GB.271/14 - Governing Body

ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations

GB.271/14 271st Session Geneva, March 1998

FOURTEENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Report of the Committee on Sectoral and
Technical Meetings and Related Issues

1. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues met on 16 March 1998 and was chaired by Mr. Héthy (Government, Hungary). The Employer and Worker Vice-Chairpersons were Mr. Thüsing and Mr. Zellhoefer respectively.

I. Follow-up activities on sectoral meetings held in 1996-97

2. The Committee had before it a paper⁽¹⁾ prepared by the Office providing information concerning follow-up action on the requests made by the ten meetings held during the biennium 1996-97.

3. The Worker members welcomed the first report on follow-up activities to be submitted since the new system of sectoral meetings had been established in January 1996; the paper contained useful information for trade unions and sectoral constituents. They recalled that one of the outcomes of the recent evaluation of sectoral meetings had been to recommend that resources released by the streamlining and shortening of meetings should be assigned to strengthening follow-up action. The staffing situation in the Sectoral Activities Department was affecting the implementation of follow-up activities, and the Office was urged to fill the vacant posts with persons who had the required qualifications and expertise. The Sectoral Activities Department was further encouraged to coordinate follow-up action with the Bureau for Workers' Activities, particularly when developing activities for future biennia and when implementing them. With regard to the distribution of the Note on the Proceedings of each meeting, the Worker members indicated that a number of national trade unions complained that these texts did not always reach them, or when they did were unduly delayed. Mr. Zellhoefer pointed out that not all organizations had access to the Internet and the Office should therefore investigate other means of distributing the Notes direct to the national trade unions concerned. The Worker members underscored the importance of keeping the multidisciplinary teams fully informed of the outcome of sectoral meetings, thus enabling them to play an important role in follow-up activities. The Workers acknowledged the importance of the studies prepared by the Office, but were puzzled that international trade secretariats that had been actively involved in certain fields, for example home work, had not been sufficiently informed of, and had not participated in, the Office's research on the problems facing homeworkers in the textiles, clothing and footwear industries. The Worker members were also disappointed that the Code of practice on occupational safety and health in forest work which, according to the paper, was being actively promoted, had not yet been published, and they encouraged the coordination of the important ongoing activities of other ILO programmes or bodies on codes of conduct. The Worker members approved the Office's participation in a seminar on the World Bank's Inspection Panel on human rights; they suggested that the ILO should supply documentation concerning violations of trade union rights, which the Panel would examine systematically. Referring to the categories of follow-up activities identified in paragraph 8, the Worker members expressed their full support in particular for the first two: promotion of the ratification and application of specific international labour standards; and research and the publication and dissemination of the results. The Worker members trusted that the information submitted by the Office would be completed by the coming year when further activities had been conducted or planned.

4. The Employer members welcomed the agenda item but had mixed feelings about the content of the paper. The Committee had agreed, following the evaluation of sectoral activities, that follow-up activities should be reinforced and that the savings which accrued from shorter and fewer meetings should be devoted to responding to the specific requests made by meetings. In the Employer members' view, the paper was somewhat vacuous, listing a number of activities that would have been conducted anyway and which did not seem to be directly related to the meetings' requests. The Office seemed to have chosen from among the requests those which it judged most suitable. The Employer members were not satisfied with this procedure and recommended that in future participants be informed at the beginning of each sectoral meeting of the resources available for follow-up action. In this way, they would have to exercise self-discipline by adapting their demands to the available resources, thereby giving more weight to the requests addressed to the Office and on the whole granting sectoral constituents a greater say in the choice of follow-up activities. In general, the impression that emerged from the paper was that the Office had favoured activities relating to the promotion of standards rather than practical activities, a tendency which the Employer members for their part firmly opposed.

5. A representative of the Government of Germany largely concurred with the Employers' views, and added that the information provided by the Office had been submitted in previous papers and in other forums.

