GENEVA (ILO News) B Delegates to an international meeting on Export Processing Zones (EPZs) today called for an end to restrictions on trade union rights in a few EPZ-operating countries and said that the absence of workers' organization representation, effective structures for labour-management relations and the shortage of human resource development programmes in a number of countries formed obstacles to upgrading skills, working conditions and productivity of the 27 million strong EPZ workforce.

Delegates also called for compliance with national labour legislation and respect for international labour standards by governments, employers and workers' organisations in EPZs. In particular, they urged that special attention be paid to the situation of women workers, who account for up to 90% of the EPZ workforce, often performing low-skilled, low-paid jobs.

The delegates, representing employers, workers and governments of 10 EPZ-operating countries, acknowledged that the zones have become major features of the labour market in developing countries. A report prepared for the meeting said that EPZs had increased from a handful just a few decades ago to over 850 today. The report also noted that for increasing numbers of developing countries, EPZs are a vital entry point into the global manufacturing economy, providing a valuable source of investment, employment and technological know-how, but with widely mixed results.

The delegates concluded that while EPZs have generated considerable amounts of investment and have been one of the important engines of industrialisation, their overall economic benefits have been limited by the absence of sufficient linkages in the local economy. The report noted that in many countries, local content in manufacturing is at inadequately low levels.

A For EPZs to fully achieve their economic and social potential, governments should have a clear and comprehensive industrial and investment strategy, consistent with the need to promote economic development and respect for fundamental workers' rights, conclusions of the meeting stated, adding that EPZ strategies should be reviewed periodically and industrial support services should be made available to local providers of goods and services to assist them in meeting the speed, cost, quality and scale requirements of zone enterprises.

In addition, the delegates agreed that while EPZs have been a major source of employment creation, in particular for women, labour relations and human resource development remain two of the most neglected areas. The delegates said sound labour-management relations are essential to the success of EPZs and affirmed that free, strong and representative workers' organizations have a major role to play in building workplace relations conducive to improvements in working conditions and increases in productivity and competitiveness. They said that governments should promote tripartite consultations as an effective means of developing sound labour relations policies and practices in EPZs.

The delegates concluded that human resource development is one of the key elements in improving the social and labour conditions in EPZs. The delegates highlighted the need to ensure that EPZ employment promotes women's advancement and that women are not confined to low-skilled, low paid and low-prospect jobs and that they have access to training opportunities and better jobs.

The delegates said that in view of the high proportion of women workers, EPZ enterprises should make special efforts to ensure that women workers are not discriminated against in terms of salary or access to promotions. They urged that women workers should enjoy maternity protection and be provided with paid and unpaid maternity leave, employment security during pregnancy and maternity leave, and nursing breaks and facilities. They also highlighted the need for measures to help EPZ workers to combine work and family responsibilities, such as the limitation of excessive working hours and night work and the provision of child-care facilities. In addition, policies and procedures should be in place to prevent sexual harassment and deal with it.

The delegates called upon the ILO to provide all possible assistance to EPZ-operating countries especially those which have difficulty in fully respecting the fundamental principles reaffirmed in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998) and in matters relating to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.

The ILO report says that the largest numbers of zones are in North America (320) and Asia (225). But the concentration of EPZs is rising in developing regions such as the Caribbean (51), Central America (41), the Middle East (39) and the figures are likely to increase throughout the world. The Philippines, for example, currently has 35 EPZs operating but has approved plans for 83.

Currently, the United States is the most active EPZ operator. Other countries in the Western hemisphere operating EPZs include the Dominican Republic, which has 35 EPZs, Honduras (15) and Costa Rica (9).

China has 48 technological, economic development areas and hundreds of new zones, many on the scale of full-sized urban and industrial developments, complete with community infrastructure such as education, transport and social services. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have extensive EPZ strategies. In Africa there are 47 EPZs, 14 of which are in Kenya. In Mauritius, the entire territory has been zoned for export processing and the judicious management of EPZs is probably the major contributing factor to that country's economic growth.