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"A new global cause" - Juan Somavia
ILO concludes 87th Conference with adoption
of new instruments against child labour
The International Labour Conference 1 wrapped up its 87th session with the unanimous adoption of a long-awaited new Convention and Recommendation banning the worst forms of child labour. The Conference also heard addresses by three heads of state and a Nobel laureate, and condemned Myanmar for consistent use of forced labour.
GENEVA - Though everyone was certain of the outcome, the vote on June 17th at the 87th International Labour Conference to adopt a new Convention on the worst forms of child labour still electrified the Assembly Hall.
As hundreds of delegates voted, they were concluding years of preparatory work by the ILO Secretariat, and political conferences in Amsterdam, Oslo, Cartagena, Kampala and dozens of other cities. Activists from non-governmental organizations such as the Global March Against Child Labour sat watching in the galleries.
As the unanimous vote - 415 for, none against, none abstaining - flashed on the message board in the Conference room, a roar went up in what ILO Director-General Juan Somavia labelled an unequivocal sense of "moral resolve". And when the subsequent accompanying Recommendation was also adopted unanimously, it marked, the beginning of what Mr. Somavia termed a "new global cause" to eliminate child labour in its worst forms.
The new Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, applies to all persons under the age of 18 and calls for "immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency". An accompanying Recommendation urges ratifying States to declare the worst forms of child labour criminal offences and impose penal sanctions on those who would perpetrate them. (The Recommendation was voted by 382 votes for, with no objections or abstentions.)
"With this Convention, we now have the power to make the urgent eradication of the worst forms of child labour a new global cause," Mr. Somavia said. "This cause must be expressed, not in words, but deeds, not in speeches, but in policy and law. To those who exploit children, forcing them into slavery, debt bondage, prostitution, pornography or war, we are saying, this must stop now!"
The ILO estimates that some 250 million children between the ages of five and 14 work in developing countries alone. Although there is no hard data on child labour in its worst forms, about half, or some 120 million work full time, nearly 70 per cent are engaged in hazardous work. Of the 250 million children concerned, some 50-60 million between the ages of five and 11 are working in circumstances that could be termed hazardous considering their age and vulnerability.
Mr. Somavia announced that the ILO will immediately launch a worldwide campaign for ratification - the process by which the Convention is translated into national law and practice - through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and other ILO departments. 2 Many delegates who spoke at the Conference pledged early action for the ratification of the new Convention. In addition, Mr. Somavia declared that the new Convention would become one of the ILO's "core Conventions" along with those concerning freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of forced or compulsory labour; non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and, observance of a minimum age for employment. 3
The new Convention reflects widespread recognition over the past years that there should be an immediate and new attack on the worst forms of child labour. The ILO's Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) remains the bedrock of national and international action for the eventual total abolition of all child labour. The number of ratifications has been increasing in recent years. As of today, 74 States had ratified Convention No. 138.
Strong support shown
The new Convention drew strong support from many speakers, including US President Bill Clinton, who along with other distinguished guests including Mr. Henri Konan Bédié, President of the Republic of the Côte d'Ivoire and Madam Ruth Dreifuss, President of the Swiss Confederation, spoke to the Conference.
Marking the first time a President of the United States of America has addressed the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Mr. Clinton put the new Convention among the elements of his proposals to "put a human face on the global economy."
"By giving life to core labour standards, by acting effectively to lift the burden of debt, by putting a more human face on the world trading system and the global economy, by ending the worst forms of child labour, we will be giving our children the 21st century they deserve," said President Clinton, who promised that he would push for early ratification of the Convention by the US Senate. "It is a gift for our children worthy of the millennium."
Added Mr. Somavia: "In a world without causes, few ideals galvanize the entire world. Why not make the time-bound eradication of the worst forms of child labour a cause for all of us? No parents in the world want to see their children caught up in prostitution, pornography, drug peddling or other demeaning situations."
Myanmar
The Conference also adopted an unprecedented Resolution condemning Myanmar for consistent violations of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, and failure to respond to repeated rulings by supervisory bodies to put an end to the practice. Last year an ILO Commission of Inquiry found forced labour to be widespread in the country.
The Resolution says Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council continues "to inflict the practice of forced labour, nothing but a contemporary form of slavery, on the people of Myanmar".
