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International Labour Conference 2000
Labour parley adopts new maternity Convention,
takes action on forced labour in Myanmar
The 88th International Labour Conference (ILC) 1 adopted a new Convention on maternity protection, set deadline for action against Myanmar (Burma) on forced labour, and heard dire predictions on the impact of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Delegates also began discussions on a new safety and health code for agriculture and began modernizing the labour code.
GENEVA - It was a step toward what Director-General Juan Somavia called "reconciling family life and working life", and making decent work a reality. The new international Convention and Recommendation on maternity protection received a strong endorsement from delegates, extending coverage to millions of women who are current unprotected during the period of maternity.
"A key element of making decent work a reality must involve improving working conditions and opportunities for women," Mr. Somavia said.
Apparently, many delegates agreed. They adopted the new international Convention on maternity protection by a vote of 304 for, 22 against, 116 abstentions. The Recommendation was also adopted by a vote of 315 for, 16 against, with 108 abstentions.
The revision takes into account developments in the world of work since 1952, when the previous Maternity Protection Convention (No. 103) was adopted. However, that Convention has not been ratified by a large number of countries. The new Convention strengthens protection over previous ILO instruments in many areas and broadens the scope of coverage.
Under ILO procedures, the adoption of an international Convention requires two hearings in the Conference. The first hearing for the proposed revision was in 1999.
1 The ILC meets annually. It provides an international forum for discussion of world labour and
social problems and sets minimum international labour standards and broad policy of the
Organization. Every two years, the Conference adopts the ILO's biennial work programme and
budget, which is fiannced by its 175 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.
New Convention on Maternity:
What it is, what it does
The new Convention applies to all women, "including those in atypical forms of dependent work" - including the informal sector - whereas the previous Convention (No. 103) covered a much narrower category of women workers. It also contains a provision for protection of the health of the mother and child as opposed to the previous Convention which contains no such provision.
The new standard says "Each member shall, after consulting the representative organizations of employers and workers, adopt appropriate measures to ensure that pregnant or breast-feeding women are not obliged to perform work which has been determined by the competent authority to be prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child, or where an assessment has established a significant risk to the mother's health or that of her child."
The length of maternity leave will be extended from 12 to 14 weeks, including "a period of six weeks compulsory leave after childbirth, unless otherwise agreed at the national level by the government and the representative organizations of employers and workers."
It also says that "leave shall be provided before or after the maternity leave period in the case of illness, complications or risk of complications arising out of pregnancy or childbirth", with the nature and duration of such leave being specified in accordance with national law and practice.
On maternity benefits, the new instrument says that "cash benefits shall be provided, in accordance with national laws and regulations or in any other manner consistent with national practice, to women who are absent from work on leave". The cash benefits should be provided "at a level which ensures that the woman can maintain herself and her child in proper conditions of health and with a suitable standard of living".
In order to protect the situation of women in the labour market, benefits in respect of the leave shall "be provided through compulsory social insurance funds or public funds, or in a manner to be determined by national law and practice. An employer shall not be individually liable for the direct cost of any such monetary benefit to a woman employed by him or her without that employer's specific agreement", except in cases where national law or practice provides for other provisions.
On employment protection, "It shall be unlawful for an employer to terminate the employment of a woman during her pregnancy or absence on leave or during a period following her return to work to be prescribed by national laws or regulations, except on grounds unrelated to the pregnancy or birth of the child and its consequences for nursing."
On breastfeeding, the new Convention says that "A woman shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks or a daily reduction of hours of work to breast-feed her child." The length and duration of the breaks are to be implemented in accordance with national practice, and "these breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work shall be counted as working time and remunerated accordingly".
Myanmar (Burma):
ILO keeps door open
Addressing the action on Myanmar, Mr. Somavia said,"the next step is to keep the door of the ILO open, if Myanmar wants to use the opportunity to engage constructively," adding he was "hopeful that Myanmar will grasp the opportunity offered by the Conference decision".
In an unprecedented resolution under the never-before invoked Article 33 of the ILO Constitution, the Conference - by a vote of 257 in favour, 41 against, and 31 abstentions - called upon Myanmar to "take concrete action" to implement the recommendations of a 1998 Commission of Inquiry, which found that resort to forced labour in the country was "widespread and systematic".
