1. At its 262nd Session (March-April 1995), following a review of the ILO's Sectoral Activities Programme, the Governing Body agreed that sectoral meetings would be organized for the following 22 sectors: agriculture, plantations, other rural sectors; basic metal production; chemical industries; commerce; construction; education; financial services, other professional services; food, drink, tobacco; forestry, wood, pulp and paper; health services; hotels, tourism, catering; maritime, ports, fisheries, inland waterways; mechanical and electrical engineering; media, culture, graphical; mining (coal and other mining); oil and gas production, oil refining; postal and other communication services; public service; textiles, clothing, leather, footwear; transport (including civil aviation, railways, road transport); transport equipment manufacture; and utilities (water, gas and electricity). In addition, it was decided that two meetings would remain undetermined so as to permit flexibility of choice.
II. PURPOSE AND TYPE OF MEETINGS
2. These meetings aim to provide an international forum for the Organization's constituents in various economic sectors and industrial branches to exchange views and experience, and to foster a broader understanding of the specific issues and problems addressed by identifying problems and diverse solutions in different contexts which might be of assistance to constituents. They also provide the Governing Body with information and advice regarding matters of interest in each sector.
3. The Governing Body decided that the output of each meeting may include, as appropriate, the formulation and adoption of conclusions and resolutions regarding matters of interest to the particular sector. The value of these lies in the guidance they provide on the basis of an international tripartite consensus on sectoral concerns for national and international policies and measures to deal with the issues addressed. The meetings also provide guidance to the ILO on its future work in the various economic sectors.
4. When appropriate to the issues under consideration, the Governing Body may decide that a sectoral meeting shall take the form of a seminar. In this case it also decides what form the output of the meeting should take. Seminars operate without standing orders.
III PARTICIPATION
5. The meetings are tripartite or bipartite. The Governing Body determines the size of the meeting, approves the countries to be invited or to be included on a reserve list, and decides on the type of participation. In making the proposals as regards tripartite meetings the Office should take into consideration any views expressed by the secretariats of the Employers' and Workers' groups of the Governing Body.
6. Larger meetings will normally have national tripartite or bipartite delegations, while smaller meetings will normally comprise delegates representing the governments of the countries selected and delegates representing employers and workers nominated after consultation with the Employers' and Workers' groups of the Governing Body.
7. In selecting the member States which are to be invited to appoint a Government delegate or a bipartite or tripartite delegation, the Governing Body takes into account the following criteria:
- the importance of the country concerned in the sector;
- the importance of the sector for the country concerned;
- maintenance of a balance between continuity and rotation in participation in meetings for the sector;
- appropriate geographical distribution;
- any other relevant factors.
8. Governments should nominate the employers' and workers' delegates after full consultation with the most representative organizations of the employers and workers concerned.
- 9. Governments should communicate to the International Labour Office the names of all delegates and advisers from their country for meetings composed of national delegations at the latest two months before the opening date of the meeting. In the case of meetings covered in paragraph 11 (below), governments should communicate the name of the delegate and any advisers they appoint as their representatives.
- 10. If the government of a country invited to participate declines the invitation or if the government does not reply within the deadline set by the Office, a country from the reserve list will be invited in replacement.
- 11. In the case of meetings whose Employer and Worker delegates are appointed by the Governing Body, these delegates and any substitutes should be appointed at the latest two months before the opening date of the meeting.
- 12. For all meetings covered by paragraph 1, the International Labour Office bears the cost of transportation and subsistence of Employer and Worker delegates.
IV. AGENDA
13. The agenda for each meeting is determined by the Governing Body. It should relate to a specific subject of current interest to the sector concerned.
V. REPORT
14. With a view to providing the meetings with a basis for their deliberations, the International Labour Office prepares a report on the agenda item, information on recent developments in the sector or subsector concerned, and as appropriate other background information.
- 15. At the end of the report, the Office may draw up a list of discussion points to focus the meeting's attention on the major aspects of the agenda item, without, however, limiting the freedom of the meeting to carry out its work as it sees fit.
