ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
ILO-en-strap
Governing Body

GB.274/3
274th Session
Geneva, March 1999

THIRD ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Date, place and agenda of the 89th Session (2001)
of the Conference

Contents

Date

Place

Agenda

Date

1. In accordance with the provisions adopted by the Governing Body at its 254th Session (November 1992),(1)  it is proposed that the 89th Session (2001) of the International Labour Conference should open on Tuesday, 5 June 2001.

Place

2. It is proposed that the session be held in Geneva.

Agenda

3. The Conference will have before it the following standing items:

4. The agenda of the 88th Session (2000) of the Conference, as determined by the Governing Body at its 271st Session (March 1998), includes the following four items:

5. The Programme and Budget proposals for the 2000-01 biennium, for budgetary purposes and without prejudging the Governing Body's decision, foresee that a total of three technical items may be placed on the Conference agenda in 2001. As a second discussion is due to take place in 2001 on Safety and health in agriculture, the Governing Body would at its present session have to choose two technical items to complete the agenda of the 89th Session (2001) of the Conference.

6. At its 273rd Session (November 1998), the Governing Body examined the portfolio of proposals for the initial discussion on the Conference agenda for the year 2001.(2)  It selected a short list of items for more in-depth discussion at the present session, and decided to request law and practice reports, or more detailed proposals, on nine subjects:

7. It will be recalled that items 2, 3, 4, 5, 6(a) and (b) and 8 were the subject of previous proposals made to the Governing Body at its 271st Session (March 1998).(3)  Each of these contributions has been modified to update it and included in the present document.

8. In accordance with various requests made during the discussions in the Governing Body, the above list of items does not predetermine the type of action that could be taken on them at the Conference in 2001. However, as indicated above, items 1, 4, 6(a) and (b) and 7 are submitted with a view to standard setting, and items 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9 are submitted for general discussion.

9. Further research. During the examination of the portfolio at the 273rd Session (November 1998), several members of the Governing Body expressed the wish that the Office should accelerate its research work on some of the subjects in the portfolio, in particular that on the ILO's contribution to peace-building operations, the informal sector, working and employment conditions of ageing workers and better collaboration and coordination with United Nations' agencies in the field of working life. It should also be recalled that the Office is called upon to place on the agenda of the Conference the question of a possible adoption of international instruments for the protection of workers in the situations identified by the Committee on Contract Labour no later than four years from 1998, i.e. at the International Labour Conference in 2002.(4)  In addition, as regards the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, the Office will continue to study the issue, including the possibility of taking into account other forms of harassment, as suggested during the discussions in the Governing Body in November. If the Governing Body so wishes, the Office will submit more detailed proposals on these items in November 1999.

10. Classification of the items proposed for the agenda of the Conference. The presentation of the items proposed for the agenda of the Conference is based on the classification of international labour standards as approved by the Governing Body. During the discussions on the portfolio a few members of the Governing Body proposed to classify the proposals thematically reflecting the strategic objectives that underlie the Programme and Budget proposals for 2000-01. If the Governing Body so wishes, the portfolio of proposals for the agenda of the Conference to be examined by the Governing Body at its 276th Session (November 1999) could be reclassified accordingly.

11. Modified timing of decisions to place items for general discussion on the agenda of the Conference. At its 273rd Session (November 1998) the issue was raised in the Governing Body whether items for general discussion could be placed on the agenda of the Conference closer in time to the holding of the actual discussion in order to permit the choice of items which were more topical. According to article 11ter of the Standing Orders, one of the procedural requirements for preparing items for general discussion is the elaboration by the Office of a report on the question for general discussion which must reach the governments no later than two months before the opening of the session of the Conference at which the question is to be discussed. With respect to items for standard-setting, in accordance with article 39, paragraph 1, of the Standing Orders, the required law and practice report and the questionnaires must reach the member States no less than 18 months before the opening of the session of the Conference at which the question is to be discussed. In the latter case, the Office must also have sufficient time to prepare the full law and practice report and questionnaire. At present, decisions to place both types of items on the agenda -- standard-setting and general discussion items -- are taken at the March sessions of the Governing Body, i.e. 26 months before the discussion at the Conference. There is thus no procedural obstacle in taking decisions to place items for general discussion on the agenda of the Conference closer in time to the holding of the actual discussion. This being so, any reconsideration of the current procedure raises a series of other complex issues involving political, legal and logistical considerations. One issue relates to the implications for the placing on the agenda of the Conference an item for a preliminary discussion on a potential standard-setting subject. Another issue is whether, and to what extent, the modification of the timing would restrict the range possible choices of items by the Governing Body. It should also be recalled that at its 276th Session (November 1999), the Governing Body will examine the question of how to enable the Conference to effectively integrate decisions to revise Conventions resulting, inter alia, from the work of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards. Against this background, the Governing Body is invited to revert to this issue at a later stage.

* * *

1. New measures concerning discrimination
in employment and occupation
 

Summary

In its Special Survey of 1996 on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee of Experts found that a number of grounds on which discrimination is prohibited in other ILO standards, in other international standards, and above all in national legislation, are not covered by this Convention. Convention No. 111 is, however, the ILO's principal instrument against discrimination. It therefore is recommended that the Governing Body consider the adoption of a Protocol, which would not revise the Convention as such, but which would allow countries ratifying it to accept formally additional grounds on which discrimination would be prohibited. This would consolidate the ILO's protection against discrimination, and bring the ILO into closer harmony with more recent international human rights instruments adopted by other organizations and with developing national practice.


Introduction

12. In its 1996 Special Survey on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations recommended that consideration be given to adopting a Protocol to the Convention that would provide additional grounds on which discrimination would be prohibited under the Convention, taking account of changes which have taken place in this field and are reflected in national law, as well as incorporating prohibited grounds of discrimination already covered in other ILO Conventions.(5) 

13. The Committee of Experts did not propose revising the Convention, but rather suggested adding a Protocol that could be ratified in addition to the Convention, either by countries that had already ratified it, or at the time of ratification of the Convention. Convention No. 111, one of the ILO's fundamental Conventions, would remain unmodified. There appears to be general agreement that the approach to consolidate and extend the grounds on which discrimination should be prohibited in employment and occupation would be the preferred one should the subject be dealt with.

The situation in national law and practice

14. Convention No. 111 requires ratifying States to take action against discrimination in employment and occupation on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin. The Committee found, however, that there was sufficient indication in national laws on discrimination, or in other ILO Conventions, to merit the adoption of a Protocol that would allow States to undertake additional obligations in respect of some or all of the following criteria (listed in alphabetical order): age, disability, family responsibilities, language, matrimonial status, nationality, property, sexual orientation and state of health. Indications are given below of how these criteria are addressed in national law and practice.

Age

15. New legislation frequently makes specific reference to age among the grounds of discrimination. In New Zealand, for example, it is mentioned in section 21 of the Human Rights Act of 1 February 1994; in Croatia, it appears in section 2 of the 1995 Labour Law; article 23(3) of the new Constitution of Ecuador, adopted on 5 June 1998, provides for equality of rights and opportunities, and the freedoms that are recognized for all individuals, without discrimination inter alia on the basis of age; age is also mentioned as a criterion in section 5 of the June 1996 Labour Code of Niger, section 26 of the 1997 Labour Law of Venezuela, section 4 of the Labour Code of Côte d'Ivoire and section 246 of the Labour Code of Chad. In France section L.122-14-11 of the Labour Code stipulates that any provision providing for automatic termination of a contract when an employee reaches a certain age or is entitled to draw an old-age pension is null and void. A similar situation exists in the United States by virtue of court decisions, later codified into law. According to the Government's reports on the application of Convention No. 111, Australia is considering the possibility of excluding any discrimination based on age.

State of health

16. A worker's state of health should not be an acceptable motive for refusing to employ or for dismissing him or her, unless there is a very strict relationship between the worker's present state of health and the normal occupational requirements of a given job. A variety of measures have been adopted in this regard in different countries:

Disablement

17. More and more countries have adopted measures to protect the disabled and promote equality of opportunities between disabled and other workers. Chapter 5 of the Labour Code of Gabon, which entered into force in 1995, contains a series of provisions for protecting disabled workers, for example. Other countries have also adopted legislation specifically protecting the rights of disabled workers. In New Zealand legislation of 1960 and 1975 contains measures aimed at protecting the employment of disabled persons. Poland similarly has an Act of 1991 concerning employment and vocational rehabilitation of the disabled. Several countries, including Ecuador, Kuwait, Niger, Spain and Sweden, have legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation based on disablement.

Sexual orientation

18. Member States are increasingly adopting legislative measures specifically protecting workers who are vulnerable to discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. Some constitutions expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, for example the Interim Constitution of South Africa, and both the Brandenbourg Constitution and the Thuringia Constitution in Germany. Section 23(3) of the new Constitution of Ecuador, adopted on 5 June 1998, provides for equality of rights and opportunities, and the freedoms recognized for all individuals, without discrimination inter alia on the basis of sexual orientation. Denmark, France and New Zealand also have legislation explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the Netherlands the legislation has strengthened penal sanctions, inter alia, against public acts of hatred or discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. In Australia the Industrial Relations Act of 1988 expressly mentions the need to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual preference.

Coverage in other standards

19. The Committee of Experts also devoted considerable attention in the Special Survey to the additional grounds of discrimination that are covered in other ILO standards. Even though Convention No. 111 is the ILO's principal instrument on the prevention of discrimination, it does not cover many of the areas on which ILO standards offer the strongest -- and often the only -- protection in international law. This includes age,(6)  nationality,(7)  trade union membership,(8)  disability(9)  and family responsibilities.(10)  The adoption of a suitable Protocol would allow the consolidation of protection, and added coherence in the ILO's advisory and supervisory efforts on the subject. This may be a particularly important point in the context of the ILO's work in revising its body of standards and rendering them more coherent.

20. For example, Convention No. 158 on Termination of Employment, 1982, adopted after Convention No. 111, prohibits termination on grounds, inter alia, of race, colour, sex, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or absence from work during maternity leave. Convention No. 156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities calls for persons to be protected against discrimination, as defined in Convention No. 111 on the basis of their family responsibilities.

21. Finally, human rights standards adopted by other international organizations since the 1958 ILO Convention, have further expanded the protection offered in international law against discrimination, without all these grounds being covered in the ILO's most important Convention on this subject.(11)  The Committee of Experts stated that, "with a view to the coherence of international human rights law, it would be desirable to take these into account in considering the present Convention". Of these other instruments, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both adopted in 1966 and now widely ratified, both contain the following passage:

On the regional level, the Committee of Experts noted also the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, which in its Article 14 prohibits discrimination on the basis of "sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status".(12) 

Conclusions

22. The Governing Body is therefore invited to give further consideration to the proposal by the Committee of Experts to examine a Protocol to Convention No. 111 on possible additional grounds of discrimination. The Committee recommended that the Governing Body and the Conference consider two alternative solutions in this respect. The first would be to allow States to ratify the Protocol and to choose which of the additional grounds listed in it they would wish to accept as additional obligations under the Convention (see the indicative list above). The second possibility would be to adopt a list of "core" grounds that would have to be accepted when ratifying the Protocol, and allowing States to decide to accept others from the list as well, and this solution has been favoured by most of those who have referred to it in previous consultations. The Committee considered that this should be done with no modification to the existing instrument, but simply by the adoption of a Protocol that could be ratified on a voluntary basis.

23. The Committee of Experts also pointed out that a provision already exists in Convention No. 111 allowing governments to undertake obligations in regard to grounds other than those detailed in the Convention. Article 1(1)(b) states that the definition of discrimination can be modified to include any other distinction, exclusion or preference which may be determined by the government of the ratifying country after consultation with representative employers' and workers' organizations. While some stated in previous consultations that this route should be pursued, the Committee of Experts suggested the Protocol as a better way of allowing States to extend the grounds covered by the Convention. It may also be noted that suggestions by the Committee of Experts to governments that they have recourse to Article 1(1)(b) have not yet met with a positive response.

24. It may be expected that this Protocol would have several important differences from Article 1(1)(b). It should be noted that the text of the Convention provides no very clear indication of how such a determination should be made or communicated to the Committee of Experts, unlike a Protocol, which is clearly open to explicit ratification. Upon adoption, a Protocol would have to be submitted to the competent authorities of all member States in the same manner as Conventions and Recommendations, and would therefore have to be considered formally by governments. There is no obligation on governments which have ratified the Convention to undertake any formal consultation on the grounds of discrimination under Convention No. 111, and they do not appear in fact to carry out consultations in this regard.

25. Ratification of the Protocol would constitute an international obligation as well as a public commitment to the grounds specified by the government ratifying it, providing a rallying point for action concerning the prevention of discrimination in employment and occupation. Depending on national legal systems, it would embed the grounds selected in national law as well as in international commitments, in a way that a voluntary declaration under Article 1 of the Convention would not. Finally, there is no contradiction between the approach of ratifying an additional Protocol and that of making additional declarations under Article 1 of the Convention -- they would be compatible and could be complementary if governments were to begin using the procedure allowed for in the Convention.

* * *

2. Investment and employment
 

Summary

Globalization has strengthened the importance of private investment at the national level. Globally, foreign direct investment (FDI), which companies make to only a limited number of countries, has largely replaced public investment, such as development aid. The share of portfolio investments has increased. These trends have a considerable impact on the level and structure of economic growth, employment and income distribution.

As was made clear in the conclusions of the report submitted to the International Labour Conference in 1996 on "Employment policies in a global context", investment is a crucial element in the process of employment generation and output growth. Since then, concern has only intensified about how labour markets that remain local are affected by capital markets that are increasingly global.

Governments, trade unions and employers' organizations have several means to encourage investments in general, especially those with positive employment effects, even though the role of a state as an investor and provider of finance for investments has decreased radically. Changes in the composition, location and sources of finance for investments have affected the selection of available means to influence the investment decisions that are taken primarily in enterprises.

The discussion of investment and employment is motivated by the underlying question of how more and better jobs can be generated from investment in the changing context of decision-making, especially in areas where they are needed most: in least developed countries; in less developed regions within countries; and in smaller enterprises.


The State's role as an investor and contributor to investments

Areas of concern

26. There is a global trend away from state ownership to private ownership, and from monopoly toward competition. Large-scale privatization of state property has occurred in most parts of the world. Consequently, the State's role as an owner of production facilities has declined and its role as an investor has changed.

27. Until the mid-1980s, private and public investment tended to move together. Since then, the level of private investment has risen. As industries have been transferred to the private sector, deregulation and economic stabilization have increased growth opportunities, and new sectors such as infrastructure have opened to private investment.

28. The State's role as an investor now lies increasingly in social services and especially in human resources. Development of human resources provides excellent investment opportunities in terms of its contribution to sustainable economic growth. There is a strong positive association, for example, between school enrollment and average rates of growth. An educated population is the key to long-term growth and employment. In spite of this, education and training have been among the main targets for cuts in public expenditure in many developed countries.

