GENEVA (ILO News) - Meeting in Geneva today, the Governing Body of the ILO elected as chairman of its 1998-99 session, Mr. Nobutoshi Akao, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Government of Japan in Geneva. He replaces Mr. Ahmed Ahmed el Amawy, Minister of Manpower and Immigration of Egypt, who served as chairman during the 1997-98 session.

The newly 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. He replaces Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin (France), who represented employer interests on the Governing Body for over 20 years and is retiring this year.

The re-elected worker vice-chairman is Mr. William Brett (United Kingdom) who is a Member of the General Council of the UK's Trade Union Council.

The three will serve as Officers of the Governing Body during its 1998-99 session. The Governing Body is the executive council of the ILO and meets three times annually in Geneva. It takes decisions on policy and establishes the programme and budget of the 174 member State Organisation. The Governing Body is composed of 28 government members ^{(Endnote 1)} , 14 employer members and 14 worker members.

During the Governing Body, the Committee on Freedom of Association met at the International Labour Office (the secretariat of ILO), to examine cases of non-respect of workers right to organise, involving complaints of violence, intimidation and arrest of trade unionists.

Among the 51 cases pending, involving 31 different countries, the Committee examined 19 in depth and reached definitive conclusions in 9 cases and interim conclusions in 10 others. The Recommendations of the Committee were adopted unanimously by the Governing Body.

The Committee noted several positive developments, including the conviction of a police officer in Argentina who was found guilty and sentenced for the murder of a trade union official in that country, the liberation of imprisoned trade unionists in Mauritania and the recognition of a trade union confederation in that country.

In reference to a long-standing case, the Committee noted several positive developments in Indonesia, particularly the release from prison of Mr. Muchtar Pakpahan, the President of Serikat Buruh Sejahtera Indonesia (SBSI) who participated as a worker delegate to this year's International Labour Conference. The Committee called upon the Government to drop all criminal charges brought against Mr. Pakpahan and other officials of SBSI and to release all imprisoned trade unionists and eliminate discriminatory measures against trade unionists.

In addition the Committee suggested that the right of workers to organise free and independent trade unions will be regulated through the enactment of new legislation in Indonesia and recommended that "the Government consider availing itself of the technical assistance of the ILO to assist it in ensuring that draft labour legislation fully complies with freedom of association principles."

The Committee requested the Government "to ensure that the recent steps taken by it to release certain trade union leaders and activists will be but one of a series of measures taken in the future which will contribute to the positive development of trade union principles in Indonesia."

In a separate development, the Governing Body proceeded to name the chairman and members of a Commission of Inquiry established to examine long-standing allegations of abuses of trade union rights in Nigeria. The Chair of the Committee of Inquiry is Mr. Justice Rajsoomer Lallah of Mauritius, who is a member and former Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The Members are Ms. Janice Bellace (United States) who is a Member of the ILO Committee of Experts and a Deputy Dean at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Sir John Wood (United Kingdom), who is a former Member of the Committee of Experts and is currently Chairman of the Central Arbitration Committee in the UK.

In the absence of a sufficient response from the Government of Nigeria to allow a special mission to the country to examine the fate of imprisoned trade unionists, the Commission of Inquiry is scheduled to begin its work within 60 days.

The Commission of Inquiry is a final recourse in the ILO supervisory system. The decisions of the Commission are not subject to appeal by any ILO body. In the event of an unfavourable finding on its labour practices, Nigeria's only recourse would be to the International Court of Justice.

In two other cases, involving Barbados and Guinea-Bissau, the Committee note that in spite of the time lapse between the posing of complaints and the last examination of the complaints, that no complete response had been received from the governments concerned. It requested that they send responses at the earliest possible moment and that these cases be considered during the next session of the Committee, whether or not the responses have been received.

Endnote 1:
Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil*, Canada, China*, Colombia, Congo, Egypt, France*, Germany*, Guinea, Hungary, India*, Italy*, Japan*, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Nigeria, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation*, Saudi Arabia, Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom*, United States*.

(* = members holding non-elective seats as States of chief industrial importance).