ILO LIAISON OFFICE - BRUSSELS
NEWSLETTER 5/2003
ILO Brussels site now available in three languages
The ILO Liaison Office in Brussels is pleased to announce that its website is now available in three languages:
French, Dutch and English. In addition to the monthly Newsletter, you will find information on the ILO's mandate,
the services provided by the Brussels office, and links to partners and valuable parts of the ILO's main site in
Geneva. We would like to thank the Flemish Community of Belgium for its assistance in producing the Dutch version
of the site.
Click here to look around.
International Labour Conference
The 91st session of the International Labour Conference opens on 3 June 2003 in Geneva, and runs until 20 June.
Some 3,000 delegates - labour ministers and representatives of employers and employees from the ILO's 175 member
countries, will attend it. The purpose of the Conference is to adopt internationally recognised labour standards
and to ensure that these standards are enforced. Its powers include establishing the ILO's budget and electing
the members of the Governing Body. Since 1919, the Conference has been the leading international forum for debating
social and labour issues on a global scale.
This year's Conference will address a wide range of topics: non-discrimination at work, wage protection, poverty,
improving safety for sailors, working in the information society, protection for workers whose status is precarious,
global action plan on health and safety issues, etc. The delegates will also take a close look at the situation of
workers in the occupied Arab territories, in the light of a report presented by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
Several prestigious guests will address the Conference this year, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula,
South African President Thabo Mbeki and the King of Jordan, His Majesty Abdullah II. More information about the
Conference can be found on the ILO site
(click here).
Labour relations
The items on the Conference agenda will include a general debate on labour relations based
on a detailed report (available
here ). The debate will examine labour
relations with respect to self-employed workers and the informal sector. Safety at work and the protection of
workers are issues which have been developing for years and which revolve around the relationship between a worker
and his employer, while labour legislation has tended to focus more on the contents of employment contracts rather
than their scope of application. The report is based on 39 country-specific studies and looks at the various
definitions used in these countries. It identifies similarities and differences created through diverging
legislative cultures and sociocultural environments.
Wage protection
Tens of millions of workers around the world have to go without their wages for months, or even years on end.
This critical issue will be examined in depth at the International Labour Conference via a general survey of
the reports concerning the Protection of Wages Convention (No. 95) and the Protection of Wages Recommendation
(No. 85) (the survey can be found
here ). The problem is especially serious
in Africa and in Eastern Europ, as several examples cited in the survey show: 29.9 billion roubles (around €830 million) in wage
arrears in Russia; 59% of companies fail to pay all or some wages owed in Ukraine; wage arrears ranging from two
months to two years in Moldavia (most companies there use a barter system, with wages replaced by manufactured
products). In Bulgaria, the wage debt of companies that are not owned by the state practically doubled between
1997 and 1999.
Equality at the workplace
On 16 May 2003 the ILO Liaison Office in Brussels released a report entitled
Time for equality at work , which gives a
global survey of the various forms of job discrimination. The report was examined at a meeting of experts organised
in conjunction with the Belgian Ministry of Employment and attended by some 20 individuals from the Ministry of
Employment, academia (three universities), the National Labour Council (a tripartite body), the Centre for Equality
Opportunities and the Fight Against Racism, the European Commission and the ILO (Brussels and Geneva offices).
The press release giving details of the report's launch in Brussels and the situation in Belgium is available
by clicking
here (in French) or
here (in Dutch) .
Joint declaration on AIDS by the ICFTU and IOE
During a forum on HIV/AIDS organised by the Global Compact of the United Nations, the ILO served as a framework for
a joint declaration by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the International
Organisation of Employers (IOE), which undertake to join forces in the fight against this pandemic. The two
organisations are asking their affiliates and members everywhere to give top priority to this issue. HIV/AIDS
has already devastated many countries, communities and families, and is propagating rapidly, thereby threatening
the survival of workers and companies. The fight against HIV/AIDS will revolve around the ILO Code of Practice
on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, available
here .
World Day Against Child Labour
For the second year in a row, the International Labour Organisation is mobilising for World Day Against Child
Labour (12 June 2003). The ILO launched the event last year in order to spotlight the global movement to
eliminate child labour, especially its worst forms.
The ILO is also a catalyst in increasing the number of ratifications of ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst
forms of child labour (1999) and Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for admission to employment (1973).
This year's theme for the World Day is 'trafficking in children', a problem that affects every part of the globe.
There are no exact figures, but the ILO estimates that around 1.2 million children are victims of this crime. Most
are exploited on farms, in mines, factories, armed conflicts or are sexually exploited.
You can find more information on child labour on the website of
IPEC, the International Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labour (see below under 'Did you know?').
New publications
The ILO's recent publications include the following reports, which may be of particular interest to our readers:
Unbearable to the human heart: child trafficking and action to eliminate it (2002)
This publication by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) presents the main
issues linked to trafficking: definitions, the worst forms of child labour, how to cope, future actions, etc.
It is available free of charge from the ILO site (
click here ).
"Corporate Success Through People. Making International Labour Standards Work for You"
By Nikolai Rogovsky and Emily Sims
2002, xi+129 pp., ISBN 92-2-112718-4 (€16)
This book provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about the links between international
labour standards and corporate management. It gives concrete examples of now international labour standards
can be applied when hiring personnel, labour relations and health and safety issues. It explains how these
standards have helped create a positive and healthy working environment and reduce labour costs while
improving productivity. To order this tool, which is extremely useful for managers,
click here (available in English).
Did you know?
The IPEC (International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour) website provides a wealth of information
on child labour: current ratification status of relevant ILO Conventions, statistics on child labour, photos,
videos, etc.
Click here to visit the site.
Schedule of meetings in 2003
Click here if you would like to obtain a list
of meetings scheduled by the ILO in 2003.