29. The State's role has shifted from that of an investor to a promoter of private investments: even where a telecommunications network and service are provided by private companies, the government is expected to play a promotional and developmental role to facilitate and ensure the flow of investment funds to the sector. This role consists in research and development, pilot networks, purchasing policy, basic infrastructure, etc. Telecommunications is a good example of an industry that is a prerequisite for a modern network enterprise, and, at the same time, a business which itself requires developed infrastructure starting from the raw physical connectivity. A network enterprise is the actual unit of business operation, made up of different companies, or segments of companies, and of consultants and temporary workers attached to specific projects. The agents of the business project form, for each project, an enterprise that is defined by the task and the performance, not by its legal boundaries.

30. States allocate public funds also to the private sector's own investments, both in the national framework and international framework. Usually there is some conditionality involved in such funding, for example in the form of adjustment programmes.

31. At the national level, various investment incentives are tied to employment expansion: a grant or credit of a certain amount is provided for investments in businesses that commit themselves to increase net employment by an average of a certain number of full-time positions during a fiscal year. Although the short-term positive result is evident -- new jobs -- these types of incentives have been questioned. They are relevant if a company cannot otherwise afford an investment that would truly improve its performance.

32. It has been increasingly recognized that the capability of small and medium-sized enterprises to compete and survive is crucially affected by the quality of inter-firm and firm-institution networks in which they are embedded. Much policy attention is therefore directed at the needs of clusters of firms, rather than at individual firms. Firms may collaborate on such issues as product upgrading or training, and the initiative may come from the firms themselves, from a government agency, from a local training institution or, as with Garment Industry Development Corporation in New York, from a tripartite body. Such firm clusters are by their nature regional or subregional, and encouraging cluster development can aid local development, investment and employment.

33. At the international level, grants and credits are parts of adjustment programmes. The selection of instruments for promoting growth and employment is an important consideration in the design of adjustment programmes. Adjustment programmes have increased growth in some of the countries where they have been effectively implemented, but in many regions only the numbers of the poor continue to grow, even in countries with strong adjustment programmes. Adjustment policies have been criticized for not taking into account local circumstances and traditions: in Africa the programmes have often failed to pay attention to the fact that most people live in rural areas and are self-employed smallholders, and adjustment programmes that move the terms of trade in favour of the rural sector and focus on broad-based growth in agriculture consequently offer the most immediate opportunity for alleviating poverty and promoting economic growth.

Points for discussion

34. Points for discussion might include --

Targeting of investments

Areas of concern

35. The globally prevailing trend is away from labour-intensive production and towards capital-intensive production in almost all industries.

36. Technological advances have made it possible to develop technical solutions for various kinds of tasks that were formerly handled manually. The unpredictability of the economic context where many firms operate has made them more circumspect about employing workers.

37. The employment decision is similar to the investment decision for a firm, where it is desirable to hire a worker only when the net current value of the hiring decision is positive. A firm must compare the cost of investing in workers with that of investing in machines and equipment. In many cases, a worker is more flexible than a machine. Rising unit labour costs contribute to the erosion of competitiveness.

38. The key issue in the discussion on labour costs has been flexibility: employment security regulations affect labour-market flexibility; in general they reduce numerical flexibility, but promote functional flexibility.

39. The degree of employment security that firms are willing to provide depends partly on the extent of their existing investment in staff. The firm calculates that providing employment security will also increase the return on the firm's investments in labour force training and skills development, both specific and general. Consequently, low-skilled employees are more vulnerable in times of economic downturns in the business concerned and in the region.

40. In addition to labour laws and collective bargaining, tax laws also affect labour costs and employment. The taxation of labour is often heavier than that of capital. Employee and employer payroll taxes -- from which various social transfers are covered -- have been at the centre of the discussion on the relationship of taxation to employment creation. Payroll taxes raise the relative cost of labour, creating a disincentive for firms to create jobs. Moreover, as payroll taxes are not profit-based, they put pressure on firms during cyclical downturns.

41. High labour costs in developed countries have been cited as an argument for investing in labour-saving, capital-intensive technology and outsourcing to countries where production is less expensive. This has had an impact by raising structural unemployment, and the associated costs have added to the fiscal burden. This in turn has necessitated higher tax rates, which have further discouraged investment and, consequently, job creation.

42. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for a large share of employment, but for a much smaller share of investment. This is inevitable given that capital-intensive industries are likely to be large scale. However, many small and medium-sized enterprises need a higher level of investment in order to expand, to raise product quality and to compete more effectively. With greater investment, some of the inefficiency and waste generated by enterprise failure can be avoided, and with better-quality equipment workers with a higher skill level can be taken on, thus contributing to the development of a broad-based training culture in the economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises clearly suffer from a number of constraints on their expansion and potential for increased profitability, such as problems of marketing, purchasing and location, etc.

43. Employer payroll taxes are likely to affect small businesses differently than large businesses, for several reasons: payroll taxes constitute a much larger proportion of total taxes for small businesses; administrative costs are higher; smaller businesses tend to be labour-intensive and to hire more low-income, low- skilled employees; short-term market adjustment effects can have a heavier impact on cash flow for small businesses; and payroll taxes are not sensitive to profit.

Points for discussion

44. Points for discussion under section might include --

Location of investments

Areas of concern

45. Investment and production decisions are now made by companies on a global basis. Investors base decisions concerning capital expenditure on potential sales volumes, raw materials potential, proximity to clients, customers' demands, market and cost structures and the prevailing political and legal conditions.

46. Globalization offers investors in the international capital markets a wider range of investment opportunities, higher returns on savings and greater portfolio diversification. For the global economy as a whole, globalization promotes the more efficient allocation of resources worldwide and thus greater world growth, investment and employment.

47. Investments -- including foreign direct investment (FDI) which contributes directly to employment -- are distributed unevenly among the regions and countries. Countries and regions that are unable to participate in the expansion of world trade or to attract significant amounts of private investment run the risk of being left behind by the global economy. The countries and regions at greatest risk of being marginalized are precisely those most in need of the trade, investment and growth that globalization could bring.

48. Developing countries as a whole received 37 per cent of FDI inflows in 1997, compared to 17 per cent at the beginning of the decade. However, among developing countries, FDI inflows are concentrated in a small number of countries and regions. The main recipient regions are East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Compared with other parts of the world, the overall volume of FDI in Africa remains low, and is thus a source of concern. Between 1991 and 1996, Africa attracted less than 5 per cent of total FDI flows to developing countries.

49. The reasons for lack of FDI are varied, and the relationship between them is not fully understood. In addition to economic, there are also political reasons, which are in turn related to other economic considerations. Political instability and lack of confidence in governments are regarded as the ostensible culprits. Investors may perceive that reforms have not yet been firmly rooted in a given country, or that private investment does not enjoy the full commitment of the government as an objective, and they are thus hesitant. Some observers allude to the fact that there is little by way of an organized private sector in such countries. Finally, the risks to foreign investors are relatively high, while the rewards are low.

50. Although the merits of globalization and foreign direct investment are recognized, globalization has also evoked fears. It has been argued that multinational enterprises have exported jobs from developed countries to developing countries through foreign investment and export production in special economic zones, and that through trade liberalization, governments have encouraged the replacement of domestically produced goods by goods produced abroad.

51. Special economic zones belong to the numerous incentives that governments use in order to attract foreign direct investment. Basically, a special economic zone -- giving free-trade status to exporters -- is a practical intermediate step for countries that cannot make the move to free trade quickly. Free trade zones (FTZs) and export processing zones (EPZs) are sites where foreign or domestic merchandise may enter without formal customs clearance or the payment of customs duties or government excise taxes. EPZs are dedicated to manufacturing for export, whereas FTZs also handle imports. But attitudes toward them vary considerably. Where they been successfully applied, as in East Asia, the schemes have made a big contribution to the success of manufactured exports. Furthermore, export success has led not only to economic growth but also to generating the momentum for trade liberalization. On the other hand, operators of special economic zones have been accused, inter alia, of violations of human rights.

52. For the governance of globalization, a great number of regional organizations aimed at ensuring economic integration have been formed. As regards regional integration, three trends are visible: Free trade areas develop into areas involving deeper economic integration. Either organizations are replaced with new ones, or new elements are added to existing organizations. Economic integration areas continue to enlarge, either by mergers of organizations or the admission of new members to existing organizations. Cooperation agreements between regional groups are increasing.

Points for discussion

53. Points for discussion under this section might include --

Funding of investments

Areas of concern

54. In most developing countries, both public and private savings rates are far too low to finance the targeted levels of investment.

55. Private capital has displaced official development finance as the main source of external financing for developing countries, accounting for 85 per cent of the total in 1997, compared to only 41 per cent in 1990. Between 1990 and 1997, disbursements by official aid agencies declined from nearly 60 per cent of net long-term resource flows to developing countries, representing a reduction of 15 per cent. There has also been a decline in absolute terms. This decline reflects better access to capital markets by an increasing number of developing countries as well as decreasing demand for official assistance in financing public sector investment, such as infrastructure projects.

56. However, private FDI flows are heavily concentrated on a narrow range of countries, sectors and borrowers: 75 per cent of net private capital flows go to a dozen countries, which include the largest developing countries. This leaves over 100 developing countries with little access to private financing. Even among countries that receive private capital, borrowing is limited to a small set of top-tier countries, and is mainly targeted at extractive industries, infrastructure and the financial sector.

57. This concentration suggests that multilateral development banks (MDBs) should play a more selective role in financing development in the 21st century, focusing on areas not adequately financed from other sources. This poses a dilemma for the MDBs, since the findings on aid effectiveness suggest that to achieve greater impact they must concentrate assistance on countries where policies and institutions are reasonably supportive of development. These are also likely to be the countries that are the most attractive to private investors. This raises the question of whether developing countries with good access to private finance should graduate from MDB borrowing. On the other hand, the point at which they should do so is likely to be difficult to define, as disparities in the level of development and access to financing can be as great within countries as between them: for example, there is a huge gulf between living standards in coastal China and those in the interior, or between São Paolo and Manaus.

58. Demand for policy-based lending, which remains one of the World Bank's major capabilities, is likely to continue to fluctuate. The size of rescue packages has increased in recent years with each major crisis. With further liberalization might come even greater volatility. Thus, MDBs may retain a role as a lender of last resort to countries, even where their role in financing investment has ceased.

59. The structure of private financing of investments has changed radically in recent years. Traditionally, dealings between borrowers and savers occurred through banks and securities firms, with banks lending depositors' funds direct to firms, and securities firms providing the distribution of new issues of debt and equity to individual investors, pension funds, and insurance companies. Two notable trends have eroded this traditional view of financial intermediation.

60. First, from the supply side, non-bank financial institutions have been slowly challenging banks' traditional assets, by facilitating the securitization of finance and by offering financial services that have historically been provided almost exclusively by banks. Investment banks, securities firms, asset managers, mutual funds, insurance companies, specialty and trade finance companies, hedge funds and even telecommunications, software and food companies are starting to provide services not unlike those traditionally provided by banks.

61. Secondly, on the demand side, many households have bypassed bank deposits and securities firms in order to hold their funds with institutions better able to diversify risks, reduce tax burdens, and take advantage of economies of scale. The result has been a dramatic growth in the size and sophistication of institutions that specialize in investing money, increasingly on a global basis, on behalf of households.

62. Non-bank financial sectors in the major advanced economies are very large. In the G-7 countries, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies and other non-bank institutional investors managed assets totalling more than US$ 20 thousand billion ($20,000,000,000,000) in 1995. To put this figure in perspective, this amounts to some 110 per cent of the GDP of all the G-7 countries; it is more than half the value of all bonds and equities outstanding in these countries; and it represents 90 per cent of all assets in the banking systems in those countries. International financial capital movements have expanded enormously under the combined impact of financial deregulation and innovation. For example, cross-border transactions in bonds and equities soared in major industrial countries, from less than 10 per cent of GDP in 1980 to between 150 and 250 per cent in 1995.

63. Although portfolio investments can make an important contribution to the financing of equity capital for local companies, concerns have been expressed by host countries, particularly regarding the volatility of these flows and their effect on exchange and interest rates. Tax policies have frequently supported the increasing share of portfolio investments.

64. The abundance of sources tempts companies to use outside equity sparingly. Investment levels are kept high, even when the profitability is relatively low.

65. Increasing the profitable investment of public-sector revenues has recently been under debate in many developed countries. The discussion has focused in particular on the funds of various social insurance programmes, especially social security funds. Traditionally, these funds have been placed only in areas regarded as safe investments, such as government securities, which are mainly long-term bonds. However, the funds could obtain a much higher return by investing the money in equities. There are, at least theoretically, also other options: governments -- or whoever is to decide -- could finance investments that have an employment- generating impact.

Points for discussion

66. Points for discussion under this section might include --

* * *

3. Youth employment
 

Summary

Young people often encounter difficulties in entering productive employment, and youth unemployment is chronic in many member States. With a few notable exceptions, throughout the world the rate of unemployment among young people is much higher than among adults. An overview of the problem is presented here. This is followed by a summary of recent ILO work on the question, which has identified a number of elements that might contribute to an effective response to the problem. Among these, attention should be paid to the overall economic and employment situation; youth employment policies need to be administered in an integrated framework which also takes into account educational policies; and programmes should be carefully targeted, and, in particular, more attention needs to be paid to the situation of those with lower levels of education and skills. In many countries there is also a dearth of adequate and up-to-date labour market information that would help in the design of policy and provide better information to young people themselves on available opportunities. Similarly, programmes are often implemented without adequate mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation, which is of fundamental importance in identifying which schemes work and why. Research has demonstrated that the involvement of employers' and workers' organizations in the design and implementation of policy and programmes improves their effectiveness.

Issues for discussion are suggested, including which types of programmes are appropriate in which circumstances; the question of sub-minimum wages for young people and whether young people may be paid lower training allowances in exchange for high-quality training from employers; which mechanisms are appropriate for the involvement of the social partners; the role of compulsory schooling; whether training should take place in schools or the workplace or both; the role of vocational guidance and counselling; the question of the quality, in addition to the quantity, of jobs for young people; the question of whether schemes should be compulsory; and the role of self-employment initiatives.


Background

67. Young people often encounter difficulties in entering productive employment and youth unemployment is chronic in many member States. With a few notable exceptions, throughout the world the rate of unemployment among young people is much higher than among adults. Recent ILO estimates suggest that at least 60 million young people are unemployed worldwide. These estimates also suggest that, on average, youth unemployment rates are three times as high as adult rates.

68. In OECD member countries, the unemployment rate of the 15-24 age group in 1996 was 13.6 per cent. This is more than twice as high as the comparable figure for adults which stood at 5.9 per cent. This means that more than 11 million young people are unemployed in OECD member countries.

69. In developing countries, figures are less widely available. However, existing data suggest that the gap between youth and adult unemployment rates is even wider than in industrialized countries. For example, in Indonesia the female youth unemployment rate in 1994 was 12.5 per cent, compared to 2.2 per cent for adults. The comparable figures for males were 11.9 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively. Youth unemployment rates in Zimbabwe in 1993 stood at around 21 per cent for males and 11 per cent for females, compared to overall male and female unemployment rates of 9.5 and 4.5 per cent respectively. The female youth unemployment rate in Jamaica in 1995 stood at 43.9 per cent, and that for males at 25 per cent, while adult rates were 14.7 per cent for females and 5.5 per cent for males. Furthermore, in developing countries the problem of open youth unemployment is compounded by the existence of substantial levels of underemployment and poor-quality informal sector employment. The widespread existence of both phenomena suggests that the problem of the integration of young people into the labour market in developing countries is even more serious than is suggested by an examination of open unemployment rates.

