Akiko’s Blog No. 39 The Centenary ILC ends
We are having a rainy season in Tokyo now, though some parts of the country haven’t entered it.
We have very sad tidings this month. Prof. Yozo Yokota, long-time collaborator of the ILO, passed away on 12 June. His ILO-related career includes chairing the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. We are deeply sorry to learn of his passing.
Over 200 people attended the ILO Centenary seminar on Labour Dimension of CSR – Sophia University UN Week, “Efforts of government, employers and workers towards decent work of migrant workers” at Sophia University on 31 May. This goes to show how high the public’s interest is in the matter.
Both houses of the Diet adopted a resolution to promote further contribution to the ILO in its second millennium on 26 June; Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Takumi Nemoto made a remark on the occasion. We are grateful to all the members of the Diet who supported this.
The commemorative ILO 100 postage stamps are now available all over Japan.
You can read about two projects that are related to Japan on our website. One of them is Accelerating action for the elimination of child labour in supply chains in Africa (ACCEL Africa). An essay about this project written by our Japanese colleague is available on the UNIC website, “TICAD relay essays: passion that unites the UN, Africa and Japan”. The other is the first outcome document of the project funded by our government on the deficiency of skills in the field of information and communication technologies and international labour movements. I gave a keynote speech at Japan University English Model United Nations (JUEMUN 2019), hosted by Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. This year’s theme was Promoting Jobs and Protecting People. This, hopefully, will cultivate interest in the UN activities among college students.
Now, we’ll take a look at the 108th International Labour Conference , which concluded on 21 June. This year’s ILC, which marks the ILO’s 100th anniversary, saw over 40 prominent guest speakers including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Sharon Burrow, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, and Roberto Suarez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organization of Employers, and heads of state and government.
The ILC adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and its accompanying recommendation (No. 206), which were discussed at the 107th ILC last year. The Convention had 439 votes cast in its favour, 7 against, and 30 abstentions, while the Recommendation had 397 in its favour, 12 against, and 44 abstentions. As the member states have to submit new standards adopted by the ILO to authorities within 12 months, the Japanese government will create a draft translation to submit to the Diet.
The convention explains that violence and harassment “can constitute a human rights violation or abuse...is a threat to equal opportunities, is unacceptable and incompatible with decent work”, and defines them as behaviours and practices or their threats that “aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm.” I certainly will explain about the convention and the recommendation in depth at another time.
The standard gives a very broad definition of workers, which includes those who are not in employment, and of places where incidents occur, which are not just in the workplace. It also acknowledges that such incidents may involve third parties as victims or perpetrators.
The ILC also adopted the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, 2019.
It reaffirms the importance and relevance of the ILO’s mandate in the changing world of work. Viewing the future of work from a human-centred perspective, this declaration focuses on enabling people to benefit from changes in the world of work through bolstering frameworks and institutions related to work that are about ensuring sufficient protection for all workers, and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and productive full employment.
It lists the following areas for action:
◇ The effective realization of gender equality in opportunities and treatment,
◇ Effective life-long study and high-quality education for all,
◇ Comprehensive and sustainable social protection for all,
◇ Respect for workers’ fundamental rights,
◇ Adequate minimum wage,
◇ Cap on working hours,
◇ Safety and health at work,
◇ Policies to promote decent work and enhance productivity,
◇ Policies and measures to ensure adequate protection of privacy and personal data, and to deal with the opportunities and changes related to digitalization of work such as platform work.
By the way, Japan is hosting G20 Osaka Summit at the end of this month. Mr. Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the ILO will attend.
We have very sad tidings this month. Prof. Yozo Yokota, long-time collaborator of the ILO, passed away on 12 June. His ILO-related career includes chairing the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. We are deeply sorry to learn of his passing.
Over 200 people attended the ILO Centenary seminar on Labour Dimension of CSR – Sophia University UN Week, “Efforts of government, employers and workers towards decent work of migrant workers” at Sophia University on 31 May. This goes to show how high the public’s interest is in the matter.
Both houses of the Diet adopted a resolution to promote further contribution to the ILO in its second millennium on 26 June; Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Takumi Nemoto made a remark on the occasion. We are grateful to all the members of the Diet who supported this.
The commemorative ILO 100 postage stamps are now available all over Japan.
You can read about two projects that are related to Japan on our website. One of them is Accelerating action for the elimination of child labour in supply chains in Africa (ACCEL Africa). An essay about this project written by our Japanese colleague is available on the UNIC website, “TICAD relay essays: passion that unites the UN, Africa and Japan”. The other is the first outcome document of the project funded by our government on the deficiency of skills in the field of information and communication technologies and international labour movements. I gave a keynote speech at Japan University English Model United Nations (JUEMUN 2019), hosted by Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. This year’s theme was Promoting Jobs and Protecting People. This, hopefully, will cultivate interest in the UN activities among college students.
Now, we’ll take a look at the 108th International Labour Conference , which concluded on 21 June. This year’s ILC, which marks the ILO’s 100th anniversary, saw over 40 prominent guest speakers including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Sharon Burrow, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, and Roberto Suarez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organization of Employers, and heads of state and government.
The ILC adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and its accompanying recommendation (No. 206), which were discussed at the 107th ILC last year. The Convention had 439 votes cast in its favour, 7 against, and 30 abstentions, while the Recommendation had 397 in its favour, 12 against, and 44 abstentions. As the member states have to submit new standards adopted by the ILO to authorities within 12 months, the Japanese government will create a draft translation to submit to the Diet.
The convention explains that violence and harassment “can constitute a human rights violation or abuse...is a threat to equal opportunities, is unacceptable and incompatible with decent work”, and defines them as behaviours and practices or their threats that “aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm.” I certainly will explain about the convention and the recommendation in depth at another time.
The standard gives a very broad definition of workers, which includes those who are not in employment, and of places where incidents occur, which are not just in the workplace. It also acknowledges that such incidents may involve third parties as victims or perpetrators.
The ILC also adopted the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, 2019.
It reaffirms the importance and relevance of the ILO’s mandate in the changing world of work. Viewing the future of work from a human-centred perspective, this declaration focuses on enabling people to benefit from changes in the world of work through bolstering frameworks and institutions related to work that are about ensuring sufficient protection for all workers, and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and productive full employment.
It lists the following areas for action:
◇ The effective realization of gender equality in opportunities and treatment,
◇ Effective life-long study and high-quality education for all,
◇ Comprehensive and sustainable social protection for all,
◇ Respect for workers’ fundamental rights,
◇ Adequate minimum wage,
◇ Cap on working hours,
◇ Safety and health at work,
◇ Policies to promote decent work and enhance productivity,
◇ Policies and measures to ensure adequate protection of privacy and personal data, and to deal with the opportunities and changes related to digitalization of work such as platform work.
By the way, Japan is hosting G20 Osaka Summit at the end of this month. Mr. Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the ILO will attend.