The Resolution on Myanmar, which says the "attitude and behaviour of the Government of Myanmar are grossly incompatible with the conditions and principles governing membership of the Organization", was adopted by a majority of 333 delegates for, with 27 voting against and 47 abstaining.
It resolves that "the Government of Myanmar should cease to benefit from any technical cooperation or assistance from the ILO, except for the purpose of direct assistance to implement immediately the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry".
The Resolution significantly restricts ILO's dealings with Myanmar, deciding that "the Government of Myanmar should henceforth not receive any invitation to attend meetings, symposia and seminars organized by the ILO, except such meetings that have the sole purpose of securing immediate and full compliance" with the recommendations.
The Resolution is to remain in force until such time as Myanmar has implemented the recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry to revise legislation in the country (particularly the Village Act and Towns Act) to bring laws into line with the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and to discontinue practices which Conference delegates decried as an unacceptable violation of human rights. 4
In addition to adopting the historic Convention and Recommendation on child labour, the Conference "had prepared a Convention on maternity protection".
The Committee on Maternity Protection agreed that the time was right for new international standards, revising the Maternity Protection Convention (No. 103) and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 95), to take account of developments since the latest provisions for maternity protection were adopted in 1952.
The adopted Conclusions reflected a number of changes with respect to Convention No.103 as regards the scope of application, maternity leave and additional leave in case of illness due to complications in connection with pregnancy or confinement. Cash benefits should be provided "at a rate which should not be less than two-thirds of the woman's previous earnings or of such of those earnings as are taken into account for the purpose of computing benefits; or by means of a flat rate benefit of an appropriate amount." Medical benefits should include prenatal, confinement and postnatal leave.
The Committee also agreed that it would be "unlawful for an employer to terminate employment of a woman who is pregnant, absent on maternity leave or additional leave...except on grounds unrelated to the pregnancy or childbirth and its consequences or nursing." The burden of proof should be on the employer. Furthermore, member States should adopt measures to ensure that maternity does not lead to discrimination in employment. Such measures include a prohibition from requiring a test for pregnancy or a certificate of such a test when a woman is applying for employment - except for work which, under national laws and regulations, is prohibited or restricted for pregnant and nursing women.
The Proposed Conclusions with a view towards a Recommendation contain more specific provisions concerning maternity leave, maternity benefits, employment protection and discrimination, health protection and nursing mothers. They also encourage member States to extend the period of maternity leave to at least 16 weeks.
The first discussion provided the basis for the second discussion next year. The 88th Conference in 2000 will decide on the final adoption of the new standards on maternity protection which will guide member States in the century to come. Under the ILO Constitution, the new Convention, if adopted in 2000, will come into force one calendar year after receiving two ratifications by member States.
New programme and budget
sharpens the focus of ILO activities
In other matters, the Conference delegates examined the Director-General's strategic and budget proposals for the 174 member-State Organization, adopting unanimously a US$467,470,000 budget at the budget rate of exchange of 1.53 Swiss francs to US$1 for the biennium 2000-2001 to finance ILO activities around the world.
The current budget increases resources for all regional programmes, with greatest emphasis on Africa and Asia. 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.
Global programmes such as the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), the International Programme on More and Better Jobs for Women (WOMEMP), Strategies against Social Exclusion and Poverty (STEP) and the International Small Enterprise Programme (ISEP), cornerstones of the ILO's technical cooperation programme, will fit within the InFocus programmes. The development of a global programme on safety and health at work (Safe Work) is at an advanced stage and a global programme on the promotion of tripartism and social dialogue is being considered.
Other matters
• Technical Cooperation: The Committee on Technical Cooperation discussed the role of the ILO in technical cooperation and adopted a resolution with conclusions which will guide the International Labour Office in its future conception and management of technical cooperation. The last review of this kind took place in 1993.
Participants welcomed the proposal of establishing an integrated, focused technical cooperation programme guided by the four strategic objectives, and more particularly the eight related InFocus programmes, approved by the ILO's Governing Body, and the Declaration on fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the Conference in 1998. At the same time, the Office was asked to further upgrade its management, evaluation and monitoring mechanisms in order to maximize impact and visibility. The resolution also highlighted the need for strengthening partnerships with the UN system and the Bretton Woods institutions.