70. In transition economies, youth unemployment also has a similar pattern. Given the substantial reductions in output in many transition economies, the problem is even more serious than in many industrialized countries. For example, despite a partial recovery of output, youth unemployment in Poland in 1997 was 24.7 per cent against an adult rate of 8 per cent. Similarly, in Hungary in 1997, the rate of unemployment for youths was 16 per cent against 7.5 per cent for adults. As a result of the process of rapid transition to a market economy, recent years have witnessed the emergence of sizeable groups of young persons who are detached from the economic mainstream in these countries.

71. The problem of youth unemployment and underemployment is a serious one. Although youth unemployment tends to be of shorter duration than adult unemployment, patterns of behaviour established early in life are likely to persist throughout a person's "working" life. Unemployment early in a career increases the likelihood of further and more prolonged spells of unemployment later in life and permanently affects employability. Similarly, underemployment and low-quality informal sector employment are likely to be self-reinforcing, condemning young people to a lifetime of insecure and poor-quality marginal employment. Lack of productive and freely chosen employment early in life is also associated with other social problems such as crime and drug abuse, which may become very hard to alter later in life.

72. The question also arises of which groups of young people are of special concern. The UN defines young people as those between 15 and 24 years old. However, the problems facing young people are not constant across the age group. In particular, the labour market experiences and problems of teenagers (15-19) are likely to be quite different from those facing young adults in the 20 to 24 age range.

73. Furthermore, a number of subgroups within the category of young people merit special attention. For example, young women experience either higher unemployment rates or have lower labour force participation rates than their male counterparts. Ethnic minorities also often face greater difficulties in entering productive employment, as do those with lower levels of education and skills. Many developing countries are confronted with the problem of the "educated unemployed". However, these represent a fairly small group in numerical terms. Taking into account levels of underemployment and poor-quality informal sector employment, the more serious problem lies with those poorly equipped to enter productive employment, particularly those with low levels of education and skills.

The international policy context

74. Many member States are concerned with the integration of young people into working life and the quality of the work they take up. From its very beginning, the ILO has adopted Conventions and Recommendations relevant to improving the lot of young people. The Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4), the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 5), and the Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 6), contain provisions for the protection of working young people. More recently, attention has turned to the effective integration of young people into working life. Of relevance in this regard is the report to the 72nd International Labour Conference in 1986 and the subsequent resolution concerning young people.(13)  In 1996, the 83rd Session of the International Labour Conference adopted the Conclusions concerning the achievement of full employment in a global context: The responsibility of governments, employers and trade unions.(14)  These conclusions included the affirmation that countries should design and implement special measures to enhance the employability of vulnerable groups such as young workers. At the International Labour Conference in 1998, the ILO adopted a resolution concerning youth employment.(15)  The resolution calls on member States, and where appropriate, employers and workers and their respective organizations, inter alia:

The resolution also calls on the Governing Body of the International Labour Office to consider including, as soon as possible, an item for general discussion on the issue of youth employment on the agenda of the International Labour Conference.

75. Several initiatives have been launched recently that are of special relevance to the ILO's work on youth and employment. The first is the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1995. The implementation of this programme involves many parts of the UN and specialized agencies, including the ILO. At the first World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, held under the auspices of the Portuguese Government in August 1998, the Lisbon Declaration on Youth Policies and Programmes was adopted. The Declaration recognizes, amongst other things, "the urgency of creating more and better jobs for young women and young men and the central role of youth employment in facilitating the transition from school to work, thereby reducing crime and drug abuse and ensuring participation and social cohesion". In the section on employment, signatories committed themselves, inter alia, to --

The Conference also declared 12 August as International Youth Day.

76. Commitment 3 of the Declaration adopted by the World Summit for Social Development in March 1995 also makes explicit reference to the problems of young people, stating that "special attention" should be given to "the problems of structural long-term unemployment and underemployment of youth".

77. In November 1997, at the Kobe Jobs Conference, the Chairperson's conclusions affirmed that "the promotion of youth employment through appropriate policies is crucial", and that "achieving a smooth transition from school to work is the key to addressing the youth employment problem". The Chairperson suggested that measures should include "the provision of work experience both at school and off the school curriculum, access to career information, counselling, [...] effective job placement and vocational training".(16) 

78. In November 1997, the European Commission adopted the 1998 guidelines for employment policy which state that "Member States will ensure that every unemployed young person is offered a new start before reaching six months of unemployment, in the form of training, retraining, work practice, a job or other employability measure". On 14 October 1998 new guidelines were adopted for 1999 in Brussels. These reiterated the commitment to offering placements to unemployed young people but also turned to the problem of young people with low levels of educational achievement. Thus the guidelines call on Member States --

In regard to the involvement of the social partners in youth policies, the 1999 guidelines also urge them to "conclude as soon as possible agreements with a view to increasing the possibilities for training, work experience, traineeships or other measures likely to promote employability". Many EU countries have introduced measures in accordance with the guidelines, either in response to or in anticipation of them.

79. The OECD has also undertaken several initiatives related to the question of youth and employment. At present, the OECD secretariat is in the process of completing the first stage of a "Thematic Review of the Transition from Initial Education to Working Life" which formed the basis of a conference in February 1999 in Washington as well as a high-level meeting on "The Problem of Youth and Employment" to be held later in 1999.

Action Programme on Youth Unemployment

80. During the 1996-97 biennium, the ILO undertook an Action Programme on Youth Unemployment. The principal objectives of the action programme were: (i) to raise awareness among constituents of the problems associated with the entry into the labour market of young people; (ii) to improve their understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the principal policy and programme options for tackling the problem of youth unemployment; and thus (iii) to enhance the capacity of member States to design and implement policies and programmes for promoting youth employment both at the macroeconomic and micro-economic levels.

81. The action programme comprised a series of country case-studies as well as analyses of specific policy issues aimed principally at addressing questions concerned with the nature of youth unemployment and the effectiveness of different types of potential solution to this problem. On the basis of the action programme a series of studies looking at the experiences in different countries as well as studies of specific issues such as the role of minimum wages in determining youth unemployment have already been published.(17)  The principal output of the action programme, a detailed comparative report on national policies and experience, has been completed and will shortly be disseminated. This report addresses issues relevant to the promotion of the quantity and quality of youth employment.

Action Programme on Strategies to Combat Youth
Marginalization and Unemployment

82. The objective of this action programme, being implemented in the 1998-99 biennium, is to develop a coherent and systematic method of intervention for developing countries that can be adapted to national situations and integrated into employment policies in order to combat the social exclusion and unemployment of young people. The resulting ILO perspective on effective policies and programmes to combat the marginalization of youth will be set out in a practical strategy for use by constituents and the multidisciplinary advisory teams in the development of national programmes.

The causes of youth unemployment

83. ILO research has shown that, in most cases, while youth unemployment is almost everywhere significantly higher than adult unemployment, changes in youth unemployment are more or less proportionate to variations in adult unemployment.(18)  A second important issue regards the relative importance of different factors in causing youth unemployment. What role does the economic context play, and is this more important than other factors such as the size of the youth population and the level of wages paid to young people in relation to adult wage rates? A recent ILO study has shown that youth unemployment is principally related to the level and growth rates of aggregate demand, which outweigh the influence of the relative size of the youth population.(19)  Therefore, an adequate employment-intensive economic growth performance will significantly help in alleviating the problems associated with expanding youth populations. The study also found that the wages of young people relative to adults played little or no role in determining the level of youth unemployment. In addition to more formal evidence, this is demonstrated by the fact that in most OECD countries youth unemployment has continued to increase in the 1990s despite falls in the youth/adult relative wage in those countries.

Elements of an effective response

Economic conditions

84. The overall implication of the analysis of the causes of youth unemployment is that any policy for promoting youth employment should take into account the current state of the economy. Promoting youth employment should be part of an overall strategy of employment creation through the promotion of employment-intensive economic growth and the creation of an economic environment that encourages investment and business growth. Recent ILO reports have suggested that an investment-led strategy remains a viable option.(20) 

Wage policies

85. ILO research has found that the relative wages of young people had a relatively small (if any) role to play in determining youth unemployment. Similarly, there is little evidence that sub-minimum wages or the exemption of youth from statutory minimum wages would lead to improved employment. The negative effects of minimum wages on youth employment where they are found to exist are relatively small compared to other factors. Indeed, more recent studies have often found such effects to be non-existent or even positive.(21)  If one adds to this the positive role that higher wages play in increasing the quality of employment there are few grounds for promoting a policy of reducing the wages of young people as a means to combat youth unemployment. However, lowering the remuneration of young people while they are undergoing training may in some circumstances be justified and may promote the introduction of training by firms by splitting the cost among employers (where relevant), the State, and individuals.

Role of the social partners

86. Much research has shown that the effectiveness of youth employment policy may be enhanced when employers' and workers' organizations are effectively involved in its design and implementation. The involvement of employers' and workers' organizations would help identify the appropriate forms of training and employment programmes for job opportunities. It also means that these organizations are stakeholders in the whole process and are therefore committed to its success. For example, Germany has managed to maintain levels of youth unemployment, and in particular teenage unemployment, below those of their adult counterparts. One of the key features of the German system is the involvement of both employers' and workers' organizations in the development and implementation of youth employment policy.

Education and training systems

87. The key to resolving or relieving the youth unemployment problem lies in adopting policies which ease the transition from school to work. Some forms of education and training systems are more successful than others in easing this transition. In particular, countries which have adopted the dual form of apprenticeship training have much lower rates of youth unemployment in comparison to adult rates. Although, in the context of a general recession the education and training system is not in itself able to resolve the youth unemployment problem, the system of basic vocational education and training operating in a country clearly has a fundamental role to play in easing the transition from school to work.

Education and employment policy

88. In this regard, youth employment policies and programmes are likely to be more effective if they are integrated with educational policies. One step in this direction has been taken by some member States, for example in the United Kingdom, with the unification of the Department of Employment and the Department of Education and Science into the new Department for Employment and Education. This may help avoid the development of education and employment policies that are effectively in competition with each other. Moreover, the educational curriculum should, at least to some extent, take into account the vocational needs of young people. In a number of countries it has been suggested that educational policies are too theoretically oriented. School curricula should to some extent reflect the requirements of young people when they enter the labour market.

Integrating different employment programmes

89. Furthermore, within the realm of youth employment policy, efficiency may be enhanced if different programmes are integrated with each other. In many developing countries, there are numerous small-scale schemes and programmes for promoting youth employment. However, these programmes require careful coordination: often there are no real links between them. For example, it has been suggested that lower level prevocational programmes providing basic education should be linked to the more advanced vocational training schemes. This would ensure effective use of resources and encourage greater complementarity between programmes.

Training versus work experience

90. The relative usefulness of different types of policy measures, such as employment subsidies and training programmes will also depend on general economic performance. Vocational training programmes do not necessarily create post-programme employment opportunities. Employment subsidies and public works schemes may be equally successful in maintaining the labour market attachment of participants. However, these measures are less likely to inculcate in participants' unrealistic expectations of long-term job opportunities. On the other hand, it may be advantageous for firms to use periods of reduced demand to increase and upgrade the skills of its existing workforce so as to be ready for increased production when the economy does pick up. Government support for such skills development would help avoid lay-offs during recessions.

Targeting

91. Programmes should be carefully targeted for two reasons. First, on the grounds of efficiency: many studies have shown that more closely targeted programmes are more successful. Secondly, on the grounds of equity: particularly when there are clear cases of labour market surplus, social justice suggests that those young people who are most in need of help should be aided. The experience of most countries with youth employment programmes is that, very often, they have benefited principally those people who were already in a position to help themselves even without the aid of programmes. More attention might be given to those young people who are the least likely to succeed on the labour market without outside intervention.

Labour market information

92. Many developing countries also share the problem of lacking up-to-date and accurate labour market information. Better information on the labour market situation of different types of individuals would allow for more appropriate targeting of policies and programmes. Also, better information on the requirements of employers would aid in the design of vocational training and other programmes. Better labour market information may also help young people make informed choices concerning their working lives bringing their expectations more into line with the practical opportunities offered by the labour market.

Monitoring and evaluation

93. Monitoring and evaluation is a fundamental requirement for the effective implementation of policies and programmes for promoting youth employment. While monitoring and evaluation is fairly common in industrialized countries, in transition and especially developing economies relatively little attention is paid to this. Monitoring serves the basic function of ensuring that programmes are actually implemented as planned. Evaluation combined with monitoring can serve the purpose of refining programmes and identifying where and why programmes succeed or fail. It may be argued that such monitoring and evaluation should be built in at the programme design phase.

Policy issues for discussion

94. If selected as a topic for general discussion, the Conference may find it appropriate to discuss some of the following issues:

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4. Promotion of cooperatives
 

Summary

It is proposed that new standards concerning cooperatives should be developed. The Co-operatives (Developing Countries) Recommendation, 1966 (No. 127), concerning the role of cooperatives in the economic and social development of developing countries, is the only ILO standard addressing cooperative issues in a comprehensive manner. The political, economic and social conditions which prevailed at the time Recommendation No. 127 was adopted in 1966 have changed fundamentally. The new standards could embed these changes in the equally evolved cooperative principles and values. In particular, they could aim at promoting autonomous cooperative enterprises and limit state intervention. The scope of the new instruments should be universal, not confined only to developing countries, as new universally applicable standards in this area could enable self-help organizations to fully unfold their potential and thus help solve unemployment and social exclusion. The proposal traces the evolution of the cooperative movement in industrialized countries, former socialist countries and developing countries; outlines the new scope and universally applicable content that standards could have in this field; and concludes with a summary of the preparatory work already undertaken by the Office.


Background

95. Paragraph 12.1(a) of Recommendation No. 127 defines a cooperative as "... an association of persons who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a common end through the formation of a democratically controlled organization, making equitable contributions to the capital required and accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of the undertaking in which the members actively participate". This definition is universally accepted. Cooperatives play an important role in the economic, social, cultural and political development of most countries. Cooperatives significantly contribute to national economies and societies. They promote self-employment and entrepreneurship, and indirectly secure employment in other types of enterprises which are buyers or suppliers of cooperative goods and services. Cooperatives are active in all branches of the economy and can be found among all professions. They are also concerned with the social well-being of their members, and that of non-members, by being active in the fields of housing, health care and care for the elderly, and in education, mainly at the primary level. These services are often provided for, on the initiative of, or in close collaboration with, employers' and workers' organizations which share these social and economic concerns with cooperatives.

96. Some 800 million people around the globe are members of cooperatives. A further 100 million people are employed by cooperatives without being members. If one adds to these figures the numbers of persons who are economically dependent on those involved in cooperative business, one realizes that a considerable proportion of the world's population satisfies its needs at least partly by or through cooperatives.

97. Despite these positive facts, it is felt that the self-help potential of cooperatives remains underutilized, even though economic and social challenges in many countries require the mobilization of all potential available.