6. A representative of the Government of Finland expressed her appreciation of the report, which contained valuable information on the links between meetings and follow-up action. She proposed that in future the Office append to the paper a list of follow-up activities, grouped under the five categories identified in paragraph 8.

7. A Worker member (Mr. Blondel), referring to paragraphs 32 to 35 of the paper, regretted that the Symposium on Multimedia Convergence (27-29 January 1997) had adopted neither resolutions nor conclusions, owing to the Employers' objections, but was pleased that the Office had demonstrated its interest in conducting some of the follow-up activities proposed by the participants. As Chairperson of the Symposium, Mr. Blondel had witnessed the importance of encouraging member States to ratify Conventions, which would then make them binding texts. It was striking to note that new information technologies could in fact widen the gap between rich and poor nations rather than bring them closer. He underlined the need to address this sensitive issue with the utmost care.

8. Mr. Tapiola (Deputy Director-General) affirmed that the Office had taken note of the useful comments and concerns expressed by the three groups relating to the presentation and content of the follow-up report, whose main purpose was to serve as a strategic tool for the Committee. In response to the Employer members' proposal to inform participants in meetings of the resources available for follow-up activities, he felt that it might sometimes be difficult to do so unless very specific activities were proposed, in which case the Office should be able to indicate both their cost and feasibility. If the Committee wished to ensure that the Governing Body responded favourably to requests made by meetings, the discussion should be followed through in the Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee. It had been estimated that the savings resulting from the new structure of sectoral meetings would be approximately US$100,000 per meeting, and this amount should in principle be used to improve follow-up. During the 1996-97 biennium the number of sectoral meetings held had been reduced from 16 to ten, which had brought the total amount of savings for follow-up activities to US$1 million instead of the US$1.5 million foreseen earlier. No details of the distribution of this amount among the different follow-up activities had been provided in the paper. With regard to the staffing problems raised by the Worker members, Mr. Tapiola informed the Committee that a number of specialists had been detached to the field in the framework of the Office's mobility policy, and that vacant posts had been filled by internal candidates. In addition, two posts had been filled by temporary external recruitments and, owing to budgetary constraints, one post had been cut in the Salaried Employees and Professional Workers Branch.

II. Report of the Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics
(Geneva, 14-23 October 1997)

9. The Committee had before it the Report of the Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics (Geneva, 14-23 October 1997).⁽²⁾

10. The Employer members stated that this meeting had been qualified as highly professional, technical and successful by the experts who had attended it. The important topics discussed, which focused on definitions and the measurement of underemployment and of income from employment, were difficult and complex. A criticism had been voiced regarding the role of observers, who had been too vocal; their contribution was welcome, but restraint was required.

11. The Worker members recognized the importance of the issues examined and expected that the results would guide the Office usefully in the elaboration of the draft resolutions submitted to the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians scheduled for October 1998. The Worker members regretted that, as reflected in paragraphs 48 and 49 of the report, the experts had not reached agreement on a standard definition of the important concept of "inadequate employment". The Office had been requested to pursue data collection on this question, certain aspects of which should be measured, such as job insecurity, adverse working conditions and excessive hours of work. As regards the issue of income from paid employment, the Worker members underlined the importance of paragraphs 69 and 71 relating to social security benefits. They strongly endorsed the view expressed in paragraph 71 that "only benefits that were fully financed by the employers and provided by schemes other than social security and state schemes should be included in income from paid employment". The Worker members further supported the proposal in paragraph 100 inviting the Bureau of Statistics to undertake studies to examine the issue of "imposed" compensation in kind in lieu of cash remuneration. Unfortunately, this was a growing phenomenon in some countries, which was directly and indirectly related to non-payment of wages. Finally, it was worth mentioning that all the Worker experts appointed to this Meeting had been women.