- 16. The report prepared by the Office for each sectoral meeting is dispatched to the governments invited to be represented so as to reach them two months before the start of the meeting. Governments should transmit these reports as quickly as possible to the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, as well as to the delegates appointed to attend the meeting. In the case of meetings whose Employer and Worker members are appointed by the Governing Body, the reports prepared by the Office are dispatched directly to those delegates within these deadlines.
VI. PANNEL DISCUSSIONS
17. Panel or round-table discussions which focus on general issues of topical interest to the sector concerned, including issues raised in the section of the report dealing with recent developments, may be held in the course of sectoral meetings. Panels may include participants and outside speakers. These panel or round-table discussions are not intended to produce any conclusions or resolutions. A summary record of these discussions will be included in the Note on the Proceedings prepared by the Office after the meeting.
VII. FORM AND NATURE OF DECISIONS AND FOLLOW-UP
18. The results of the proceedings may take the form of a summary record reflecting the views expressed by the delegates; conclusions; resolutions.
- 19. After the meeting the summary record of proceedings, conclusions and resolutions are prepared by the Office as a Note on the Proceedings and submitted as soon as possible to the Governing Body and sent to the participants. The Governing Body considers them and, if appropriate, may make observations thereon. At the request of the Governing Body the Director-General of the International Labour Office communicates them officially to governments, with the request that they transmit them to the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, together with any observations of the Governing Body. The participants in the meeting are also informed of the decisions of the Governing Body.
- 20. If a text adopted by a meeting was the object of a vote in the final adoption, the Note on the Proceedings will be submitted to the Governing Body before being distributed to the participants in the meeting.
- 21. Conclusions and resolutions adopted by sectoral meetings constitute a body of proposals on which action might be taken:
- separately or jointly by governments and national organizations of employers and workers in, or dealing with, the sector or subsector concerned; or
- by the Governing Body.
22. It is for governments to consider the effect to be given to conclusions and resolutions, the application of which is within their competence. Any action they take should be determined in consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned. Moreover, when communicating the conclusions and resolutions to the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, governments should request these organizations to give their views and to indicate what action they propose to take to give effect to them.
- 23. It is for the employers' and workers' organizations concerned and, where they exist, the national industrial relations bodies, whether tripartite or bipartite, to consider the effect to be given to conclusions and resolutions raising matters of interest for joint consultation or negotiation.
- 24. The Governing Body decides on the effect to be given to conclusions and resolutions which involve:
- proposals concerning studies and inquiries which the Office may be called upon to undertake;
- proposals for action by the International Labour Organization which might be acted upon by the Governing Body, referred to the International Labour Conference or to other conferences or committees of the Organization, or dealt with by the International Labour Office;
- proposals which the Governing Body may wish to bring to the attention of the United Nations or other international organizations.
25. The Office reports to the Governing Body on the follow-up action it has taken in each sector, on the basis of conclusions and resolutions adopted by the meetings.
VIII DATE, LENGTH AND PLACE OF MEETINGS
26. The date, length and place of the meetings are determined by the Governing Body within the framework of the activities of the International Labour Organization. Meetings will, in principle, last five calendar days (Monday to Friday).
IX. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
27. The conduct of business in sectoral meetings (except meetings of experts and seminars) is determined by Standing Orders adopted by the Governing Body as reproduced below.
X. GOVERNING BODY REPRESENTATION
28. The Governing Body is represented by a single representative or, in certain cases, it may be represented by a tripartite delegation.
- 29. The representative(s) of the Governing Body seeks (seek) to ensure that the work of the meeting is carried out in accordance with the general policies of the Organization. In this role the representative(s) may provide delegates to the meeting with information resulting from decisions of the International Labour Conference and of the Governing Body.
XI. CHAIRPERSON
30. When the Governing Body is represented by a single representative, he/she chairs the meeting; when the Governing Body is represented by a tripartite delegation, the Government representative in the delegation is the chairperson of the meeting.
XII. SECRETARIAT
31. The secretariat of each meeting is appointed by the Director-General of the International Labour Office. It is responsible for the organization of the meeting and ensures its smooth working. The Secretary-General of the meeting represents the Director-General and is the chief of the secretariat.