98. Since the time of the adoption of Recommendation No. 127, political, economic and social changes have affected the situation of cooperatives throughout the world. While cooperatives seem to have a new role to play both in industrialized countries and in the former socialist countries, the focus of Recommendation No. 127 is limited to developing countries. New universal standards in this area could help enable cooperatives to develop more fully their self-help potential, placing them in a better position to meet a number of current socio-economic problems. It is therefore time to establish new international standards based on modern cooperative principles and values for the promotion of cooperatives.

99. As far as developing countries are concerned, Recommendation No. 127 mirrored the development concerns of the 1960s, especially in its approach to the role of governments and cooperatives in the development process. Today, development is not conceived as a process to imitate already industrialized countries, nor are cooperatives seen as a means in the hands of governments. In accordance with universally recognized cooperative principles, they are perceived as a means for their members to achieve their common goals.

100. In former socialist countries cooperatives were an integral part of the political system, a means of centralizing land use, employing agricultural labour and distributing consumer goods. The current privatization of the former socialist economies reaches beyond the land reform referred to in Recommendation No. 127: it involves the privatization of manufacturing facilities and service infrastructures, and involves the growth of worker-owned enterprises in all sectors of the economy. Some socialist-type cooperatives have been transformed into genuine cooperatives, while others have been bought out by individuals or by former members jointly. The ILO is receiving an increasing number of requests from developing countries and from countries in transition for assistance in cooperative organization, training and policy and legislative reform, since cooperatives have to assume an increasingly important role as a consequence of the liberalization and privatization of trade and services. The Office needs direction in the form of new standards to be able to respond to these requests.

101. In industrialized countries it is the changing structure of cooperatives and new forms of cooperatives that call for the application of new standards to this category of countries as well. The traditional structure of cooperatives is currently evolving to cope more effectively with competitive pressure from other forms of business organizations. On the other hand, the cooperative model of joint ownership and management is increasingly being used by employees to buy out their own enterprises in the transport, service and manufacturing sectors as a means of protecting and generating jobs in an era of continued downsizing resulting from globalization and technological change. At the same time, these workers increase their stakeholding in society.

102. In many countries, political, economic and social changes in general have put pressure on governments to limit their involvement in economic and social affairs. The core idea of structural adjustment programmes is a shift from public to private initiative, financing, management and responsibility. Subsequent monetary and fiscal stabilization programmes, institution building, privatization and liberalization require civil society to take a more active role in economic, social and political affairs. The State's role is increasingly limited to that of providing the political, legal and administrative framework for the development of private organizations, including cooperatives, which in turn strengthen democracy. There have been calls for new standards in this area from member States.

National law and practice

103. In a series of studies on "creating a favourable climate and conditions for cooperative development", the Office has documented national law and practice in different parts of the world outside the industrialized countries.(23) 

104. In developing countries, cooperatives have in the past been confined to geographical areas coinciding often with administrative and district boundaries. Membership has at times been compulsory to carry out economic activities and governments have intervened in the organization and management of cooperatives by convening general assemblies and board meetings, by seconding government staff to these bodies, by taking decisions on behalf of cooperatives, by supervising employees and even elected office-bearers, by replacing them with state commissions, by defining the objectives of cooperatives, by assigning tasks, by subjecting investment and surplus distribution to their approval, by freezing cooperative bank accounts, by having the control and promotional function exercised by a government service, by creating and running secondary and tertiary cooperative organizations, by merging, dividing and dissolving cooperatives and by settling disputes without allowing appeals to ordinary courts of justice. On the other hand, governments have tended to grant to cooperatives tax privileges and easy access to credit. In general, and in accordance with the current spirit of Recommendation No. 127, cooperatives have been used as agents of government development offices, to organize production, to administer land reforms and to manage irrigation and credit schemes.

105. In the former socialist countries, there was no clear distinction between the private and public sector in economic affairs. Accordingly, cooperatives were then organized as part of the state economic and administrative structure. They were used as an instrument to implement state economic plans and in an effort to create a socialist society.

106. In industrialized countries, cooperatives exist in large numbers and are fully integrated into the private sector, where they have gained considerable market shares in agricultural marketing and supply, financial services, consumer goods distribution, housing, etc. Moreover, cooperatives play, in partnership with all social partners, a significant role in the provision of social services. In an environment characterized by increased competition and globalization, cooperatives are enhancing their competitive edge by laying more emphasis on the fundamental values of cooperation, such as concern for community and the environment. Many small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the same economic sector are establishing cooperative networks in order to generate economies of scale without losing their independence. In this way they utilize the cooperative concept as an attractive alternative to franchising and market concentration. Nevertheless, the search by cooperatives for increased competitiveness, mainly through mergers and acquisitions, by changes in capital structure and by adopting management styles common to stock companies, has in many cases jeopardized the character of cooperatives as member-managed business enterprises.

ILO standards and practice

107. The only comprehensive international standard on cooperatives is Recommendation No. 127. Also of relevance are the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141), and Recommendation (No. 149); the Employment Policy Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169); and the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). These standards give examples of how specific groups may organize, including in the form of a cooperative, to what ends cooperatives may be used by their members, or they emphasize that groups living according to cultural traits which are not the ones of the majority of society should be protected in their way of organizing self-help associations, including cooperatives.

108. The ILO recognizes the importance of cooperatives in article 12 of its Constitution, which provides for consultation with cooperators -- besides employers and workers -- through their recognized international organizations. In accordance with this provision, the ILO has promoted the development of cooperatives, mainly through technical assistance and information, and has advised governments, and workers' and employers' organizations, on their role in this area. It has the largest programme of technical cooperation within the UN system for this purpose.

Purpose of new standards

109. The main purpose of new standards would be to elaborate standards of universal scope and to promote cooperative principles worldwide as a means of empowering civil society to reach social and economic goals through self-help. At a time when the changing role of governments coincides with the globalization of capital and the increasing internationalization of enterprises, it is necessary to reinstate the role of the individual in decision-making. Cooperatives serve as a model of enterprise which is member-centred, oriented towards members' needs and has a specific mechanism for the distribution of surplus. Furthermore, the purpose of the new standards would be to focus on the autonomy of cooperative enterprises and to limit state intervention.

Contents of new standards

110. The new standards should have universal scope, since the consequences of economic, political and social changes have a bearing on all countries. For example, a common concern shared by all countries is the declining capacity to create formal wage and salary employment and to prevent social exclusion. In developing countries, structural adjustment has continued to have a negative impact on unskilled workers and low-income groups. In many instances, social exclusion and poverty have accelerated. In economies in transition, the process of privatization combined with the lack of social safety nets has been accompanied by rising unemployment, lower incomes and lower social standards. In industrialized countries, slower economic growth combined with a shift towards the technologically advanced service industries, has resulted in growing economic and social exclusion, mainly among lower skilled workers in traditional industries.

111. The new standards, besides addressing governments and workers' and employers' organizations, could also address cooperatives, their unions and federations. The reference to the social partners is to emphasize their interest and responsibility for the promotion of cooperatives, while the inclusion of the cooperatives with their vertical structures is to underline their own responsibility. This responsibility includes the financing and management of their own support services, including audit and control, management training and membership education. This would better reflect the very nature of cooperatives as autonomous organizations.

112. The new standards should espouse the cooperative principles of:

113. The new standards could also place emphasis on the necessary complementarity between cooperative principles, cooperative law, and corresponding structures. Thus, for example, cooperative development presupposes an adequate administrative, banking, insurance and judicial structure and support from professional organizations. The new standards should strengthen the autonomy of cooperatives and address areas of common concern to the State and to cooperatives. The role of the government should be limited to legislation, registration, deregistration and enforcement. The management, autonomy and business viability of cooperatives have often been hampered by their being forced to join general development programmes for which they do not have the financial or human resources. Cooperatives should be allowed to develop their self-sufficiency and undertake obligations as decided by their members only. Larger goals with regard to general economic and social policy, as incorporated in Recommendation No. 127, would not be included in new standards, and all forms of discrimination against or in favour of cooperatives should be excluded. Therefore, they should be obliged to compete on an equal footing with any other form of private enterprise. A distinction could be made between different types of cooperatives to include organized structures governed by the defined cooperative principles and other non-organized structures based on solidarity.

114. The importance of cooperative law for the development of cooperatives could be stressed. A distinction between the matters to be included in the law and those that may be regulated by administrative bodies could be added. Beyond any kind of separation of powers on which a political system may be based, it is important to cover basic cooperative matters by law in order to protect them from frequent political changes. Furthermore, law and administrative regulations could allow substantial issues to be regulated by cooperative members through their by-laws or statutes as an expression of their autonomy.

115. The specification of the basic issues that any cooperative law must address contained in Recommendation No. 127 could be broadened in a way that brings out the distinctive features of cooperatives as opposed to other forms of business organizations and enterprises. This concerns management, inter alia, and hence management qualifications, capital structure, the role of capital, democratic decision-making -- regardless of the size of the cooperative, and the rights and obligations of cooperative unions and federations. In this way the attention of legislators can be drawn to the need to reflect the specificities of cooperative law in other forms of legislation such as taxation, competition and labour law.

116. The new standards could embody a wider concept of cooperative human resource development and take account of the need for greater involvement of cooperative movements in planning, implementing and monitoring training programmes. Education and training could be directed towards business efficiency and skills and knowledge of cooperative principles in order to preserve cooperative identity.

117. The new standards would change the approach to governmental financial assistance, which has frequently encouraged government control of cooperatives. At the time of the adoption of Recommendation No. 127, governments were expected to exercise a predominant role in the channelling of national and international financial support to cooperatives. Today, structural adjustment programmes have led to a reduction of public financial assistance and subsidies. Cooperatives are therefore intensifying their efforts to mobilize and manage their own credit and savings schemes and their own commercial relations with other cooperatives in the free market economy -- both domestically and internationally -- and to set up a system for the mutual exchange of technical cooperation through cooperative networks. Financial support should be restricted to indirect measures, such as participation in credit guarantee funds.

118. The new standards could take into consideration the self-auditing capacity of the cooperative movements. The establishment of sound auditing practices could be advocated and supported.

119. The new standards could encourage cooperative movements and academic institutions to support research on cooperative issues and make the results known through new information technologies. The collection of reliable and standardized statistical data is also essential.

120. Finally, past experience with Recommendation No. 127 suggests ways through which the ILO would be able to monitor the implementation of new standards. The experts attending the Meeting of Experts on Cooperative Law in 1995 were of the opinion that a body should be established to foster the rights of freedom of association for cooperative members.(24) 

Nature of new standards

121. The experts attending the ILO meetings on cooperatives in 1993 and 1995 were not unanimous as to whether a Recommendation or a Convention would be the appropriate instrument. The adoption of a Convention, possibly supplemented by a Recommendation, was considered in order to give binding force to the updated basic cooperative principles. It was suggested by others, however, that the new standards envisaged should take the form of a Recommendation. In the latter event, it is suggested that a new comprehensive Recommendation should be adopted rather than a partial revision of Recommendation No. 127. Not only is a partial revision more difficult because the coherence of the existing standard would be difficult to maintain, but more importantly, the proposed new standards are intended to express a change in basic logic.

Preparatory work

122. The ILO held a Meeting of Experts on Cooperatives in 1993 whose agenda included an item concerning an assessment of the impact of Recommendation No. 127, for which a resource paper was prepared.(25)  This Meeting was followed by the Meeting of Experts on Cooperative Law in 1995, mentioned above, during which this was further discussed. The Office issued a number of working papers in conjunction with the two meetings. These include a series on factors leading to a favourable climate for cooperative development in Africa (1993), Asia (1994), Latin America (1996) and Central and Eastern Europe (1996); a report on the relationship between the State and cooperatives in cooperative legislation (1993); structural changes in cooperative movements and consequences for cooperative legislation in different regions of the world (1993); a review of the impact of Recommendation No. 127 (1993); a report on the impact of labour law and industrial relations on cooperative law (1995); a report on cooperative law and the regulatory role of the State (1995); a report on cooperative structure and competition law (1994); and studies on labour law and cooperatives (1995).

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5. New trends in prevention and resolution
of labour disputes
 

Summary

A general discussion is proposed on the subject of alternative forms of labour conflict resolution with a view to guiding future initiatives and programmes on the prevention and settlement of labour disputes as the cornerstone of sound industrial relations and in creating the proper climate for economic growth and social progress. The present proposals take off from the previous proposals under the heading "The settlement of labour disputes" which have been revised and updated.

The importance of preventing, minimizing and resolving labour conflicts in a globalized economy and the transition to a market economy in many countries marked by intense competition, financial turmoil and social inequalities appears to be more widely recognized. As now formulated, the proposals have duly taken into account the major trends and developments on the subject in the age of globalization, reflecting the emphasis being given to prevention, the application of various alternative forms of conflict resolution, and the reinvention of traditional systems and methods in the context of the differences in legal systems, customs, culture and traditions prevailing in each country. The emergence of new and innovative tools, strategies, techniques and models to negotiation, conflict resolution and joint problem-solving, including various proactive and creative measures and programmes to guide the parties from a relationship of antagonism to one that is based on reconciliation, teamwork and cooperation, have been noted.

A central concern is the need for reforms in labour law and procedures and the introduction and strengthening of systems and mechanisms which ensure easy accessibility, efficiency, fairness and the trust and confidence of the parties. The need for training, information-sharing, studies and research on best practices and their wide diffusion and adaptation in various countries have also been emphasized. The proposals consist of a brief explanation of concepts, prevailing practices and new developments under the following sub-topics: categories of disputes, prevention of disputes, procedures for the settlement of disputes (conciliation, mediation, arbitration, adjudication and alternative dispute resolution), industrial action, international labour standards, and the prospects for general discussion. Some issues are raised under the various sub-topics. The last paragraph suggests the main points which can be discussed in the consideration of these proposals.


123. The proposals on this subject under the original title of "The settlement of labour disputes" as presented to the Governing Body at its 261st, 262nd, 267th, 268th and 273rd Sessions have been duly modified and updated, in line with the request of the Governing Body for more detailed and updated proposals which should be submitted to it at its succeeding session. The proposals are being submitted with a view to a possible general discussion.

124. The new workplace and economic environment in a globalized economy and the transition to a market economy in many countries have had far-reaching effects on labour-management relations in general and on the level and nature of disputes as well as the way they are managed in particular. Many countries are experiencing a decline in the number of labour disputes and strikes, which can, however, turn out to be more adversarial, complex, lengthy and intractable. In others, the incidence of labour disputes is becoming more manageable and usually accompanied by important inroads to make labour-management relations more collaborative and cooperative. Labour disputes occur at national and local levels in both unionized and non-unionized sectors of the economy involving issues which range from the traditional subjects of wages, fringe benefits and termination of employment to new ones such as mass lay-offs and job security arising from deregulation, downsizing, mergers, relocation, restructuring and bankruptcies.

125. The effective prevention and settlement of labour disputes remains a cornerstone of sound labour relations and in creating the proper climate for economic growth, efficiency and equity, since labour disputes and conflicts are inherent under all labour relations systems. It is essential in this regard to establish and maintain appropriate mechanisms to prevent and settle labour disputes. It is important to note, however, that the incidence and nature of labour disputes and how they are handled, actually vary from country to country based on the particular legal system, culture, tradition and other related factors. In the face of the divergent models of procedures, systems and practices that exist in various countries, what can ultimately be important is the recognition of the need to study and to understand labour disputes and their underlying causes under various conditions and consequently prevent, minimize and settle them as promptly and as fairly as possible.