In 1998, the ILO technical cooperation programme represented an expenditure of US$94 million and over 1,500 projects on various subjects including the fight against child labour, social exclusion and discrimination; the promotion of employment, micro- and small enterprises, and of occupational health and safety; as well as strengthening trade unions, employers' organizations and social dialogue.
• Global migration: The situation of migrant workers was taken up in the general discussion of the Committee on the Application of Standards. The discussion, based on the ILO report Migrant Workers, was timely in the light of a recent ILO estimate that over 90 million migrant workers and their families were currently residing, legally or illegally, in a country other than their own. The General Survey focused on the protection and measures to ensure equality of treatment contained in the Migration for Employment Convention, 1949 (No. 97), and the supplementary Convention (No. 143) adopted on this subject in 1975. The Conference concluded that it was necessary to review existing international labour standards, and possibly revise them, to provide adequate protection in this area.
In the next biennium the ILO's activities will reflect the growing importance of labour migration in the global economy. The primary objective should be to help forge an international consensus - which would include sending and receiving countries - on how to ensure adequate protection for migrant women and men and their families, while allowing orderly and advantageous movements of workers in search of better lives.
• The Conference President was the Honourable Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, Minister of Labour of the Republic of Ghana. The three Vice-Presidents of the Conference were Mr. Ali Khalil (Syria) for the Government Group, Mr. Tom Diju Owuor (Kenya) representing the Employers Group, and Mrs. Patricia O'Donovan (Ireland) representing the Workers' Group.
• The Conference elected the new members of the ILO Governing Body on 7 June. The period of office of the Governing Body is three years. Elections were held to select the 18 Governments which have elective seats 5 and the 14 employer and 14 worker members of the Governing Body. Ten out of the total of 56 members of the Governing Body are appointed by member States of chief industrial importance holding permanent seats. 6
The Conference held a Special Sitting on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab Territories.
1 The International Labour Conference meets annually. It provides an international forum for discussion of world labour and social problems, and sets minimum international labour standards and broad policies of the Organization. Every two years, the Conference adopts the ILO's biennial work programme and budget, which is financed by its 174 member States. Each member country has the right to send four delegates to the Conference: two from the government and one each representing workers and employers, each of whom may speak and vote independently.
2 Once the Convention and Recommendation is adopted, member States are obliged by the ILO Constitution to submit them to the competent national authorities within 12 to 18 months from the closing session of the International Labour Conference for examination in light of national law and practice and for a determination of whether to ratify the Convention according to national procedure. Usually, an ILO Convention enters into force 12 months after the registration of the second ratification. Subsequently, the Convention enters into force for each State which ratifies it 12 months after the registration of its ratification. When a country ratifies an ILO Convention it agrees to implement it in good faith and to submit to supervision of its implementation by the ILO.
3 These Conventions cover the fundamental principles and rights at work which were agreed upon by the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in March 1995, and were the subject of a solemn Declaration adopted by the International Labour Conference in June of last year with a follow-up procedure.
4 A recent report by the Director-General to the ILO's Governing Body concluded that in spite of Government protests to the contrary "the obligation to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour is violated in Myanmar in national law as well as in actual practice in a widespread and systematic manner, with total disregard for the human dignity, safety and health and basic needs of the people". The ILO's Committee on the Application of Standards also cited Myanmar for repeated non-observation of two fundamental human rights Conventions: the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87). In both cases it adopted a "special paragraph", which it does only in exceptional cases. As concerns Convention No. 29, it "regretted that the Government had shown no inclination to cooperate with the ILO" and felt that "there was convincing information available that forced and compulsory labour on a very large scale still occurred in Myanmar". In regard to Convention No. 87, the Committee "could not help but once deplore the fact that no progress had been made toward the application of this fundamental Convention".
5 Algeria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chad, Croatia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Namibia, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.
6 Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States.
The new Convention and Recommendation
The new Convention defines for the first time what constitutes the "worst forms of child labour", and includes a ban on forced or compulsory recruitment of child soldiers. It calls for international cooperation on social and economic development, poverty eradication and education to realize its terms, and provides for broad consultation among governments, workers and employers - the "social partners" in the ILO's tripartite structure.
