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SEVENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Other financial and general questions

Proposals by the Director-General for expenditure
from the Programme Flexibility Reserve

1. The Programme and Budget for 1998-99 (paragraph 145.2) includes provision for a Programme Flexibility Reserve of $480,000 to finance technical work not specified elsewhere in the Programme and Budget, subject to the approval of the Governing Body in accordance with article 15 of the Financial Regulations. The funds could be used for a wide variety of purposes, taking account of social developments in member States since the Programme and Budget for 1998-99 was discussed by the Governing Body in March 1997. However, one need that stands out beyond all others is to reinforce the core team responsible for the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).

2. A full account of the current status of IPEC is given in a paper submitted to the Committee on Technical Cooperation at the present session.¹ Briefly summarized, operational expenditure under IPEC has increased as follows:
 

	1992-93	1994-95	1996-97	1998-99 (estimate)
$m	6.2	13.1	19.2	25.0

In line with this expenditure increase, the number of donor agencies contributing to the programme has increased from one to 18 in the last seven years.

3. It is likely that the size and scope of the IPEC programme will continue to expand in the coming years. However, the pace of this expansion is severely straining the core team at headquarters, and difficulties are now being encountered in meeting commitments and the expectations of donors, participating countries and ILO constituents. Concern was expressed during the IPEC Steering Group meeting in November 1997 at the workload of the IPEC team, and the need to reinforce it.

4. The Director-General has carefully reviewed this matter, and has arrived at the conclusion that it is essential to increase the resources for the core team by providing to it the totality of the funds available under the Programme Flexibility Reserve ($480,000) in order to strengthen the Professional staffing.

5. It will be recalled that the Programme and Budget for 1998-99 reflects a major increase in the provision for regular budget work on child labour, from $0.9 million in 1996-97 to $2.3 million in 1998-99 (in constant 1996-97 dollars). However, in view of the growing importance of the child labour issue to the ILO's core mandate, the Director-General will give consideration to the possibility of increasing regular budget support to the IPEC programme in the Programme and Budget proposals for the biennium 2000-2001.

6. The Committee may wish to recommend to the Governing Body that it authorize the use of $480,000 in the biennium 1998-99 from the Programme Flexibility Reserve to strengthen headquarters' support for the operational activities of IPEC.

Geneva, 12 February 1998.

Point for decision: Paragraph 6.

¹  GB.271/TC/2.