126. The need to establish, improve and strengthen systems and procedures for the prevention and settlement of disputes with the participation of the social partners is generally recognized. The aim is to ensure that systems and procedures that are efficient, accessible and enjoy the trust and confidence of the parties are in place. The role of dispute settlement institutions and the traditional methods employed in the past are, however, being challenged to adjust to the changed situation and new realities. More than simply reacting by settling disputes as they arise, the new expectations include, for example, the ability to guide the parties from a relationship of antagonism to a relationship of reconciliation, teamwork and cooperation and to take into account a variety of key considerations such as making collective bargaining work, genuine negotiations and communication, consensus decision-making and team-building, profitability, competitiveness and stability of the enterprise and productivity and job security.

127. While collective bargaining, conciliation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication continue to be the principal methods of dispute settlement, new and innovative tools, techniques and models to negotiation, conflict resolution and joint problem-solving are now being developed, studied and applied. The current methods for resolving disputes range from the traditional means characterized by the "firefighter" or "crisis" approach which are generally on the decline, to new more proactive and creative approaches. Some of the important developments include the emphasis being given recently to the prevention of labour disputes through various new approaches such as the application of "win-win" and "mutual gains" negotiation techniques (for example in the United States) together with various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Many countries are engaged in major debates regarding the future of the dispute resolution system (as in Australia), a continuing reassessment of the existing traditional structures and approaches (as in the United States), and labour law reforms (as in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe).

128. An overall review and assessment of existing systems, methods, laws and practices, including new and innovative strategies and techniques, the prevention and settlement of both collective and individual labour disputes including in-depth studies, collection, diffusion and exchange of information on best practices, appears to be long overdue. A general discussion of the subject could represent a major step in that direction.

129. These proposals contain a brief explanation of concepts, prevailing practices, new developments and issues on various aspects of resolution under the following sub-topics: categories of disputes, prevention of disputes, procedures for the settlement of disputes (conciliation and mediation, arbitration, adjudication and alternative dispute resolution), industrial action, international labour standards, and the prospects for general discussion.

Categories of disputes

130. Most countries have made a distinction between several types of labour disputes, and have established separate procedures for dealing with them. Such a distinction usually reflects the particular historical development of each country's labour relations system. Classifying the wide variety of labour disputes from a global viewpoint can therefore be difficult. In general, labour disputes arise from disagreements as to the terms of collective agreements, alleged violations and erroneous interpretation of laws, regulations or agreements, grievances, unfair labour practices, and union recognition. Currently, some of the most common and often difficult labour disputes relate to issues of wages, fringe benefits, termination of employment and job security. There are suggestions that the common definitions of labour disputes may no longer be adequate and that a broad working definition may be needed as the boundary lines between the common categories of labour disputes may have already changed in many countries.

131. The two most generally applied distinctions of labour disputes are between rights disputes and interest disputes, and between individual and collective disputes. The distinction between disputes over rights and disputes over interests characterizes the dispute settlement machinery of many countries. Disputes over rights arise over the application or interpretation of an existing provision in a contract of employment, a collective agreement or legislation while disputes over interests relate to the establishment or modification of rights or obligations, primarily in the context of collective bargaining and as a result of the failure of the parties to reach an agreement on conditions of employment. A distinction is often made between individual and collective disputes with respect to rights disputes, whereas interest disputes are generally only collective. An individual dispute typically involves the interpretation of an individual contract of employment or legislation concerning employment. Collective rights disputes include those arising over the interpretation or alleged violation of the procedural provisions of collective agreements (e.g. those providing for peace obligation during the life of a collective agreement) and of legislation (e.g. provisions concerning representative bodies of workers within undertakings).

132. The distinction between various types of disputes is far from universal, and even where it is made it is often blurred. Thus, the distinction is of very limited relevance in the United Kingdom, where the processes for making and interpreting rules in collective bargaining are so intricately intertwined that a dispute about "rights" can easily be turned into a dispute about "interests". Many countries in Asia and Africa that have inherited from the United Kingdom the broad concept of the "trade dispute" or the "industrial dispute" covering all forms of labour disputes still rely on dispute procedures that basically cover both interest disputes and rights disputes. Some of these countries however have attempted to introduce such a distinction with more or less success (e.g. Bangladesh and Pakistan in 1969) while some others have set up special procedures for dealing with individual disputes over termination of employment (e.g. in Sri Lanka since 1957 and Malaysia since 1969). In other countries, such as France and French-speaking African countries, the basic distinction is between individual disputes involving rights issues and collective disputes covering both interest and rights issues. In many developing countries, various restrictions imposed on the exercise of the right to strike tend to diminish the significance of a distinction between interest disputes and rights disputes, considering that the possibility of industrial action is normally taken into account under the procedures for the settlement of interest disputes, in contrast with those for rights disputes.

133. Other types of labour disputes are subject to special procedures for their settlement in many countries. These include disputes over trade union recognition and disputes over "unfair labour practices", e.g. disputes related to the exercise of trade union rights. In most Western European countries, and in a number of developing countries, trade union recognition does not give rise to serious problems, primarily because employers voluntarily recognize the bargaining authority of unions, or recognition is mandated by law. In some other countries, however, unions' claims for recognition can meet particularly strong resistance from employers, often resulting in bitter and protracted conflicts. For this reason, legislation has been adopted in some countries to place the questions of trade union recognition and trade union multiplicity under far more detailed regulation. The basic principle underlying the United States and Canadian systems of recognition is that the union selected by the majority of the workers in a given bargaining unit shall be the exclusive representative for all the workers in the unit and shall be so recognized by the employer. This approach has influenced the systems of a number of developing countries particularly in Asia and the Caribbean.

134. A number of countries have also established special procedures for settling unfair labour practices. Although definitions vary, unfair labour practices usually relate to the exercise of trade union rights or disputes arising from alleged acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of employment. In some countries, they also cover other forms of discrimination (e.g. South Africa) as well as an employer's refusal to negotiate or to bargain in good faith including certain actions by unions vis-à-vis employers and the union's failure to represent workers fairly. In the United States, a special administrative agency is entrusted with the task of resolving such disputes while in other countries, such as Japan and Canada, specialized quasi-judicial bodies deal with these disputes.

Prevention of disputes

135. The traditional role of institutions and those involved in dispute settlement such as conciliators, mediators, arbitrators and labour judges was basically that of "firefighters" or "crisis managers" who act only after a conflict has come about, in order simply to "extinguish" the fire or avert a crisis at the last minute. There has been a growing recognition, however, of the importance of preventive measures mainly through the promotion of greater workplace cooperation and teamwork. In a number of countries, the trend indicates a shift from a regime of just reducing conflicts to one which encourages the development of collaborative labour relations, flexibility and equity and the gradual transformation of the traditional day-to-day adversarial relationship to high performance strategies for increased competitiveness.

136. Mediators are more frequently taking the initiative of assisting employers and unions through facilitation and training and joint problem-solving. This practice, often known as "preventive mediation", has lately acquired growing prominence as a means of preserving and promoting peace between labour and management. The United States Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) has been participating in alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) or various alternatives to litigation processes and providing a wide variety of services which include fact-finding, facilitation, mediation, consultation, systems design, training, mentoring and evaluation. In addition, the FMCS has actively implemented a Labor-Management Cooperation Program since 1981 which supports and assists labour-management committees at various levels with the objective of encouraging joint, innovative approaches to collaborative management-labour relations and problem-solving.

137. In the United Kingdom, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) helps with problems that have not developed into a dispute. Even where a dispute has been resolved, ACAS seeks to further understand and address the underlying causes of the dispute through the provision of advisory services. The preventive work of ACAS has been expanding in helping small and medium-sized enterprises put together best practices for partnership. The dispute settlement bodies which have been recently established in some countries, e.g. Ireland and South Africa, also place emphasis on the importance of the prevention of labour disputes and bipartite negotiations in workplaces. In the Philippines, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board is giving high priority to preventive mediation, voluntary arbitration and the promotion of labour-management cooperation. In Singapore, the Conciliation Section of the labour ministry fosters close labour-management relations and provides advisory service to unions and employers on industrial relations issues. In Canada, training in interest-based bargaining has been provided, on an experimental basis, as a means of preventive mediation, while in France the need for more experience in preventive mediation has been recognized, especially in dealing with recurring disputes.

138. It has been pointed out that probably one of the best strategies in preventing disputes is through the strengthening of the bilateral relations between labour and management and the promotion of more teamwork and cooperation. The aim is to enhance the ability of the parties to avoid or deal with problems themselves through effective collective bargaining, bilateral negotiations or joint problem-solving techniques. One example of this is use of the "win-win" approach, for example, "interest-based bargaining" which is in vogue in several countries, particularly the United States and Canada. This approach in which the parties are encouraged to focus on their mutual interests rather than their differences, is generally designed to find a common ground between the parties, build relationships and eliminate the adversarial elements of traditional collective bargaining. The process which involves information-sharing, brainstorming and building on each other's ideas has already led to many more productive contract negotiations and a decline in the rate of grievances.

139. More than simply assisting in the settlement of an existing dispute, conciliators and mediators are expected increasingly to become catalysts for change, particularly in their ability to guide the parties in moving from a relationship of antagonism to reconciliation, partnership, teamwork and cooperation. Some of the valuable preventive measures cover providing basic education and skills training to stewards and supervisors in effective negotiation, contract administration and leadership roles and responsibilities and to have an expanded view of collective bargaining to encompass the entire range of collective contract execution, contract administration and renegotiation on practically all relevant employment relations issues.

140. The new and innovative ways of preventing disputes in a changing labour-management relations landscape and in the context of the experience under various industrial relations systems deserve to be a priority subject for review, study, research and discussion.

Procedure for the settlement of disputes

141. Procedures for the settlement of labour disputes vary widely. The relevant ILO Conventions and Recommendations leave ample room for individual countries to design their own systems of dispute settlement, consisting in different procedures for dealing with different types of disputes. The principal methods of dispute settlement in many countries remain conciliation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication established on a statutory basis and involving an independent and impartial third party. There is, however, a growing reliance on the various new approaches falling under the term alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in resolving all types of labour disputes.

142. The basic principle underlying the procedures for settling disputes over interests is that they are to be resolved by the parties themselves through negotiation, if necessary involving the threat or use of industrial action, and that outsiders should eventually be called upon to intervene only to assist the parties in finding a mutually acceptable solution to their differences. This principle has been significantly modified in most developing countries where the governments play an active role in dispute settlement in order to ensure that the outcome of collective bargaining or dispute resolution is compatible with their economic policies, and to reduce the incidence of industrial action which they generally regard as detrimental to economic development and political stability. In times of economic difficulty, the principle has on occasion been similarly modified in some industrialized market-economy countries. A notable emerging trend is to reverse this approach in favour of a diminishing role of government in dispute settlement in order to give more latitude to the parties to mutually agree or decide on their own as to what is best for the enterprise and its employees. This includes the use of ADR and "privatized" third party assistance.

143. For settling disputes over rights, the basic principle underlying the procedures is that these disputes should, unless settled by negotiation, be resolved by courts or arbitrators and not by industrial action, because they involve the determination of existing rights, duties or obligations. There is also an increasing trend to utilize conciliation, mediation and various ADR approaches in dealing with rights disputes. In practice, however, the procedures for settling rights disputes overlap with those for settling interest disputes in many systems of labour relations such as under the traditional labour relations system of the United Kingdom and some of the countries that have been influenced by it.

144. One other factor blurring the distinction between the two procedures is the role of conciliation, mediation and ADR which are now applied in a large, and probably growing, number of countries in the settlement of both interest and rights disputes, at least as a first stage. There are even countries, e.g. Sweden, where disputes between the parties to a collective agreement can be referred to the labour court only after negotiations, and South Africa where conciliation is mandatory. In France, a partial panel of the labour court (conseil des prud'hommes) presides over compulsory conciliation procedures before the case is adjudicated. Such widespread recourse to conciliation and other non-judicial methods as a means of settling rights disputes seems to reflect the wide recognition among social partners of the fact that disputes over rights often arise out of misunderstandings or communication gaps between the parties, which can best be resolved mutually or through agreed methods rather than through litigation.

Conciliation and mediation

145. The most widely used procedures for settling disputes over interests are still conciliation and mediation whereby a third party provides assistance to the parties in negotiations to help them reach an agreement. In many countries, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, they are mainly provided by government conciliation services, or, more rarely, by labour inspectors. In a number of countries, on the other hand, bodies largely independent of the government have been established for conciliation and mediation, such as the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in the United Kingdom, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in the United States, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), the Conciliation Board in Denmark, the Labour Relations Commissions in Japan, and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) of South Africa. A new development is the entry of ADR characterized by the "privatization" of these services or placing these services in private hands at the option of the parties.

146. In most industrialized market-economy countries, conciliation is effectively the only procedure generally available for the settlement of collective interest disputes. While in many countries the terms "conciliation" and "mediation" are used interchangeably, in some countries a distinction is made based on the degree of initiative taken by the third party. ACAS, for example, normally conducts conciliation in an attempt to facilitate negotiations between the parties while normally refraining from making proposals. Where mediation is considered appropriate and the parties agree to it, ACAS may appoint independent persons as mediators who formulate precise recommendations to solve a dispute. Other examples are found in Chile, the Dominican Republic and Nigeria, where a distinction between conciliation and mediation is made in the labour legislation. In Chile, mediation also covers the use of a conciliator empowered to propose terms of settlement, while in the Dominican Republic conciliation and mediation are used depending on the type of dispute at issue.

147. The need to establish independent bodies in order to inspire greater confidence among the social partners in the neutrality of the conciliation machinery has influenced the structure of such bodies in many countries. For example, the Labour Relations Commissions in Japan and the Governing Council of ACAS are composed of equal numbers of employer and trade union representatives and independent members. Similarly, conciliators in Denmark are, in practice, all nominated jointly by trade unions and employers' organizations. The autonomy of employers and trade unions in conciliation in Germany is marked by procedures which have been set up in most branches of activity by collective agreements and are composed of a neutral chairperson and an equal number of representatives from the employers' association and the trade union. Similar systems of conciliation have also been established for particular branches of industry in Belgium and Switzerland. A number of developing and newly industrializing countries have also set up tripartite conciliation bodies, while in many countries in Central and Latin America, such bodies have in fact been in existence for many years (e.g. Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela).

148. Conciliation is voluntary where the parties are free to use or not to use it, and compulsory where they are required to make use of it. Conciliation is also obviously voluntary if provided by mutually chosen private third parties outside the machinery established by the government or by law. In Belgium, France, Hungary, the United States and the United Kingdom, both parties must consent to the use of conciliation. In Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore and South Africa, conciliation is compulsory either because the law provides that disputes must be submitted to conciliation or conciliation officers can initiate proceedings, or that the exercise of the right to strike or lock-out is contingent on a prior attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation. However, whether conciliation is compulsory or voluntary, the common objective is to assist the parties in settling their differences voluntarily by agreement.