It defines the worst forms of child labour as:
• all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, serfdom and forced or compulsory labour;
• forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
• use of a child for prostitution, production of pornography or pornographic performances;
• use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs; and,
• work which is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
The Convention requires ratifying States to "design and implement programmes of action" to eliminate the worst forms of child labour as a priority and "establish or designate appropriate mechanisms" for monitoring implementation of the Convention, in consultation with employers' and workers' organizations. It also says ratifying States should "provide support for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, and their rehabilitation; ensure access to free basic education or vocational training for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour; identify children at special risk; and take into account the special situation of girls."
An accompanying Recommendation defines "hazardous work" as "work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse; work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces; work with dangerous machinery or tools, or which involves heavy loads; work in unhealthy environments which may expose children to hazardous substances, temperatures, noise or vibrations; and work under particularly difficult conditions such as long hours, during the night or where a child is confined to the premises of the employers."
Clinton to ILO: "We must put a human face
on the global economy..."
President Clinton told the assembled delegates and dignitaries, including the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton "globalization is not a proposal or a policy choice, it is a fact. But how we respond to it will make all the difference."
"We must find a new way, a new and democratic way, to maximize market potential and social justice, competition and community. We must put a human face on the global economy, giving working people everywhere a stake in its success, equipping them all to reap its rewards, providing for their families the basic conditions of a just society. All nations must embrace this vision, and all the great economic institutions of the world must devote their creativity and energy to this end."
The ILO had "taken a vital step toward lifting the lives of working people by adopting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work last year", the President said. He described the document as "a blueprint for the global economy that honours our values, the dignity of work, an end to discrimination, an end to forced labour, freedom of association, the right of people to organize and bargain in a civil an peaceful way. These are not just labour rights, they're human rights."
International agencies "must build a new financial architecture as modern as today's markets, to tame the cycles of boom and bust in the global economy as we can now do in national economies; to ensure the integrity of international financial transactions; and to expand social safety nets for the most vulnerable."
President Clinton called for increased cooperation between the ILO and other multilateral institutions: "The IMF, the World Bank and WTO, themselves, should work more closely with the ILO and this organization must be willing and able to assume more responsibility." The ILO, he said, "must be ready for the 21st century."
While stating his firm belief "that open trade is not contrary to the interest of working people" and that we need more trade, not less, the US president said that "unfortunately, working people the world over do not believe this. Even in the United States, with the lowest unemployment rate in a generation, where exports accounted for 30 per cent of our growth until the financial crisis hit Asia, working people strongly resist new market-opening measures."
"As we press for more open trade, we must do more to ensure that all our people are lifted by the global economy," he said. As we prepare to launch a new global round of trade talks in Seattle in November, it is vital that the WTO and the ILO work together to advance that common goal."
President Dreifuss: "If you want peace, seek justice!"
Madam Ruth Dreifuss, the President of the Swiss Confederation, called upon the ILO to redefine its place in the international community so as to better meet the social challenges of globalization.
Faced with the economic and financial crisis which "has resulted in a definite decline in social progress", leading to social turmoil and even ethnic conflicts which "plunge entire populations into destitution and marginalization", the ILO must once again rediscover its role as a pioneer".
"One of the major challenges is that of defining the ILO's rightful place among the international organizations," she said "...with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Bretton Woods institutions, and all the United Nations agencies, but always based on the ideals of the International Labour Organization, the world's social conscience".
Noting the "clear complementarity between the objectives of the multilateral trade system and those of the ILO", Madam Dreifuss emphasized the need to ensure that "trade liberalization and social justice are mutually reinforcing".
"Achieving such an objective will be possible only if we act coherently within the WTO and the ILO, but will also require effective cooperation between the two organizations. This kind of rapprochement should lead to open discussion on the interaction between trade and the core labour standards."
Still, she warned, "the defence of human dignity should not be confused with protectionism. Applying protectionist measures in the name of respect for labour standards would be a self-defeating strategy."
Recalling that the depression of the 1930s had led the world to the brink of destruction, Madam Dreifuss urged the international community to respond better to the challenges it faces today. "Together with the Bretton Woods institutions and WTO, the ILO is one of the three pillars of international economic culture. Thanks to its broad range of competence and its moral authority, it is in a good position to provide a response to those questions."