12. A representative of the Government of Germany pointed to an interesting question raised in the report on the measurement of income from self-employment. It would be useful if the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians could define internationally comparable indicators. Referring to the discussion on the inclusion of social security benefits in income from employment, as summarized in paragraphs 71 and 72, he informed the Committee that in Germany benefits such as compensation for maternity were regarded as wage replacement benefits and could thus be included in income from employment. With regard to medical and health benefits mentioned in paragraph 73, they should clearly be included in income from employment.

13. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body take note of the report, in particular the recommendations in paragraphs 48, 49 and 100.

III. Effect to be given to the recommendations of the
Tripartite Meeting on the Iron and Steel
Workforce of the Twenty-first Century
(Geneva, 27-31 October 1997)

14. The Committee had before it the Note on the Proceedings of the Tripartite Meeting on the Iron and Steel Workforce of the Twenty-first Century (Geneva, 27-31 October 1997), and the Director-General's proposals concerning the effect to be given to the conclusions adopted by the Meeting.⁽³⁾

15. Mr. Zellhoefer stated that the Meeting had provided a valuable opportunity for constituents to exchange views on significant issues, including competitiveness, productivity, human resources management, recruitment, employment and training, work organization, labour-management relations and environmental management. The high-level debates in plenary had been cordial, as had the relations between the Employers and Workers present at the Meeting. Useful and constructive conclusions had been adopted, including important paragraphs on the role of the ILO. The Worker members stressed in particular paragraph 26, in which the Meeting requested that the ILO "actively encourage member States to ratify and implement the seven 'core' ILO Conventions [...] to ensure a basis of minimum common standards that would facilitate improving working and living conditions worldwide"; and paragraph 28 which requested the ILO to promote widely the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.

16. Mr. Thüsing agreed that the Meeting had been particularly smooth and fruitful. The groups had functioned well and discussions had been intensive both in plenary and in the panels. Sufficient time had been available for dialogue in the light of the exclusion of resolutions from the Meeting's agenda. This Meeting should be referred to as an example for future meetings; the Employer members praised the cooperation and positive attitude of the participants, as demonstrated in particular by the Officers of the three groups.

17. A representative of the Government of Germany endorsed the positive assessment of previous speakers. He pointed out that his country had been represented in all three groups by experts who were well acquainted with one another, which in the present system of sectoral meetings was now a rare occurrence, and that this had given them the impression that the Meeting had been genuinely tripartite.

18. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body --

(a) authorize the Director-General to communicate the Note on the Proceedings:

(i) to governments, requesting them to communicate the texts to the employers' and workers' organizations concerned;
(ii) to the international employers' and workers' organizations concerned;
(iii) to the international organizations concerned;

(b) request the Director-General to bear in mind, when drawing up proposals for the future programme of work of the Office, the wishes expressed by the Meeting in paragraphs 26 to 28 of the conclusions.

IV. Effect to be given to the recommendations of the
Tripartite Meeting on Breaking through the
Glass Ceiling: Women in Management
(Geneva, 15-19 December 1997)

19. The Committee had before it the Note on the Proceedings of the Tripartite Meeting on Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management (Geneva, 15-19 December 1997), and the Director-General's proposals concerning the effect to be given to the texts adopted by the Meeting.⁽⁴⁾

20. Mr. Thüsing stated that he had not received the paper in time and that he would base his comments on information provided by participants. The Meeting had been characterized by the absence of confrontation between the different groups, and an interesting consensus had emerged. The Employer members felt that the positive results were a reflection of the general ideology-free spirit in which the Meeting had been conducted. On a more critical note, the data presented to the Meeting should have been processed differently and presented more clearly.