149. One of the main challenges in many countries now is how to transform and improve the role of conciliation and mediation in dealing with labour disputes in a changing workplace environment. They have already become an important component of ADR in several countries where the scope of their responsibilities has expanded to cover not only the traditional mediation but also preventive mediation. There is increasing recognition that highly skilled, innovative, proactive and even aggressive mediation techniques are now often required to prevent and settle disputes. As an example, in the United States, the report of "The Mediator Task Force on the Future of FMCS" in 1994 made a case for "full-service" mediators who are able to deliver the full array of services which the customers seek. The concept retains the old role of mediators but also builds on the growing, successful practice of assisting labour and management in the design and creation of new partnering processes. They are expected to become purveyors of best practice who can help the parties develop joint problem-solving procedures, more constructive ways of bargaining, better ways to communicate and even help or encourage them to create high-performance workplaces. The Task Force went to the extent of identifying some core competencies which a mediation agency must possess to survive and to thrive, which include expertise in collective bargaining and labour relations; processes to improve labour-management relations; facilitation and problem-solving; improving organizational effectiveness; design and implementation of conflict resolution systems; education, advocacy and outreach; and skill and ability in information systems. Many developing countries, however, still suffer from the basic lack of skilled and well-trained conciliators and sufficient resources to maintain autonomous, independent and adequate conciliation services.

150. In light of changes in the industrial relations scene, to what extent have conciliation and mediation techniques, philosophy, structure and training programmes changed in many countries? What further improvements are required and what are the means to carry them out? What can be learned or adopted from the experience of various countries?

Arbitration

151. Arbitration generally refers to the procedure whereby a third party, not acting as a court of law, is empowered to take a decision which settles the dispute. It is "voluntary" when it can be set in motion only on the basis of agreement by the parties, and "compulsory" when either party or the government can set it in motion on its own initiative.

152. Compulsory arbitration of interest disputes is rare in the private sector of industrialized countries, one exception being Canada (at the federal level and in some provinces) where interest disputes involving an attempt to reach a first collective agreement must go to binding arbitration under certain circumstances. It is more widely used in the public service of industrialized countries (for example in Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom) and sometimes in relation to essential services. In many developing and newly industrializing countries, it is used in both the public service and the private sector (for example, in a number of African and Asian countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore and the Philippines). This approach in resolving interest disputes has been instituted by a number of developing countries, on the general theory that it will help maintain public order and protect the national economy and public life from the disruptive effects of industrial actions (for example Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia).

153. Compulsory arbitration is also deemed to be an attractive procedure in some cases where the lack of balance in the power relationship between employers and trade unions is inhibiting effective collective bargaining. As labour relations systems mature, however, compulsory arbitration often starts to be seen as a hindrance to free collective bargaining and is gradually taken over by conciliation and other voluntary means as the main methods of dispute settlement. This is especially true when compulsory arbitration becomes beset with problems of undue delays, unreasonable backlogs, excessive legalism and of losing the trust and confidence of the parties.

154. The establishment of procedures for the arbitration of rights disputes (commonly called "grievance procedures") through collective agreements is widespread in several countries. In the United States, the parties voluntarily include an arbitration requirement, whereas in Canada the inclusion of an arbitration provision in the collective agreement is required pursuant to most provincial labour legislation, and where not expressly included, such inclusion is assumed. Arbitrators are sometimes appointed on an ad hoc basis, but they may also be named specifically in the collective agreement. In the United States, arbitration will normally be conducted by a single arbitrator, in contrast with the prevailing practice in Canada of using tripartite boards. The principal strengths of the grievance arbitration system lie in its largely voluntary nature and flexibility. One of its weaknesses, on the other hand, is that the procedures are available only in bargaining units where there is a certified bargaining agent. With the decline in the rates of unionization and collective agreements in some countries, the use of arbitration is thereby also affected.

155. The role of bodies dealing with rights disputes has been the focus of recent attention in many countries, particularly developing countries, in view of the changing nature of such disputes occasioned by pressures on the employment relationship, new forms of contractual relationships and a highly competitive economic environment. Mass lay-offs and termination cases are increasing in many countries such as in Asia, while the efficiency, accessibility and effectiveness of existing bodies are seriously being questioned. In many African, Asian and Central and Eastern European countries, for example, the common concerns include the inadequacy or lack of skilled conciliators and arbitrators and outdated or ineffective labour laws and procedures leading to common demands from these countries for training opportunities and technical assistance to strengthen the entire dispute settlement system.

156. In order to encourage the parties to assume a growing role in dispute settlement, while maintaining the framework of labour relations free of industrial action, a number of developing countries have sought to promote voluntary arbitration of interest as well as rights disputes whereby the parties voluntarily refer their dispute to arbitrators of their choice. The Philippines is an example where some degree of success has been achieved. In spite of serious efforts made in many countries to promote it, however, voluntary arbitration is not yet widely practised in developing countries, owing to various factors such as the scarcity of arbitrators able to command the confidence of both parties, cost factors, the wide imbalance in the power relationship between the social partners, and the general availability of compulsory arbitration existing alongside voluntary arbitration.

157. Arbitration, voluntary or compulsory, is used in several countries to resolve disputes over rights and also over interests although it is more often resorted to in dealing with rights cases including grievances and when initial conciliation or mediation efforts have failed. The prevailing view particularly in the United States and Canada is that private arbitration in general will remain to be useful and of wide use alongside collective bargaining and extending to the unorganized sector of the economy. Like many aspects of the labour relations systems, however, questions are being raised about the need to re-examine the role of arbitration in adapting to a new situation.

158. In private sector grievance arbitration, some issues like creeping legalism, high cost, increased study time per case and the merits of direct selection of arbitrators by the parties without relying on the list of established institutions continue to get attention. In private interest arbitration, experts are divided as to whether its use "as a viable alternative to the strike-threat system of industrial relations" or as a better alternative to achieve efficiency, equity and integrity in collective bargaining, will expand or diminish in the coming years. The arbitration of interest disputes usually involves the application of either conventional arbitration or various innovative forms such as "final-offer arbitration" in which the arbitrator is limited to selecting the final position of one party. Final-offer arbitration has since evolved and taken many forms (for example in the United States and Canada) which include its use on an issue-to-issue basis, the inclusion of a fact-finder's report as a possible third choice and its limitation to economic issues only. The effects of the use of private interest arbitration on the negotiating behaviour of the parties and collective bargaining, however, continue to be invoked. These effects have been described as its "chilling effect"or how the availability of interest arbitration affects the parties' willingness to engage in serious bargaining, and its "narcotic effect" or the assumption that parties who have used interest arbitration will be more likely to rely on the same approach to resolve impasses in future negotiations.

159. On the future of arbitration as one of the most important modes of dispute settlement, some of the points to consider are how to maintain its traditional advantages of accessibility and of providing speedy and inexpensive labour justice, what adjustments are required to make it responsive to the changing nature of disputes and expectations in the unionized and non-unionized sectors of the economy, and how it can overcome the perennial questions of creeping legalism, high cost and undue delays and backlogs including its effects on the negotiating attitudes of the parties and on collective bargaining itself.

Adjudication

160. Adjudication has long been considered as a primary method of dispute settlement. It refers to the procedure whereby adjudicatory or judicial bodies decide or resolve with finality any dispute over rights and obligations. These adjudicatory bodies include ordinary courts, specialized labour or industrial courts, quasi-judicial administrative agencies and arbitration.

161. The jurisdiction of the courts competent to deal with disputes over rights varies widely. In a number of countries, e.g. Italy and the Netherlands, all rights disputes, whether individual or collective, are dealt with by the ordinary courts. The courts in the Netherlands have experienced serious backlogs and lengthy delays, while in Italy disputes have been dealt with more rapidly than normal cases since judges with special competence in labour matters are usually chosen to handle labour cases. Some countries, like Namibia, designate a chamber of the ordinary courts to deal with labour cases.

162. Labour courts are often distinguished from ordinary courts by labour expertise, tripartite composition, relative autonomy and the informality of the proceedings. Serious problems of excessive legalism, undue delays and backlogs are being experienced, however, in a number of labour court systems particularly in developing countries. Labour courts are generally regarded as the most common mechanism used for the settlement of disputes over rights, having a major role in Austria, Finland, France and many African countries influenced by French law, Spain, Turkey, Hungary, Brazil and Uruguay, to name only a few examples. The jurisdiction over labour cases is often divided between the labour court and the ordinary courts. Exceptionally, the labour courts in Germany virtually have exclusive jurisdiction over both individual and collective rights disputes, while the industrial courts of a number of Asian and African countries have an even wider jurisdiction extending to both disputes over rights and over interests.

163. The jurisdiction of the labour courts in Denmark and Sweden centres on collective rights disputes between the parties to a collective agreement. In Sweden, a dispute between an employer and an employee who does not belong to a union goes to the ordinary court with a right to appeal to the labour court. In the United Kingdom, rights disputes arising under specific legislation, e.g. those involving equal pay, sex discrimination and unfair dismissal, are within the exclusive jurisdiction of industrial tribunals, whereas rights disputes otherwise arising under individual contracts of employment are handled by the ordinary courts. In France, the labour courts (conseils des prud'hommes) are competent to deal only with individual disputes, which include the interpretation and application of terms of collective agreements whose provisions are frequently incorporated in individual contracts of employment. Alleged breaches of labour legislation, however, are dealt with in the ordinary courts. The labour tribunals in Sri Lanka are competent to deal only with disputes over termination of employment.

164. The labour or industrial courts in a significant number of countries (e.g. Germany, Sweden, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines and Singapore) are tripartite although the French conseils des prud'hommes are basically bipartite bodies. An advantage of such bipartite or tripartite tribunals lies in the industrial relations expertise of the employer and worker members. The procedures in such tribunals tend to be less legalistic than in ordinary courts, thus ensuring the expeditious and inexpensive resolution of disputes, although they may sometimes tend to provide a political rather than a judicial solution to the disputes. There is also a variation on the role of workers' and employers' representatives in the tripartite bodies. In some cases, they take on a role of representing their respective interests, whereas in most systems they act in an independent capacity (e.g. Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The role of lay members, either as voting members or purely in an advisory capacity, also varies from country to country. It may be noted that other countries, such as Argentina and Venezuela, have a system of administrative judges, with no specific worker or employer representation.

165. While specialized labour or industrial courts may have many advantages over ordinary courts, the general preference of the parties is in favour of the non-judicial approach consisting of conciliation, mediation, arbitration and various forms of ADR. The non-judicial approach is usually seen as the more accessible, practical and less expensive alternative which is able to take into account the need to maintain the autonomy of the parties and to develop stable and sound labour-management relations in the long run. Others continue to maintain however that the judicial approach remains to have an important role to play in dispute resolution particularly in dealing with rights disputes. It is argued that court-based adjudication should be maintained as an option to the parties. The effectiveness of many European labour courts, known for their accessibility and simplicity and informality in approach, has often been cited. Meetings are being organized regularly with ILO assistance for senior judges of European courts to discuss topical and contemporary issues (for example, the protection of workers in case of enterprise reorganization and restructuring of work processes) as an aid to the efficient adjudication of labour cases.

166. With the various options now available to the parties for the resolution of a particular dispute, adjudicatory bodies face the difficult challenge of maintaining its distinct role in the resolution of disputes, especially rights disputes. General issues levelled against adjudication such as lack of labour expertise, high cost and delays, over-litigiousness, absence of face-saving, the ability to settle legal issues but not the real problem affecting future relations of the disputants and lack of accessibility have to be addressed. A full study on the modes of operation of labour courts or similar mechanisms has also been suggested to ensure that they are easily accessible and enjoy the confidence of the parties.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

167. Alternative dispute resolution has become an integral part of any discussion of the subject of dispute settlement together with the traditional methods of conciliation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication. It is often cited in the same context of new and innovative methods, tools and techniques in resolving disputes. There is no unanimity, however, as to its precise definition.

168. One of the definitions given to ADR is that it refers to "out of court methods of dispute settlement involving a third party". Another is to the effect that it encompasses all procedures outside the court system or in a wider sense, all methods other than adjudication, regardless of whether or not these are practised within or outside the official courts. ADR is also viewed as a form of "privatizing" dispute resolution offering "a means of bringing workplace justice to more people and with greater speed than do conventional government channels". Others see it as referring to "a wide variety of voluntary systems developed by the users themselves to resolve their disputes". The attention being given to ADR in many countries, including those in Europe, is increasing. In the United States and Canada, ADR has long been a tool for settling collective bargaining disputes generally through mediation and arbitration. It is being widely seen, moreover, as relevant and useful even in the absence of union representation and collective agreements.

169. Many ADR techniques and approaches have now been developed and applied. Some of the most commonly used include the facilitation system where a neutral third party assists the parties to work towards a resolution without focusing on the substantive issues; conciliation where a neutral third party serves as a communicator who assists in the resolution of the dispute without offering suggestions or personal ideas; mediation where an experienced neutral third party offers alternative suggestions to stimulate discussions and movement towards resolution; arbitration where the parties submit their case to a mutually agreed neutral third party and commits themselves to abide by and accept that person's decision as final and binding; settlement conferences which are conducted by a judge, retired or otherwise, who proceeds to hear summaries of the facts, legal issues and evidence, evaluates the merits of both sides and offers an opinion on how a jury would rule on the case; fact-finding as a non-binding process where a neutral third party hears the sides of the parties and submits findings of fact, independent assessment and non-binding recommendations to the disputants; mini-trial which is a private, consensual process where the parties are often represented by lawyers or other experts and involves as a first step an exchange of information to identify the essential points of the dispute and if the dispute is not resolved, it is followed by the next step which consists of the selection of a neutral third party or neutral adviser; med-arb in which the neutral third party is given the opportunity to mediate and arbitrate; rent a judge which is based on legislation in some countries allowing a regular judge to appoint a neutral third party who is authorized to hear and decide a case with the same legal effect as a court decision (the third party can be a former judge or someone put forward by the parties themselves); settlement judge under which the parties are given the opportunity to discuss the weak and strong points of their case before a "settlement judge" who provides an insight as to how a regular judge may decide the case, and if the settlement judge is not successful, the parties can still opt to go to court; and ombudsperson who is usually provided by the employer to serve as a proponent for the employee as a means to bypass red tape and the establishment hierarchy when they impede the resolution of employee complaints.

170. Collective bargaining disputes in many countries, such as the United States and Canada, are regularly resolved by the parties themselves through mediation or private arbitration which fall under the concept of ADR. Grievances, including the interpretation and application of collective agreements, are also usually resolved through ADR in the form of private arbitration. The use of ADR by parties in the non-unionized sector of the economy is also increasing markedly in many countries through such methods as employer-established in-house procedures including the ombudsperson approach to complement an "open-door policy" which encourages employees to bring complaints directly to top management without fear of retaliation. A number of employers have developed more formal internal dispute resolution structures involving conciliation, facilitation and mediation utilizing internal staff or outside professionals for a variety of functions to prevent or settle disputes.

171. A proliferation of non-union arbitration of employment-related disputes through unilaterally employer-promulgated arbitration procedures in lieu of court adjudication of employees' rights under the law has been noted in the United States. This development is ascribed to claims of litigation explosion, excessive damages, delays, litigation expenses, the decline in union-represented employees and the statutory and judicial encouragement of arbitration. This has in turn given rise to questions as to whether such practice should be encouraged, restricted or regulated. The perceptions of an unregulated situation and demands to have guarantees for minimum due process standards under unilaterally established procedures, particularly in the context of termination of employment, have given rise to suggestions for the possible eventual replacement of the employment-at-will doctrine by the doctrine of discharge based on just cause.