III. Standing Orders for sectoral meetings
Text adopted by the Governing Body on 16 November 1995 at its 264th Session
- Article
- Scope
- Agenda
- Composition
- Advisers; substitute delegates
- Governing Body representation
- Officers of the meeting
- Duties of the officers
- Admission to the sittings
- Right to take part in the work of the Meeting
- Motion and amendments
- Right to vote
- Voting and quorum
- Subsidiary bodies
- Examination of resolutions on issues other than those covered in the agenda item
- Languages
- Groups
Article 1
Scope
- These Standing Orders apply to tripartite and joint sectoral meetings convened by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office.
Article 2
Agenda
- The Governing Body shall establish the agenda of the meeting and shall specify which of the following forms the results of its proceedings may take:
- a record of the proceedings reflecting the views expressed by the delegates; conclusions giving guidance to the Governing Body and, through the Governing Body, to member States on the matters covered by the agenda, or both;
- subject to article 14 of these Standing Orders, resolutions on matters other than those specifically covered in the agenda item.
Article 3
Composition
- 1. The Governing Body shall determine whether each meeting shall be tripartite or joint, and its size.
- 2. The Governing Body shall approve the list of member States to be invited and those to be included in a reserve list established on a regional basis.
- 3. The Governing Body shall decide that member States invited to the meeting in accordance with the above paragraphs shall appoint either:
- national tripartite or bipartite delegations, depending on the nature of the meeting;
- Government delegates only, with the delegates representing employers and workers at the meeting, as well as persons to be placed on a reserve list, being appointed by the Governing Body on the basis of nominations submitted by the Director-General after consulting the Employers' and Workers' Groups of the Governing Body respectively.
Article 4
Advisers; substitute delegates
- 1. Delegates may be accompanied by advisers.
- 2. In the case of a meeting composed of national delegations, governments of the member States invited shall notify the Office of the names of all advisers accompanying delegates.
- 3. In the case of a meeting at which member States invited have appointed only the Government delegates, governments may also appoint advisers to the delegates. Employer and Worker advisers may be nominated by the Employer and Worker delegate to whom they are attached.
- 4. Any adviser who has been authorized to do so by the delegate to whom he/she is attached shall have the right to participate in the meeting but not the right to vote or to appoint a substitute.
- 5. A delegate may, by notice in writing addressed to the chairperson, appoint one of his/her advisers to act as his/her substitute. The notice shall specify the sitting or sittings at which the substitute will act for the delegate. In that case, substitutes may take part in the debates and may vote under the same conditions as delegates.
Article 5
Governing Body representation
- 1. The Governing Body shall, in general, be represented by a single representative who shall be chosen in turn, from each of the three groups, at successive sectoral meetings. The Governing Body representative shall act as chairperson of the meeting.
- 2. Should the Governing Body decide to be represented by a tripartite delegation, the Government representative shall act as chairperson of the meeting.
- 3. The representative(s) of the Governing Body is (are) entitled to participate fully in all the proceedings of the meeting, but without the right to vote or to appoint substitutes.
Article 6
Officers of the meeting
- 1. The Officers of a tripartite meeting shall consist of the chairperson, appointed in accordance with article 5, and three vice-chairpersons, respectively elected from among the delegates or their advisers in each of the three groups.
- 2. The Officers of a joint meeting shall consist of the chairperson, appointed in accordance with article 5, and two vice-chairpersons respectively elected from among the delegates or their advisers in each of the two groups.
Article 7
Duties of the officers
- 1. The chairperson shall preside over the sittings. The vice-chairpersons shall preside alternately over the sittings or parts of the sittings at which the chairperson cannot be present and shall, while presiding, have the same powers as the chairperson; they will however retain their right to vote while exercising such functions.
- 2. The chairperson shall direct the debates, maintain order and ensure the observance of the present Standing Orders, put questions to the vote and announce the results thereof.
- 3. The chairperson shall have the right to take part in the discussions but shall not vote.
