Decision on the fifth item on the agenda: The Standards Initiative
Decision on the fifth item on the agenda: The Standards Initiative
The Governing Body:
(a) took note of the outcome and report of the Tripartite Meeting on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), in relation to the right to strike and the modalities and practices of strike action at national level;
(b) pursuant to the decision taken at the 322nd Session of the Governing Body (November 2014), decided, in light of the outcome and report of the Tripartite Meeting, not to pursue for the time being any action in accordance with article 37 of the Constitution to address the interpretation question concerning Convention No. 87 in relation to the right to strike;
(c) decided to take the necessary steps to ensure the effective functioning of the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2015), taking into account any recommendations made by the Working Group on the Working Methods of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, in particular with regard to the establishment of the list of cases and the adoption of conclusions;
(d) called on all parties concerned, in light of the commitments made at the Tripartite Meeting and at the 323rd Session of the Governing Body (March 2015), to contribute to the successful conclusion of the work of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2015);
(e) decided to establish under the Standards Review Mechanism (SRM) a tripartite working group composed of 32 members: 16 representing Governments, eight representing Employers and eight representing Workers to meet once per year for one week;
(f) requested the Director-General to prepare draft terms of reference for the tripartite SRM working group for its consideration and submission to the 325th Session of the Governing Body (November 2015) for decision;
(g) decided that this tripartite SRM working group would report to the Governing Body at its 325th Session in November 2015 on progress made in the implementation of the SRM;
(h) requested the Chairperson of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), Judge Abdul Koroma (Sierra Leone), and the Chairperson of the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA), Professor Paul van der Heijden (Netherlands), to jointly prepare a report, to be presented to the 326th Session of the Governing Body (March 2016), on the interrelationship, functioning and possible improvement of the various supervisory procedures related to articles 22, 23, 24 and 26 of the ILO Constitution and the complaints mechanism on freedom of association;
(i) decided that the cost of the measures proposed in document GB.323/INS/5 estimated to cost up to $226,800 in 2015 and up to $707,200 in 2016–17 be financed in the first instance from savings in Part I of the budget for the respective bienniums or, failing that, through Part II, on the understanding that should this subsequently prove impossible, the Director-General would propose alternative methods of financing;
(j) decided to place on the agenda of its 328th Session (November 2016) an overall review of this decision, without prejudice to any other issue arising out of the standards initiative requiring prior consideration.