172. Many of the unilaterally drawn arbitration procedures appear to lack adequate procedural safeguards and even contain various conditions adverse to the workers and the arbitrators such as a bar to legal representation and a cap on the remedies in the arbitral award. Ideally, the procedures should be negotiated and agreed upon freely by the parties. The imbalance in the relationship between the parties has led to the adoption of the Due Process Protocol by a group of concerned American organizations in May 1995 representing a model of fairness and due process which can be used as a standard under the unilaterally promulgated procedures. The main elements of the Protocol include the employee's right to representation, discovery, qualifications of mediators and arbitrators, training and selection, compensation of mediators and arbitrators, authority of the neutral and scope of review.

173. It has been suggested that the optimal time to decide or agree to use ADR is before a dispute occurs. It should not be seen, however, as a panacea for all kinds of disputes or a method which can replace all others. It should rather be seen as a new and added option available to the parties side by side with the traditional and established methods of conciliation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication. Despite the growing interest in ADR in many countries, its application is considered not to be widespread worldwide yet. In view of its successful application in a number of countries, however, it highly merits further study and examination as a viable choice or alternative in the settlement of labour disputes and for possible diffusion and adaptation in as many countries as possible.

Industrial action

174. The right to strike is one of the essential means available to workers and their organizations for the promotion and protection of their economic and social interests. It is explicitly recognized in Article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. At the regional level, the European Social Charter was the first text explicitly to recognize this right in the case of a conflict of interests, subject to any commitments under collective agreements in force. Within the ILO, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and the Governing Body Committee on Freedom of Association have recognized that the right to strike, though not explicitly mentioned in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), arises out of the principle of freedom of association and constitutes an essential means available to workers and their organizations for the promotion and protection of their economic and social interests. Strikes often provide workers with the means of counterbalancing the power of the employer through economic leverage. On the other hand, depending on the extent of the industrial conflict, strikes or lock-outs can be disruptive to economic life.

175. The laws on strikes and lock-outs must be examined with respect to both the extent of the recognition of the rights and the regulation of the exercise of the rights. The extent of the recognition of the right to strike varies widely. At one end of the scale, there are countries where the constitution, legislation, court decisions or agreements between the central organizations of employers and workers recognize the right to strike in principle, subject to restrictions that may be introduced with respect to certain categories of workers. Some of these countries (e.g. France, Italy and Portugal) do not provide a corresponding guarantee of the right to lock out. Others (e.g. Canada, Mexico, Sweden and the United States) explicitly recognize both the right to strike and the right to lock out. In the United Kingdom, no positive right to strike has been enacted, but some limited statutory immunities remain in relation to strikes which would otherwise give rise to civil or criminal liability.

176. In some countries (e.g. the private sector in France and Italy) the right to strike is conceived as a right of the individual workers, while in others (e.g. Germany and Sweden), it is a right of the trade union. A practical consequence of this difference is that, while in the former group of countries unofficial or "wildcat" strikes are lawful in principle, they are unlawful in the latter group of countries. Most of the countries that in principle recognize the right of workers to strike exclude certain categories of workers (e.g. military personnel, high-level public servants) from the benefit of this right.

177. At the other end of the scale, there are countries where workers in general do not enjoy the right to strike or where that right may be severely limited. Although only in relatively few countries does legislation explicitly prohibit strikes on a permanent basis, there are many countries, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the prohibition of strikes results, for all practical purposes, from the cumulative effect of the provisions relating to the established dispute settlement machinery, which provides for compulsory reference of all unresolved disputes to binding arbitration or to resolution by the labour minister. In many other countries, while it is not obligatory to refer all unresolved disputes to arbitration, the government is empowered to refer disputes to compulsory arbitration at its discretion, thus keeping the power to prohibit or put a rapid end to almost any strike. The ILO supervisory bodies have considered such powers to limit seriously the means at the disposal of trade unions to further and defend the interests of their members and the right to organize their activities and therefore not to be compatible with the principles of freedom of association.

178. Even in countries where the right to strike or lock out is recognized in principle, the ways in which these rights can be exercised are often regulated. Such regulations mainly concern the timing, the purposes and the methods of strikes and lock-outs. The regulation of the timing of strikes and lock-outs is embodied, in many countries, in the obligation of the parties to a collective agreement not to strike or lock out during the life of the collective agreement. This obligation, commonly referred to as a "peace obligation", may be established by an explicit legislative provision, as in Sweden; by a general agreement between the central organizations of trade unions and employers, as in Denmark; by an explicit clause in the collective agreement between the parties, as in the United States; or as a function of the collective agreement, as determined by the courts, establishing peace between the parties (Austria, Germany and Switzerland).

179. The purposes of strikes and lock-outs also determine their lawfulness in some countries. Often, a strike is lawful only if it is for purposes connected with labour relations, or "in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute" (as formulated in the British law), although how to define a "trade dispute" or "purposes connected with labour relations" is a complex issue. The lawfulness of purposes is often questioned with respect to political strikes and sympathy strikes which are generally permitted in certain countries but prohibited or restricted in many others. An employer can initiate a lock-out for example in France and Italy, only as a defensive measure once an illegal strike is under way, whereas in Chile a lock-out can be used in response to any strike affecting over 50 per cent of the workforce. In Spain lock-outs are permitted in limited circumstances, including where it is necessary to protect persons or property from violence.

180. One of the commonly accepted principles concerning the methods of strikes and lock-outs is that they should be peaceful. Another main principle is that a strike or lock-out should be the last resort in labour disputes, so that all efforts should first be made to settle disputes peacefully. This principle has been made binding by courts in some countries, like Germany and the Netherlands, where it is held that a strike is lawful only if all possibilities for negotiation have been exhausted. There are many countries where prior notice of strikes and/or the taking of ballots among the union members is required by legislation while many others have no such prerequisite. The legal systems vary widely concerning such issues as go-slows, work-to-rule, rotating strikes, picketing, sympathy strikes and the occupation of an enterprise.

181. The regulation of strikes and lock-outs in essential services has become topical in some countries recently. Although restrictions on strikes and lock-outs in essential services have existed for many years in many countries, there is now a trend in some other countries, where the right to strike and lock out was traditionally widely recognized, towards the introduction of certain restrictions on the exercise of these rights in essential services, for example in the form of an obligation to provide certain minimum services during a strike or prohibiting lock-outs or by unduly expanding the coverage of the term "essential services".

182. The ILO supervisory bodies have considered that the prohibition of strikes in essential services, where it exists, should be confined to services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population, and that appropriate guarantees must be afforded to protect workers who are thus denied one of the essential means of defending their interests, through the provision of adequate, impartial and speedy conciliation and finally -- and only where conciliation fails -- arbitration procedures in which the parties concerned can take part at every stage and in which the awards should in all cases be binding on both parties and rapidly and fully implemented. The ILO supervisory bodies have also taken positions on a number of the other issues discussed above, including political strikes, balloting and notice periods.

International labour standards

183. The existing international labour standards on dispute settlement are necessarily of a general nature, reflecting the wide variety of existing systems of dispute settlement. In view of the many new developments and changes in the field of industrial relations and labour conflict resolution, it may now be an opportune time to re-examine and review the provisions of some of these existing standards, particularly the Voluntary Conciliation and Arbitration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 92), and the Examination of Grievances Recommendation, 1967 (No. 130), with a view to possible updating both in language and sometimes concepts.

184. Recommendation No. 92 recommends in particular that voluntary conciliation machinery, free of charge and expeditious, be made available to assist in the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. It also recommends that provision should be made to enable the procedure to be set in motion, either on the initiative of any of the parties to the dispute or ex officio by the voluntary conciliation authority. Where a dispute has been submitted to conciliation or arbitration with the consent of all the parties concerned, they are encouraged to refrain from strikes or lock-outs while conciliation or arbitration is in progress. The Recommendation also states that none of its provisions may be interpreted as limiting in any way whatsoever the right to strike. Another indication as to how appropriate dispute settlement machinery should be conceived is given by the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154), which provides for measures aimed at ensuring that bodies and procedures for the settlement of labour disputes contribute to the promotion of collective bargaining. In the same vein, the Collective Bargaining Recommendation, 1981 (No. 163), advocates the establishment of procedures for the settlement of labour disputes which assist the parties in finding a solution to the dispute themselves.

185. Recommendation No. 130 mainly deals with a particular category of labour disputes, namely, grievances of one or several workers against certain measures or situations concerning labour relations or employment conditions, where the worker or workers in good faith consider such measures or situations to be contrary to provisions of an applicable collective agreement or of an individual contract of employment, to works rules, to laws or regulations or to the custom or usage of the occupation, branch of economic activity or country. It recommends that a worker or workers should have the right to submit such grievance or grievances without suffering any prejudice as a result, and to have them examined pursuant to an appropriate procedure for settlement within the undertaking. The Recommendation makes a distinction between such grievances and collective claims aimed at the modification of terms and conditions of employment, which are excluded from its scope of application.

186. With respect to labour disputes occurring in the public service, the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) provides that the settlement of disputes regarding terms and conditions of employment is to be sought through negotiation between the parties or through independent and impartial machinery, such as mediation, conciliation and arbitration. The Convention goes on to stress that such machinery should be established in such a manner as to ensure the confidence of the parties involved. During the debate leading to the adoption of the instrument, an understanding was reached that this Convention did not deal in one way or the other with the question of the right to strike.

187. The other relevant international labour standards include the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Collective Agreements Recommendation, 1951 (No. 91) and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Recommendation, 1978 (No. 159). Apart from these and other international labour Conventions and Recommendations mentioned above, the Governing Body Committee on Freedom of Association and the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations have formulated a number of pertinent principles based on the Declaration of Philadelphia. The Committee of Experts undertook a general survey (its sixth) on the application of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, which the Conference examined at its 81st Session in 1994. The Office relies on the principles of freedom of association and the right to engage in collective bargaining in advising member States on the drafting of labour laws.

Prospects for general discussion on dispute settlement

188. There appears to be a broad consensus among constituents on the importance of the prevention and settlement of labour disputes under a globalized economy marked by intense competition, financial turmoil and social inequalities including the transition to a market economy in a number of countries. The proposals attempt to illustrate the existing situation and the changes brought about mainly by globalization together with new international and national trends and developments. The need for reforms in labour law and procedures and the introduction or strengthening of dispute settlement systems which ensures easy accessibility, efficiency and confidence of the parties, particularly in the developing, transition and financially troubled countries, is widely recognized. Training, information-sharing, including studies and research into new and innovative practices and their possible wide diffusion and adaptation, have also been emphasized.

189. It might be preferable and timely to re-examine the question of prevention and settlement of labour conflicts as a whole through a general discussion, in order to guide the Organization in relation to future initiatives in all the important aspects in this field for the benefit of the tripartite constituents. In the consideration of these proposals, the Governing Body may wish to focus its deliberations on the following main points which are complemented by the more detailed issues indicated under each relevant sub-topics of the proposals:

* * *

6 (a) Recording and notification of occupational
accidents and diseases; and
(b) Possible revision of the list of occupational diseases,
Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits
Convention, 1964 (No. 121)(26) 
 

Summary

International practice concerning the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases is far from uniform. Different definitions, differences in collection and notification procedures, as well as the lack of national expertise lead to disparate situations in member States. New international standards could contribute better than the existing instruments and documents to establishing appropriate national systems and improving and harmonizing both the terminology and the procedures involved, providing the basis for preventive action and for coherent national, sectoral and enterprise-level policies. A Convention containing basic principles, supplemented by a Recommendation, might be envisaged.

The international instrument(s) could provide for the obligation for the competent authorities of member States to establish and implement a coherent national policy, as well as systems, programmes, infrastructures and the relevant concepts and terminology for the recording, notification and investigation of occupational accidents and diseases, which would be consistent with international agreements and recommendations.

After a review of this item regarding some concerns and reservations expressed in previous consultations and discussions and in line with a resolution adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in October 1998 which calls for the development of standards for statistics of occupational diseases, the suggested exclusion of occupational diseases from the scope of an international instrument is not proposed. The reason is that such exclusion would maintain the lack of guidance for legal requirements, the existing information and awareness gaps and the insufficient measures carried out for prevention. It is proposed, however, that member States may accept the obligations of this Convention separately in respect of occupational accidents and occupational diseases.

For the implementation of the proposed new instrument(s) it would be appropriate to adopt a new ILO list of occupational diseases simultaneously with the elaboration of the international instrument(s) and complementary to the revision of current ILO classifications of accidents encouraged by the Sixteenth ICLS and being undertaken. Two new options for the new list are proposed: (a) it could be the Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121) as revised, i.e. it would be a list for compensation purposes, and it would also be a list of occupational diseases for the new instrument(s), i.e. for the purpose of recording and notification; and, (b) it could be only the list of occupational diseases for the new instrument(s), i.e. for the purpose of recording and notification.


Background

190. Recent ongoing research carried out in the Office together with the World Health Organization shows that, despite significant advances in dealing with many of the challenges to the safety, health and well-being of workers, at least 335,000 work-related deaths still occur each year (based on available information for 1994) and, in addition, each year approximately 125 million workers worldwide are injured or fall ill due to work-related accidents and diseases.

191. In developing countries in particular, a major obstacle to preventing loss of life and injury on this scale and to achieving effective control measures is the absence of both reliable information concerning the incidence of occupational accidents and diseases and knowledge and guidelines for the implementation of relevant national recording and notification systems as a tool for preventive action. Only about one-third of the 120 member States that have ratified the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), include statistics of occupational accidents and diseases in their annual reports, as requested in Articles 20 and 21.

192. Employers need to record information about accidents and diseases that arise in their enterprise and to investigate them. The record should include at least the essential facts required for notification, which makes it easier for the employer to analyse the recorded data so as to identify both the causes of accidents and diseases and the resulting losses, and to devise programmes and measures for their prevention and control. In addition, when this information is made available to workers' representatives it enables them to contribute to the improvement of working conditions.

193. The information about occupational accidents and diseases recorded and kept at the enterprise forms the basis, and determines the quality, of its notification to the appropriate authorities, which are mainly the social security institutions or the authorities responsible for enforcing occupational safety and health legislation. The social security institutions require information in order to compensate injured persons and their dependants. The enforcement authorities need information to investigate individual cases and identify recurring accidents and diseases and, through the use of accumulated statistics, devise coherent national, sectoral and enterprise-level enforcement strategies and guidance for effective prevention programmes.

194. Despite the existence of resolutions concerning statistics of employment injuries, adopted by the Tenth and Thirteenth International Conferences of Labour Statisticians in 1962 and 1982, which recommend standard terminology, definitions and concepts and provide guiding rules for the classification and presentation of statistics, international practice is far from being uniform. Existing national definitions of occupational injuries frequently differ from the international standard definitions recommended by these resolutions. On account of differences in the scope of legislation on social security benefits and on occupational safety and health protection, due to a lack of national expertise or the fact that some countries have not yet introduced appropriate arrangements for data collection, there are national variations in the collection and notification procedures and in the coverage and sources. Inconsistent and non-comparable data prevents employers and governments from realizing comparative analyses at enterprise and national levels for the identification of preventive measures and setting priorities in their implementation and the economical and meaningful use of resources. Under-reporting is common, and the number of cases of occupational accidents and diseases that go unreported is difficult to quantify. In the study "Accidents at work in the European Union in 1994", published by EUROSTAT in 1998, the average reporting level for occupational accidents with more than three days' absence in eight common branches of activity of 15 member States was 91.1 per cent. Only eight Members reported a 100 per cent level, three reported levels in the range of 41-56 per cent.