- 4. The Officers of the meeting shall arrange the programme of work of the meeting, and fix the date and time of the sittings of the meeting and of its subsidiary bodies; they shall also report to the meeting on any other questions requiring a decision for the proper conduct of its business.
- 5. Subject to any relevant decisions of the Governing Body and to article 13, paragraphs 1 and 2, the Officers shall distribute among themselves the duties of presiding over the discussion of the agenda item and over the subsidiary bodies of the meeting, as well as moderating any panel discussions or round tables that may be organized within the framework of the meeting.
Article 8
Admission to the sittings
- The sittings of the meeting shall be public, unless it otherwise decides.
Article 9
Right to take part in the work of the meeting
- 1. No delegate or adviser shall address the meeting without having asked and obtained the permission of the chairperson, who shall normally call upon speakers in the order in which they have signified their desire to speak.
- 2. Representatives of official international organizations which have been invited to be represented at the meeting may participate in its proceedings without the right to vote.
- 3. Representatives of non-governmental international organizations with which the International Labour Organization has established consultative relationships, and with which standing agreements for such representation have been made, and representatives of other non-governmental international organizations which have been invited by the Governing Body to be represented at the meeting may attend it as observers. The chairperson may, in agreement with the vice-chairpersons, permit such observers to make or circulate statements for the information of the meeting on matters included in its agenda. If agreement cannot be reached, the chairperson shall refer the matter to the meeting for decision without discussion.
- 4. The chairperson may withdraw the right to speak from any speaker whose remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion.
- 5. The chairperson may, after consultation with the vice-chairpersons of the meeting, fix a time-limit for speeches.
Article 10
Motions and amendments
- 1. Motions as to procedure may be moved verbally, without previous notice and without having been seconded.
- 2. No motion or amendment shall be discussed unless it has been seconded. If moved by a delegate who is the spokesperson of a group, it is deemed to have been seconded.
- 3. The chairperson, after consultation with the vice-chairpersons and the secretariat of the meeting, may set time-limits for the submission of amendments.
- 4. Any amendment may be withdrawn by the person who moved it unless an amendment to it is under discussion or has been adopted. Any amendment so withdrawn may be moved without previous notice by any other person entitled to participate in the proceedings of the meeting with the right to vote.
- 5. Any delegate may at any time draw attention to the fact that the Standing Orders are not being observed, and the chairperson shall give an immediate ruling on any question so raised.
Article 11
Right to vote
- 1. In the case of meetings composed of national delegations, every delegate shall be entitled to vote individually on all matters which are under consideration by the meeting, subject to the provisions of article 13, paragraph 4, of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization.
- 2. In the case of meetings whose Employer and Worker delegates have been appointed by the Governing Body:
- a Government delegate will be disqualified from voting if the provisions of article 13, paragraph 4, of the Constitution apply;
- if a Government delegate is disqualified from voting under subparagraph (a), the votes of the other delegates to the meeting shall be weighted so as to ensure a balance of voting strength between the groups represented.
Article 12
Voting and quorum
- 1. Decisions should normally be taken by consensus. In the absence of such consensus duly ascertained and announced by the chairperson, decisions shall be taken by a simple majority of the votes cast by the delegates to the meeting who are present at the sitting and entitled to vote.
- 2. Voting shall normally be by a show of hands.
- 3. A vote is not valid if the number of votes cast for and against is less than half the total number of delegates registered and entitled to vote.
- 4. Where there is doubt as to the result of a vote by a show of hands, the chairperson may immediately take a record vote. He/she shall proceed to a record vote when the quorum has not been obtained in a vote by a show of hands.
- 5. A record vote shall be taken if a request to that effect is made before or immediately after a vote by a show of hands by at least one-fifth of the delegates who are present at the sitting and entitled to vote, or by the chairperson of a group or by his/her duly appointed substitute.
- 6. The vote shall be recorded by the secretariat and announced by the chairperson.
- 7. No resolution, conclusion, amendment or motion shall be adopted if the number of votes cast for and the number of votes cast against are equal.
- 8. Any delegate who definitively leaves the meeting before its termination and who gives formal notice of his/her departure to the secretariat without authorizing a substitute to act in his/her place shall be regarded as no longer attending the meeting for the purpose of calculating the quorum.