21. Mr. Zellhoefer indicated that, as a result of proposals made by the Chairperson of this Meeting (Ms. Rozas Velásquez, Worker member), adjustments had been made to the distribution of duties among the officers of sectoral meetings, which had been successfully put into practice recently. The Worker members stressed the importance of paragraphs 20, 26 and 29 of the conclusions, which respectively recognized the right of all women including women managers to belong to trade unions; singled out collective bargaining as a powerful mechanism to promote women in public and private enterprises; and encouraged governments to ratify and ensure implementation of a number of essential Conventions. The requests addressed to the ILO in paragraphs 34 to 37 of the conclusions were an extensive set of recommendations which the Worker members endorsed, as they did the measures called for in the three resolutions. In conclusion, Mr. Zellhoefer pointed out that the harmonious relations established at the Meeting had allowed for the adoption of both conclusions and resolutions.

22. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body --

(a) authorize the Director-General to communicate the Note on the Proceedings:

(b) request the Director-General to bear in mind, when drawing up proposals for the future programme of work of the Office, the wishes expressed by the Meeting in paragraphs 34 to 37 of the conclusions and in the relevant parts of the resolutions.

V. Report of the ILO/WHO Consultation on Guidelines
for Conducting Pre-Sea and Periodic Medical
Fitness Examination for Seafarers
(Geneva, 25-27 November 1997)

23. The Committee had before it the Report of the ILO/WHO Consultation on Guidelines for Conducting Pre-Sea and Periodic Medical Fitness Examinations for Seafarers (Geneva, 25-27 November 1997).⁽⁵⁾

24. The Worker members congratulated the Office and the World Health Organization on their fruitful collaboration, which had led to the elaboration of guidelines with the participation of Shipowner and Seafarer members. A number of minor editorial changes to the medical reporting form which had been brought to the attention of the Office should be incorporated. The Worker members requested the speedy publication of these guidelines.

25. The Employer members considered that the Consultation exemplified maritime meetings at their best. They pointed to paragraph 14 of the report, which indicated that the Consultation did not set standards but developed guidance, which should be flexible.

26. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body --

(a) take note of the report;
(b) authorize the Director-General, in consultation with the Director-General of the World Health Organization, to publish the Guidelines.

VI. Invitation of non-governmental international organizations

(a) Joint Meeting on Terms of Employment and
Working Conditions in Health Sector Reforms
(Geneva, 21-25 September 1998)

27. The Committee was informed⁽⁶⁾ that it was proposed to invite the following non-governmental international organizations, beside those that have general consultative status with the ILO, to be represented by observers at the above Meeting:

European Union of Private Hospitals;
European Committee of Private Hospitals;
International Council of Nurses;
International Federation of Business and Professional Women;
International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees;
International Federation of Employees in the Public Service;
International Federation of University Women;
International Social Security Association;
International Union of Private Hospitals;
Public Services International;
Trade Unions International of Public and Allied Employees.

28. A Worker member (Mr. Blondel) requested that the Office reproduce in future documents of this nature the criteria applied to determine the choice of organizations submitted to the Committee.

29. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body authorize the Director-General to invite the non-governmental organizations listed above to be represented by observers at the Joint Meeting on Terms of Employment and Working Conditions in Health Sector Reforms.

(b) Joint Meeting on Human Resource Development
in the Public Service in the Context of Structural
Adjustment and Transition
(Geneva, 14-18 December 1998)

30. The Committee was informed⁽⁷⁾ that it was proposed to invite the following non-governmental international organizations, beside those that have general consultative status with the ILO, to be represented by observers at the above Meeting:

Education International;
European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions;
European Union of Local Authority Staffs;
General Confederation of Trade Unions;
International Council of Nurses;
International Federation of University Women;
International Confederation of Public Servants;
International Federation of Employees in the Public Service;
Public Services International.

31. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body authorize the Director-General to invite the non-governmental organizations listed above to be represented by observers at the Joint Meeting on Human Resource Development in the Public Service in the Context of Structural Adjustment and Transition.

32. The Chairperson informed the Committee of a request from the Trade Unions International of Workers in Agriculture, Food, Commerce, Textiles and Allied Industries to be represented by observers at the above Meeting.

33. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body authorize the Director-General to invite the Trade Unions International of Workers in Agriculture, Food, Commerce, Textiles and Allied Industries to be represented by observers at the Tripartite Meeting on Technology and Employment in the Food and Drink Industries.

VII. Other questions

Progress in the elaboration of a Globally
Harmonized System for the Classification
and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)

34. The Committee had before it an Office paper⁽⁸⁾ reporting on the progress accomplished in the elaboration of a Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

35. The Worker members welcomed the Office's contribution to international efforts in this field. They noted with satisfaction that the ILO had been chosen as the focal point for harmonizing the chemical hazard communication component of the eventual GHS, and they fully supported its leadership role. The Workers had been involved in this process through the participation of ICFTU experts, and they fully supported the constitution of the Working Group, as proposed. They requested the Office to investigate the possibility of funding the participation of the experts. The Worker members further pointed out problems posed for workers and consumers with regard to the elaboration of a labelling system, which was made difficult by the employers' reticence to provide information.

36. The Employer members fully supported the useful activities outlined in the paper, and appreciated that further progress had been achieved. They welcomed the constitution of a Working Group, particularly since it would be convened by the ILO. Mr. Thüsing questioned why the expenses of only one Employer member and one Worker member would be covered by the Office.

37. A Worker member (Mr. Blondel) drew the Office's attention to the fact that it was insufficient for information to be standardized: it should be comprehensible and visible. He was aware that discussions on this topic had been ongoing for at least 15 years, and labelling would not be efficient if it were neither compulsory nor transparent.

38. Mr. Thüsing warned against the elaboration of binding instruments and stressed the importance of cooperation between the parties concerned and practical progress on delicate issues. The related questions raised should be dealt with in other forums.

39. A representative of the Government of Panama stated that progress in this field was of the utmost importance to his country, since the Panama Canal was open to world trade and handled shipments of highly toxic substances. The ILO should therefore, as the only tripartite body in the United Nations system, encourage member States to adopt standards and ensure their enforcement.

40. Mr. Zellhoefer indicated that the GHS could become binding if it were adopted by a sufficient number of member States.

41. A representative of the Government of China expressed satisfaction with the Office's work in this field. His Government had ratified the Chemicals Convention, 1991 (No. 170), and was fully aware of the work still to be done.

42. Mr. Takala, Chief of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch, stated in reply that the question of financing the expenses of the experts should be raised during the discussion of the programme and budget proposals. There would be four Employer and four Worker experts, and not one from each group. He reminded the Committee that the currently proposed implementation mechanism of the GHS was of a non-binding nature, similar to that of the United Nations ECOSOC Recommendations on Transport of Dangerous Goods. The application of the GHS would rest on three factors: labelling, chemical safety data sheets and -- most important -- a massive training programme.

43. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues recommends that the Governing Body --

(a) take note of the significant progress made to date in the elaboration of a Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals;
(b) endorse the establishment of a Working Group for the Harmonization of Chemical Hazard Communication under the leadership of the ILO, as recommended by the IOMC Co-ordinating Group for the Harmonization of Chemical Classification Systems;
(c) request the Office to report regularly to it on progress made toward a Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.

Geneva, 18 March 1998.

Points for decision:

Paragraph 13;
Paragraph 18;
Paragraph 22;
Paragraph 26;
Paragraph 29;
Paragraph 31;
Paragraph 33;
Paragraph 43.

1. GB.271/STM/1.

2. MELS/1997/R, attached to GB.271/STM/2.

3. TMISW/1997/8, appended to GB.271/STM/3.

4. TMWM/1997/12, appended to GB.271/STM/4.

5. ILO/WHO/D.1/1997, appended to GB.271/STM/5.

6. GB.271/STM/6.

7. GB.271/STM/6.

8. GB.271/STM/7/1.

Updated by VC. Approved by NdW. Last update: 26 January 2000.