hazards evolve

SAO PAULO, Brazil - The Chief of the ILO's Health and Safety programme told delegates assembled here at the 15^th World Congress on Occupational Safety and Health that over one million work-related deaths occur annually, and hundreds of millions of workers suffer from workplace accidents and occupational exposure to hazardous substances worldwide.

Dr. Jukka Takala told delegates in an opening address that deaths in the workplace exceed the average annual deaths from road accidents (999,000), war (502,000), violence (563,000) or HIV/AIDS (312,000).

Approximately one-quarter of those deaths result from exposure to hazardous substances which cause such disabling illnesses as cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous system disorders. He warned that work-related diseases are expected to double by the year 2020 and that if improvements are not implemented now, exposures today will kill people by the year 2020.

In addition, he said that workers suffered an estimated 250 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases each year. Deaths and injuries, he said, continue to take a particularly heavy toll in developing countries, where large numbers of workers are concentrated in primary and extraction activities such as agriculture, logging, fishing and mining - some of the world's most hazardous industries.

• Every year, 250 million accidents occur causing absence from work, the equivalent of 685,000 accidents every day, 475 every minute, 8 every second.
• Working children suffer 12 million occupational accidents and an estimated 12,000 of them are fatal.
• 3,000 people are killed at work every day, 2 every minute.
• Asbestos alone kills more than 100,000 workers every year.

Industrialized countries have seen a clear decrease in serious injuries as a result of structural changes in the nature of work and real improvements in making the workplace healthier and safer, including improved first aid and emergency care which saves lives in the event of accidents. However, the evolving nature of work is generating new occupational hazards, including musculo-skeletal problems, stress and mental problems, asthmatic and allergic reaction, and problems caused by exposure to hazardous and carcinogenic agents, such as asbestos, radiation and chemicals.

High cost of negligence

The economic costs of occupational and work-related injuries and diseases are rapidly increasing. The ILO expert said that "while it is impossible to place a value on human life, compensation figures indicate that approximately 4 per cent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) disappears with the cost of diseases through absences from work, sickness treatment, disability and survivor benefits". The GDP lost in work-related injuries and diseases is more than that of the total GDP in Africa, the Arab States and south Asia together, and more than all official development assistance to the world's developing countries.

In addition to suffering material shortages and inadequate medical facilities, developing countries' problems are compounded by rapid industrialization and migration to cities. According to Mr. Takala, in the context of globalization, industries are being set up - often informal and dangerous ones - engaging workers without previous experience in industrial work. The provision of adequate housing and premises frequently lags behind the development of new factories and industrial sites.

The need for infrastructure increases construction work, another hazardous occupation, in areas as diverse as housing, roads, dams and power and telecommunication facilities, bringing a host of benefits but also problems linked to modern industrial societies, including traffic, noise, stress, new products and an array of chemical and synthetic materials which may be hazardous if incorrectly used or improperly disposed of. Intense competition for scarce investment capital can contribute to disregard for safety, health and environmental considerations, as the large number of fires caused by toy, textile and similar kinds of factories in developing countries attests.

Coverage for occupational safety and health varies widely in different parts of the world, says the ILO, with, for example, workers in Nordic countries enjoying nearly universal coverage while only 10 per cent or less of the workforce in many developing countries is likely to enjoy any sort of coverage. Even in many developed countries, coverage against occupational injury and illness may extend to only half the workforce.

Strategies to improve safety

While arguing for the largest possible coverage of all workers, the ILO says different strategies to improve occupational health and safety are needed in light of the different circumstances countries face. For industrialized countries, priorities need to focus on psychological factors linked to poor workplace relations and management, the mental and physical consequences of repetitive, highly technical tasks, and information on handling new technologies and substances, including chemicals.

In industrializing countries, priorities must focus on improving safety and health practices in primary industries such as farming, fishing and logging, preventing industrial accidents, including fires and leaks of hazardous substances, and preventing traditional accidents and diseases, including those in informal workshops and home-based industries and involving exposure to silica dust, which is extremely hazardous and results in a large number of unnecessary premature deaths each year.

"In countries at all levels of development, a large proportion of the deaths and injuries by workers can be attributed to inadequate safety and health information."
- Jukka Takala, speaking in Brazil

He cited a number of activities in developing countries, ranging from chemical safety programmes for small coal mines in China, to agro-chemical safety initiatives in Central America, and occupational health and safety information campaigns throughout Africa.

The ILO is emphasizing that key occupational safety and health Conventions, such as the framework of Convention No. 155 on occupational safety and No. 161 on occupational health services, should be considered as minimum standards. In addition, the Global Safe Work Programme is being launched to provide knowledge, advocacy and services in occupational safety and health, and to place this high on the global, international and national agenda.

Source: Press Release, ILO/99/9.

Stronger push by ILO
on gender issues

Somavia: Quicken pace and strengthen ILO's institutional
commitment to promoting equality for women

GENEVA- Speaking to the first special session of the GB held to mark International Women's Day, the Director-General declared that the ILO will step up its commitment to gender issues, both within its own walls as well as through its global activities.