Article 13
Subsiduary bodies
- 1. The meeting shall, if appropriate, set up a working party, consisting of the Officers of the meeting and three representatives appointed by each of the groups, to decide whether the resolutions submitted to the meeting are receivable and to consider those found to be receivable and report thereon, in accordance with article 14. This working party shall be presided over by the chairperson of the meeting.
- 2. The meeting shall, if appropriate, set up a working party consisting of not more than five representatives from each group to draw up draft conclusions to be submitted to the meeting by its Chairperson with a view to their adoption.
- 3. As it considers necessary, the meeting may set up other subsidiary bodies which shall consist of equal numbers of representatives appointed by each of the groups.
- 4. These Standing Orders shall apply in so far as relevant and with the necessary adaptations to the meeting's subsidiary bodies.
Article 14
Examination of resolutions on issues other than those covered in the agenda item
- 1. Draft resolutions concerning matters other than the agenda item shall, unless the Governing Body has decided otherwise, and subject to paragraph 4 below, be submitted in writing to the secretariat no later than 6 p.m. on the first day of the meeting.
- 2. If a working party established to deal with draft resolutions, pursuant to article 13, paragraph 1, decides that a draft resolution handed in under paragraph 1 of the present article relates to the agenda item, it shall refer it to the meeting for consideration with a view to the possible incorporation of its substance in the record or conclusions on that section of the agenda item.
- 3. Draft resolutions other than those dealt with under paragraph 2 shall be considered by the working party, which shall first decide whether each draft resolution is receivable in accordance with the conditions set forth in paragraph 4.
- 4. No draft resolution shall be receivable unless it has been submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 and relates to:
- general social and labour issues in the sector or subsector concerned, other than those specifically covered in the agenda item; or
- future activities of the International Labour Organization relating to the problems of the sector concerned.
- 5. If the receivability of a draft resolution is challenged in the working party, the chairperson may limit the debate on the question of receivability by hearing one speaker from each group and the reply of the author or one of the authors of the draft resolution. In the absence of general agreement, the chairperson shall call for a vote by show of hands. The draft resolution shall not be considered receivable unless a majority of the working party has declared in favour of its receivability in this vote.
- 6. The working party shall consider resolutions it has deemed receivable and report to the meeting whether in its view it is expedient to adopt such resolutions either unamended or as amended in such manner as the working party considers desirable.
- 7. The working party shall terminate its work no later than the time fixed by the Officers of the meeting. If a draft resolution declared receivable has not been considered by the working party within this time-limit, the meeting shall not discuss or act upon that draft resolution.
- 8. The chairperson shall, after consultation with the vice-chairpersons of the meeting, give an oral report to the meeting with all the information necessary in regard to the origin of each resolution declared receivable and to any subsequent changes made to the original text by the working party.
- 9. Draft resolutions submitted to the plenary shall be adopted or rejected without discussion on their substance unless the chairperson, with the agreement of the Officers of the meeting, permits the discussion of amendments to draft resolutions duly submitted in plenary.
Article 15
Languages
- 1. The Governing Body shall determine the working languages of the meeting.
- 2. The International Labour Office shall make arrangements for interpretation and for translation of documents into and from other languages, taking into account the composition of the meeting.
Article 16
Groups
- 1. Subject to these Standing Orders, each group (Governments, Employers, Workers) shall control its own procedure.
- 2. At its first meeting each group shall elect a chairperson, at least one vice-chairperson and a secretary. The chairperson and the vice-chairperson(s) of the group shall be selected from among the delegates and advisers constituting the group; the secretary may be selected from among persons outside the group.
- 3. Each group shall hold official meetings for:
- nominations required in pursuance of these Standing Orders such as the nomination of a vice-chairperson of the meeting and the nomination of representatives on subsidiary bodies;
- any other matter referred to groups by the Officers of the meeting.
- 4. At such official meetings, only delegates or, in their absence, duly appointed substitutes may vote and be nominated to serve on subsidiary bodies.
- 5. Groups may at any time hold non-official meetings.
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