In a letter dated 27 May 2000, and delivered to the members of an ILO technical cooperation mission to Myanmar, the country's Minister of Labour, Major General Tin Ngwe, informed the Director-General of the ILO "that we have taken and are taking the necessary measures to ensure that there are no instances of forced labour in Myanmar". He also wrote that Myanmar "would take into consideration appropriate measures, including administrative, executive and legislative measures, to ensure the prevention of such occurrences in the future".
While recognizing that the Minister's letter "contains aspects which seem to reflect a welcome intention on the part of the Myanmar authorities to take measures to give effect to the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry", the Conference considered that "the factual situation (had) nevertheless remained unchanged to date". By a vote of 52 in favour, 242 against and 27 abstentions the Conference rejected amendments designed to postpone a decision at this year's session of the ILC.
Under the terms of the resolution adopted today, a series of measures will take effect on 30 November 2000 unless, before that date, the Governing Body of the ILO is satisfied that the intentions expressed by the Minister of Labour have been translated into a framework of legislative, executive and administrative measures which are "sufficiently concrete and detailed to demonstrate that the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry have been satisfied".
Under the terms of the Resolution, the ILC authorizes the Director-General to respond positively to all requests by Myanmar (Burma) which are made with the sole purpose of establishing the necessary framework before the November deadline. These efforts could include further technical cooperation missions, eventually supported by a sustained ILO presence on the spot if the Governing Body confirms that the conditions are met for such presence to be truly useful and effective.
Conference highlights
• The Conference took action to compel the Government of Myanmar (Burma) to comply with ILO Convention No. 29 on forced labour. Under the terms of the Resolution a series of measures will take effect on 30 November 2000 unless, before that date, the Governing Body of the ILO is satisfied with the intentions of Myanmar (Burma) to comply with the Recommendations of a 1998 Commission of Inquiry, which found "widespread and systematic use of forced labour in Myanmar".
• Delegates took a major first step in modernizing the labour code by eliminating five Conventions dating from the 1930s which had never entered into force due to a lack of ratifications.
• The Committee on Safety and Health in Agriculture held a first discussion with a view to establishing a draft Convention and Recommendation regarding safety and health in agriculture. The discussions set the stage for further consideration and proposed adoption of a new standard at the 89th Conference next year.
• The Conference adopted a resolution on HIV/AIDS which urges governments of member States, and where applicable employers' and workers' organizations, to expand the capacity of the social partners to address the pandemic, strengthen occupational health and safety systems to protect groups at risk, and formulate and implement social and labour policies and programmes to mitigate the effects of AIDS, at the national and enterprise levels.
• Among the Conference documents was a new report based on the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was adopted by the Conference in 1998. The Global Report, entitled Your Voice at Work, finds that despite significant progress in a number of areas, "intimidation, threats and even murder still await many workers who attempt to organize in a number of countries around the world".
Revising Standards
The International Labour Conference took an important stride towards the modernization and strengthening of ILO standards-setting system. For the first time in its history, the Conference has decided to withdraw five international labour Conventions, four concerning hours of work and one relating to migrant workers. Adopted in the 1930s, these Conventions have never entered into force and have been declared obsolete by the ILO Governing Body in the context of a systematic review of the labour code begun in 1995.
The Conventions are: the Hours of Work (Coal Mines) Convention 1931 (No. 31); the Hours of Work (Coal Mines) Convention(Revised), 1935 (No. 46); the Reduction of Hours of Work (Public Works) Convention, 1936 (No. 51); the Reduction of Hours of Work (Textiles) Convention, 1937 (No. 61) and the Migration for Employment Convention, 1939 (No. 66).
Application of Standards
Social dialogue was a key item of discussion in the Committee on the Application of Standards, which heard 24 specific cases covering a wide range of questions, ranging from fundamental human rights to more technical - but not less important - issues, including labour inspection, payment of wages and the treatment of indigenous and tribal peoples. The Committee considered it appropriate to draw the attention of the Conference to its discussions of three cases: forced labour in Sudan, and non-compliance with the freedom of association in Cameroon and Venezuela.
The Committee cited Sudan for repeated non-observation of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29). While it noted some progress in Sudan's coming to terms with the problem of forced labour, it also expressed "deep concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery and urged the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour".