"Africans live in peace,
with the will to improve their lives..."
Mr. Henri Konan Bédié, President of the Republic of the Côte d'Ivoire, launched an appeal for a new vision of development shared by human societies with an ethic linking democracy, globalization, solidarity and justice. Addressing the International Labour Conference on behalf of the developing countries and Africa, he recalled, "if it is true that a number of African countries are facing serious crises, even civil wars, it is also a good idea to recognize and to make known to the international community that most African nations, some three-quarters of them, live in peace with the will to improving their living conditions".
He deplored the fact that "in developing countries structural adjustment policies for reducing the debt sometimes set back public sector employment, not compensated for by job creation in the private sector".
In addition, "flexibility in production and in work", as well as "the irreversible and invasive phenomenon of globalization, abandons more and more to market forces alone social rights and labour law; in particular, the system of collective protection and the mechanisms of the fight against inequalities". Moreover, there has been "a growing separation between globalized economic power and political power limited to national borders, so much so that the principal actors in development escape more and more from democratic control".
"This Conference must, I believe, clearly affirm that certain areas must be maintained under the authority of rules decreed by public authorities, national or international, without which the entire range of social life will escape all collective control and will find itself seriously damaged", he warned.
Sen: Support for "Decent Work"
Mr. Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998, told the gathering that in a world teeming with unemployed and underemployed people only "a significant broadening of national and international efforts to promote equity and protect the rights of workers can transform the dreaded anticipation of the globalization economy into an agreeable and constructive reality".
He applauded the commitment of the ILO to providing "universal coverage of all working people, including unregulated wage workers, the self employed and homeworkers", and endorsed the goal of providing decent work as "a banner under which all should rally". He said that "given the massive levels of unemployment that exist in many countries today, it is right that policy attention be focused on expanding jobs and working opportunities. And yet the conditions of work are important too".
He supported the comprehensive view of society presented in the report, Decent Work, prepared by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and presented to the 1999 Conference. Professor Sen called particular attention to the report's insistence on the need for "acknowledging certain basic rights, whether or not they are legislated, as part of a decent society; the practical implications that emanate from this acknowledgement go beyond new legislation to other social, political and economic actions".
The protection of workers against vulnerability and contingency was conditional on the working of democratic participation and the operation of political incentives. By way of illustration, he argued that "it is a remarkable fact in the history of famines that famines do not occur in democracies, because famines are, in fact, easy to prevent and a government in a multi-party democracy with elections and a free media has strong political incentives to undertake famine prevention". Similarly, "political freedom in the form of democratic arrangements help to safeguard economic freedom and the freedom to survive."
Recent problems of some of the east and south-east Asian economies "bring out, among other things, the penalty of undemocratic governance", he said, adding that this is so in two striking respects involving the neglect of protective security and transparency guarantees, both of which are related to safeguarding decent work and to promoting decent lives.
Amartya Sen is currently Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Professor Emeritus of Harvard University. He was Drummond Professor of Political Economy at Oxford and a Professor of Economics of the London School of Economics and Delhi University. The recipient of Doctorates from over 40 leading universities in the world, he won the Nobel Prize for Economics last year.
Governing Body Elects New Officers
The ILO Governing Body has elected Mr. Jean-Jacques Elmiger, Ambassador, representative of the Government of Switzerland as Chairman of its 1999-2000 Session. He replaces Mr. Nobutoshi Akao, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Government of Japan in Geneva, who served as Chairman during the 1998-99 Session.
Mr. Elmiger is the Head of the International Affairs Department in the Swiss Federal Office for Economic and Labour Affairs and has represented Switzerland as a government delegate to the ILC since 1986. He was a member of the transition team of the newly-elected ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. Mr. Elmiger is also the political coordinator for the organization of the follow-up meeting to the World Social Summit in Geneva, which will be held in June 2000.
The re-elected employer Vice-Chairman is Mr. Rolf Thüsing, of Germany, who is a member of the Executive Board of the Confederation of German Employers Associations. The re-elected worker Vice-Chairman is Mr. William Brett (United Kingdom) who is a member of the General Council of the United Kingdom's Trade Union Council.
The three will serve as Officers of the Governing Body during its 1999-2000 Session.