"While I recognize and laud the many serious efforts that have been made in recent years to move forward in main-streaming gender in the Organization, I must share with you my intention to quicken the pace and strengthen the institutional commitment to this policy," Mr. Somavia said. "The ILO has lagged behind other international organizations in a number of indicators of gender equality. As an organization dedicated to social justice and well-being of workers, we must be in the forefront of this UN effort."

"Promoting gender equality is not only the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing to do", Mr. Somavia said. "I therefore intend to give high priority to ensuring that the ILO is counted among the most progressive organizations in the field of gender equality.

"We must be leaders and not laggards." - Juan Somavia

Noting that the ILO had played a major role in the past eight decades in setting standards promoting equality for women workers, Mr. Somavia cited data indicating the ILO was lagging behind in its pursuit of gender parity within its own Secretariat.

Mr. Somavia also pledged to take a number of other actions to augment ILO efforts on gender issues, including:

• Place gender at the "heart of the ILO agenda", including mainstreaming of gender and development in the strategic objectives of the ILO in the proposals for the 2000-2001 budget.

• Integrating gender into technical work of the ILO by promoting gender sensitivity in research, advisory and operational work, and integrating gender aspects into programmes focused on the informal sector, small and medium enterprises, data collection, social security, promoting organizations of workers, training, employment-creation schemes, and proposing and evaluating standards, including in ILO branches, and regional and area offices.

• Urging member States, employers' and workers' organizations making up the ILO's tripartite structure to make a "systematic effort to ensure a greater representation of qualified and experienced women" in their delegations to the International Labour Conference, the Governing Body and tripartite committees, seminars and training courses.

• Supporting establishment of a day-care facility within ILO headquarters in Geneva to "ensure that both women and men can be committed to their work without sacrificing efficiency, upward mobility or family contact".

Source: Press Release ILO/99/5 .

Workers want more information
and input

Chemical industry opts for voluntary initiatives
on health, safety and environment

GENEVA - Although the chemical industry is in the forefront of corporate efforts to adopt industry-wide codes of practice on health, safety and environmental issues, the credibility of such initiatives remains hampered by public scepticism and generally low levels of workforce involvement, according to a new ILO study. ^*

The study notes that voluntary initiatives and codes of conduct in the chemical industry are proliferating, and while no definitive verdict can be given on their efficacy, they thus far "do appear to have had positive impacts in terms of improving company performance in health, safety and environment performance on an industry-wide basis."

The trend toward voluntary initiatives includes measures targeting specific substances, such as coatings and pesticides, environmental agreements between government and industry, and improved environmental management systems, such as those of the European Union or the International Organization for Standardization.

The largest voluntary initiative, known as Responsible Care (RC), originated in Canada in 1985, and has expanded to include 40 national chemical manufacturers' associations, whose members account for 86% of world chemical output. Though the specifics of Responsible Care programmes vary from country to country, they establish principles for manufacturers and distributors to continuously improve performance in all aspects of chemical safety, from the establishment of guidelines to the adoption of common logos and verification procedures. Adherence to RC principles is now a precondition for a firm's membership in the trade association in many countries.

However the ILO report notes that in spite of considerable progress and improved public information, "workers and their trade union representatives are neither widely involved in nor well informed" about the RC programmes. "Many European companies, in particular, do not use the RC terminology or trademark when communicating with their employees on health, safety and environment performance", the report says.

A study undertaken in the UK showed that "RC was effectively communicated only at the management level, with the result that there was little motivational benefit for the general workforce." The Chemical Industry Association of the UK, which acknowledges that there is a poor correlation of RC principles with otherwise strong awareness of health, safety and environmental management systems, "does realize the need for greater worker recognition of, and involvement in, RC activities".

The same survey found RC awareness to be higher in Austria where, "there had been greater efforts to involve the workers."

A survey by the Italian Chemical Industry Federation showed that barely 25 per cent of industry employees have any experience with the RC programme and another survey showed that less than one per cent of the Italian population had ever heard of RC.

In the United States, by contrast, awareness among employees of the RC initiative has increased steadily, from 59 per cent in 1993 to 83 per cent in 1997.

What is sure is that voluntary initiatives are changing the face of the chemical industry. Among the innovations, the ILO report cites increasing outreach programmes to inform and consult communities and interest groups in the vicinity of chemical plants. Large manufacturers have extended responsibility for health and safety along the supply line, from suppliers, clients, distributors and users of chemical products. The concept of "product stewardship", in which companies take a cradle-to-grave approach to manufacture, use and disposal of chemical products, is being adopted by much of the industry. Competing companies increasingly share technical information on matters such as the composition, handling and disposal of dangerous substances.

Source: Press Release, ILO/99/2 .

^* Voluntary initiatives affecting training and education on safety, health and environment in the chemical industries. Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Voluntary Initiatives Affecting Training and Education on Safety, Health and Environment in the Chemical Industries. ILO, Geneva, 1999. ISBN 92-2-111352-3. Price: 17.50 Swiss francs.