While recognizing that the situation in Sudan was exacerbated by civil conflict, the Committee expressed its firm hope that the Government would, in future reports, "indicate that measures had been taken, including punishment of those responsible, and that concrete results had been obtained, so that the full application of the Convention, in law and in practice, could be noted in the very near future".
The Committee also called for a direct-contacts mission by the ILO to obtain full factual information and to examine effective assistance to the Government in this respect, and regretted that the Government had not accepted the proposal to invite such a mission.
The Committee also recalled "with great concern" the non-observation of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948, (No.87) by Cameroon and Venezuela.
In the case of Cameroon, the Committee "recalled with great concern that for many years the Committee of Experts had been formulating comments on the discrepancies between national legislation and the requirements of the Convention". It urged the Government to eliminate restrictions on the constitution of trade unions, to repeal provisions allowing for the prosecution of persons forming trade unions, and to respond to complaints concerning interference by the public authority in union matters and anti-union reprisals.
In the case of Venezuela, the Committee urged the Government to urgently modify its legislation to ensure that workers and employers were able to set up organizations free from interference from the public authorities, and to elect their representatives in full freedom. It also insisted on "the need to delete the long and detailed list of duties and aims imposed on workers' and employers' organizations."
The naming of these countries in special paragraphs is a Committee procedure adopted only in the event of continued non-compliance with Committee findings.
ILC88: Conference tackles safety
and health in agriculture
Farming can be a dangerous business. Every year, about half the worldwide total of 335,000 workplace fatalities occur among agricultural workers. Millions more of the world's 1.3 billion agricultural workers suffer serious injury in workplace accidents, or are poisoned by pesticides and other agro-chemicals each year. Together with mining and construction, agriculture is one of the three most hazardous industries, both in developing and industrialized countries.
Against this backdrop, the Committee on Safety and Health in Agriculture held a first discussion at the 88th International Labour Conference on proposed conclusions, with a view to a draft Convention and Recommendation regarding safety and health in agriculture. The discussions set the stage for further consideration and expected adoption of a new standard at the 89th Conference next year.
Among the key issues endorsed by the Committee was the principle that protection should cover all workers, including self-employed farmers, as well as the fact that the impact of agricultural activities on the environment must be considered. Among the outstanding issues are finding ways of improving the safety, health and working conditions among workers in the agricultural sector, which is more diverse and less rigidly organized than the industrial sector.
The proposed new standards would establish a framework for the development of national policies on safety and health in agriculture. The main points considered include appropriate means of risk assessment and risk management, and preventive and protective measures regarding machinery safety and ergonomics, handling and transport of materials, chemicals management, animal handling, construction and maintenance of agricultural facilities.
Other provisions concern young workers and child labour, temporary and seasonal workers and self-employed farmers, insurance against injuries and sickness, welfare and accommodation facilities.
Human resources
training and development
A general discussion on Human resources training and development was based on a report entitled Training for employment, productivity and social inclusion. In their final report, the delegates stressed that "by making individuals employable and informed citizens, human resources development and training contribute to economic development and to achieving full employment and promoting social inclusion". The delegates stressed the need for debt relief and debt reduction initiatives to enhance use of resources for human-resource development.
As education and training are a right for all, governments and the social partners should ensure that this right is universally accessible. Though there is no universal model of investing in training, governments should create a "general environment and incentives conducive to encourage individuals and enterprises to invest individually or jointly in education and training".
The final report of the Committee recommends the development of a national qualifications framework as it facilitates lifelong learning, helps enterprises and employment agencies match skill demand with supply, and guides individuals in their choice of training and career.
In the report, the delegates also ask for a revision of the Human Resources Development Recommendation No. 150 (1975) to reflect the new approach to training. The new Recommendation should be complemented by a practical guide and database to be reviewed on a continuous basis by the ILO.
Worst forms of child labour
Convention takes off
The ILO announced that Convention No. 182 (1999) on the worst forms of child labour had been ratified by 28 governments 2 in its first year, garnering more ratifications than any other ILO Convention during a comparable period. In a statement to delegates from ratifying states, the Director-General reiterated his intention to make the abolition of the worst forms of child labour, "a global cause."
Convention No. 182 was unanimously adopted by the 87th Session of the ILC on 17 June 1999, and complements another international standard on child labour, the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), which is now ratified by 90 of the 175 ILO member States. Convention No. 182 will come into force on 19 November of this year.
2 The countries are: Belize, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and the United States.