195. In the past there have been several attempts at improving the situation: participants in the Latin American Regional Tripartite Seminar on the Organization of Occupational Health Services and the Recording and Analysis of Occupational Accidents and Diseases emphasized already in 1989 the need to harmonize recording and notification systems. The 24th General Assembly of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) adopted a report in 1992 which calls for a harmonized international system for the notification and compilation of accident statistics. In the European Union methodologies have been developed to provide for harmonized statistics on occupational accidents and for comparable statistics on occupational diseases. During the adoption of the Code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases by a Meeting of Experts in October 1994,(27)  the experts stressed that the collection, recording and notification of data concerning occupational accidents and diseases were instrumental for the identification and study of the causes of accidents and diseases. In addition, the experts acknowledged both the value of and the need for guidance by lists of occupational diseases, particularly in countries where such lists did not exist, and the difficulties inherent in the recognition of occupational diseases. They expressed concern regarding the current ILO list of occupational diseases given in Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1963 (No. 121), last amended in 1980, and recommended that this list be updated. The resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries resulting from occupational accidents adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (Geneva, 6-15 October 1998)(28)  calls for the development by each country of a comprehensive programme of statistics on occupational safety and health, including occupational diseases and occupational injuries. The objective of this programme would be to provide an adequate statistical base for the various users (see paragraph 217).

Review of national practice

196. Measures at the level of the enterprise for the recording of accidents differ greatly. While large enterprises tend to make detailed records of accidents and their causes, smaller enterprises are less likely to do so. Some enterprises have introduced their own reporting systems, sometimes to compare figures in different factories within the same company, particularly in multinational enterprises. Different recording systems might be in use in specific sectors of the economy of one country. Many countries lack any legislative provision for recording.

197. In general, only compensated accidents or those meeting certain criteria are covered by the national notification schemes, while many minor accidents, knowledge of which would be even more important for the development of preventive policy, are not considered. As a result, the relative incidence of notified accidents could differ widely between countries and often between different sectors of the economy of one country. Considerable discrepancies also occur in the notification of accidents in specific sectors of the economy. In particular, agricultural, construction, marine and mineworkers are subject to diverging notification criteria. Coverage may be limited to certain types of workers, or certain types of economic activity and enterprises employing more than a certain number of workers, and it is often low in the tertiary sector. Self-employed, part-time and casual workers or trainees/apprentices may be omitted by not having recourse to public insurance schemes. To a large extent, data on accidents resulting in fatal injuries are more reliable than those on non-fatal accidents, as fatal cases are almost invariably notified. Even then, differences may occur in interpreting the term "fatal" for notification purposes (e.g. accidents resulting in immediate death or with injury resulting in death which occurred within 30 days, between 31 and 365 days of the accident or without limit of time).

198. An important problem in comparing occupational accident figures is the difference in the main categories of notifiable accidents in each country, which may range from accidents causing incapacity for work for a specified number of days to any accident irrespective of interruption of work. Most of the countries require information on the time, day and place, the type and primary cause of the accident as well as the nature of the injury and the part of body injured. Some call for information about what the injured person was doing at the time of the accident. Only a few require information about the occupation, qualification and training of the injured or the length of time they have been employed in that capacity or about required safety devices or personal protective equipment. The criteria for notification are different for accidents that occur on the way to and from work (commuting accidents) or traffic accidents which occur while at work.

199. The recording and notification of occupational diseases is even more complicated. Most countries have a legal definition of occupational diseases in the form of a prescribed list of occupational diseases. In many cases the prescribed list is linked with compensation criteria. There are, however, differences between the chosen methods of definition. Some countries have a list of prescribed diseases which may be similar to, but not necessarily the same as, Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), as amended in 1980. Other member States operate a so-called mixed system (prescribed diseases and other diseases). As a result, national statistics on occupational diseases differ with respect to the diseases covered, their definitions, the criteria for the recognition of such diseases and the coverage of working populations. A particular difficulty arises for diseases due to multiple causes and those with long latency periods.

200. Procedures for notifying occupational diseases differ considerably from those for occupational accidents, as regards both the persons responsible for making the reports and those receiving them. Either the employer or the physician is responsible for notification to the labour inspectorate or its equivalent, or the report is to be received first by the insurance body. In some countries a number of optional information channels exist. While such reports invariably go to the insurance organization responsible for paying compensation, the enforcement agency may not be notified of cases of occupational disease. There is little doubt from research conducted in many countries that there is vast under-reporting. A fairly large number of developing countries are not in a position to collect and publish national data on occupational diseases due to a lack of national expertise or facilities for the diagnosis of occupational diseases, or both.

Role of new international instruments

201. Uniform national systems of reporting, recording, notifying and evaluating occupational accidents and diseases are essential for the collection of consistent data and their subsequent use for the identification and implementation of preventive measures. International labour standards deal only to a very limited extent with effective recording and notification as a tool for preventive action, and they neither specify uniform methods or appropriate national procedures or systems, nor include sufficient guidance (see paragraph 216). New international standards on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases could establish more compelling obligations for governments and therefore be more effective than the existing imperatives, which are in particular the resolutions adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (see paragraph 217), and the general provisions of some Conventions and Recommendations (see paragraphs 216 and 217). Notwithstanding the existence of the Code of practice on recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, it is obvious that international standards could contribute better to establishing appropriate national systems and improving and harmonizing both the terminology and the procedures, providing the basis for coherent national, sectoral and enterprise-level policies and action for prevention. While more detailed than the proposed instrument(s), the Code could be used, however, as a point of departure for their preparation.

202. In previous consultations held with member States, the exclusion of occupational diseases from the scope of an international instrument was suggested. This exclusion would maintain the unsatisfactory situation highlighted above, in particular the lack of international standards on legal requirements for the identification and notification of occupational diseases, the existing information and awareness gaps and the insufficient measures carried out for the prevention of occupational diseases, the number of which all over the world is impossible to quantify for the time being. It should be noted that for future work by the ILO the development of standards for statistics of occupational diseases was recommended in paragraph 30 of the resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries resulting from occupational accidents adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (Geneva, 6-15 October 1998).

203. The international instrument(s) could provide for:

A Convention containing basic principles, supplemented by a Recommendation, could be envisaged. In order to provide for flexibility, Members may be allowed to accept the obligations of the Convention separately in respect of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, as is the case in the Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration Convention, 1977 (No. 148), in respect of these three categories of hazards.

204. As a fairly large number of developing countries are not in a position to collect or publish national data on occupational diseases due to a lack of national legal requirements and expertise (lack of national lists or international references) or facilities for the diagnosis of occupational diseases, guidance by reference to updated lists of occupational diseases should be provided. It might be appropriate to update the current ILO list of occupational diseases (Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), as amended in 1980) simultaneously with the elaboration of the international instrument(s). As a response to concerns and reservations expressed in previous consultations and discussions on this item, two options are proposed for the form and content of the proposed list of occupational diseases:

205. The proposed revision of the current ILO list of occupational diseases and the revision of current ILO classifications of accidents encouraged by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians and being undertaken, might prove essential to the implementation of the proposed new international instrument(s).

Content of the new instrument(s)

206. The instrument(s) could aim at reinforcing and incorporating various activities into consistent systems of collecting information on occupational accidents and diseases in member States. Such systems could cover methods of reporting and recording within an enterprise and notification to the national authority. Consistent recording and notification systems could facilitate the investigation and analysis of the causes of occupational accidents and diseases that could promote the implementation, review and continuous improvement of safety and health policies within the enterprise and at national level, in particular for the purposes of planning coherent and effective prevention programmes.

207. The following aspects of the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases might be covered.

(a) General provisions

208. The provisions could specify that the competent authority should formulate, implement and periodically review a coherent national policy and principles on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, and establish and progressively implement national procedures and the necessary legal, institutional and administrative arrangements. Provisions for notification at the national level could cover fatal occupational accidents, all occupational accidents causing incapacity for work for a period to be established by the competent authority, and all occupational diseases included in a national list or covered by the definition of such diseases prescribed by the competent authority and diagnosed in a specified period. Provisions for recording at the level of the enterprise could be extended to include also accidents, diseases and happenings not covered by the notification requirements (commuting accidents, work-related diseases, dangerous occurrence and incidents).

(b) Action at the level of the enterprise

209. These measures could relate to setting up adequate procedures and allocating responsibilities within the enterprise for reporting by the worker and recording by the employer of occupational accidents and diseases. The provisions could specify the content and format of records, the period of time in which employers should have the records available, the confidentiality of medical and personal data, the cooperation of workers and their training in adequate reporting and recording. The information to be recorded should include at least the information that needs to be notified to the relevant enforcement body, the appropriate compensation organization or other designated bodies. Specifications could be made for additional or for progressively more detailed information to be recorded.

210. Accurate information concerning common causes of occupational accidents and diseases and the extent of injury will help in setting priorities for necessary preventive measures. It will also facilitate the assessment of the effectiveness of legislative and other measures. Provisions could thus specify measures to promote the uniform identification and assessment of causes of occupational accidents and diseases at each enterprise and, subsequently, in all branches of economic activity and at the national level by the use of the information recorded.

(c) Notification at the national level

211. These could specify how member States should prescribe and implement uniform procedures for notifying occupational accidents and diseases, including the determination of the bodies to which notification should be made, and could specify the responsibilities of employers and workers for compliance with the prescribed procedures. The instruments could also deal with enforcement measures.

212. The provisions could specify the types and extent of information to be notified to the relevant enforcement body, the appropriate compensation organization or other designated bodies, the timing for the notification depending on the type of injury and the notification arrangements to be set up within the enterprise. The notification of occupational accidents could include information on the enterprise where the accident occurred and its employer, the injured person, the extent, nature and location of the resulting injuries, the accident and its sequence, the investigation and action taken to prevent a recurrence of the accident. The notification of occupational diseases could include information on the enterprise and employer, the person affected, the occupational disease and its attribution to harmful agents and process and length of exposure. Specifications could be made for progressively more detailed information to be notified.

213. The instrument(s) could also suggest the means of promoting the use of the notified information at the national level, including the creation of national databases and the production of reliable statistics on occupational accidents and diseases as a basis for setting priorities and elaborating national policy and preventive action programmes. The instrument(s) could take into account the role of social security and sectoral institutions according to national law or practice.

Revision of the list of occupational diseases

214. On the basis of a review of the diseases that might appropriately be included in a revised Schedule I to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), and of current practice and trends in the diagnosis and evaluation of occupational disease for compensation purposes, the proposed new list of occupational diseases could cover the following additional items:

215. The revised list will be conducive to an improved flow of information on the incidence of work-related diseases with a view to their prevention. It will offer useful guidance on the health surveillance of workers exposed to specific occupational hazards and will have the advantage of promoting close cooperation between insurance organizations and enforcement agencies.

Origin of the proposal

216. Conference agenda items on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases were proposed for consideration by the Governing Body for the Conference agenda in 1991,1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000.(29)  An item on the revision of the list of occupational diseases appended to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), was proposed for the 1994 Conference agenda.(30) 

Relation to existing instruments

217. Some 20 Conventions and Recommendations encourage the compilation of statistics of occupational injuries and diseases, but only some of them refer to recording and notification. The Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), requires that the annual report published by the central inspection authority shall deal with statistics of industrial accidents and occupational diseases. According to the Protection of Workers' Health Recommendation, 1953 (No. 97), national laws or regulations should require the notification of cases and suspected cases of occupational diseases. The Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), provides for the competent authority to ensure that procedures will be progressively established and applied for the notification of occupational accidents and diseases for the production of annual statistics. Under the terms of the Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164), employers should be required to keep records relevant to occupational safety and health and the working environment which might include records of all notifiable occupational accidents and injuries to health. The Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160), and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 170) require the compilation of statistics of occupational injuries and, as far as possible, occupational diseases. There is, however, neither guidance regarding their structure nor reference to the resolution concerning statistics of employment injuries, which provides such guidance.

218. The Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), requires that legislation shall prescribe both the definition of an industrial accident and a list of diseases to be regarded as occupational diseases under prescribed conditions. National legislation should include a general definition of occupational diseases broad enough to cover at least the diseases listed in the most recent version of Schedule I to the Convention. The current version was amended in 1980 and needs to be reviewed. An informal consultation on the revision of Schedule I, convened by the ILO in 1991, prepared an updated list which has not been approved officially. The resolution concerning statistics of employment injuries, adopted by the Tenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (1962), defined for statistical purposes the notions of fatalities, permanent disablement and temporary disablement, and suggested four classifications of accidents according to the type of accidents, the physical agency, the nature and the bodily location of the injury. As these classifications required updating to meet modern and future needs, a Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics was held in Geneva from 30 March to 3 April 1998(31)  with the objective of discussing the major issues involved in the measurement and classification of occupational injuries. Its conclusions were taken into account by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians, held in Geneva in October 1998. The Conference concluded, among others, with the resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries resulting from occupational accidents which stipulates the collection of information about the enterprise, establishment or local unit, the person injured, the injury and the accident and its consequences. It contains, in addition, revised classifications of occupational accidents according to type of injury (Annex E) and to the part of body injured (Annex F). The preparation of a manual to provide technical guidance on the contents of the resolution and the development of standards for statistics of occupational diseases are recommended as part of action to be taken by the Office.

219. Although the Code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases is not a legally binding document, it provides useful guidance to competent authorities in developing national systems for the collection of comparable information and the overall prevention of occupational injuries and diseases. While more detailed than the proposed instrument(s), the Code could be used, however, as a point of departure for its or their preparation (see paragraph 221).

Progress made in research and preparatory work

220. The above Code of practice was distributed by the Office to all member States in a special endeavour implemented in 1997 to review the establishment of national policies and programmes and to develop more comprehensive and internationally comparable statistics on occupational accidents, in particular fatalities. All member States were asked to provide available data or to explore the difficulties or special circumstances they may be facing in gathering national data. The replies received from 107 institutions of some 99 countries were evaluated and the results provide the base for future work of the Office in this field.

221. Based on the experience acquired from previous work regarding the list of occupational diseases contained in Schedule I to Convention No. 121, the ongoing practical implementation of the Code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases (see preceding paragraph), as well as research already undertaken for the preparation of the Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics (1998) and the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (1998) and the results thereof, the Office is prepared to provide the necessary preparatory work for a Conference agenda item.

* * *

7. Hazardous substances and products -- Revision of the
White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13), and
the Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136)
 

Summary

Since 1921, the ILO has recognized the need to take specific action with respect to particularly hazardous chemical substances such as white lead, benzene and most recently, asbestos, due to the gravity of the effects of exposure to such substances on the health of workers. Conventions regulating the exposure of workers to each one of these substances have been adopted by the ILO.

Following an examination within the context of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the Governing Body decided in March 1998 that two of these Conventions, the White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13), and the Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136) should be revised.

However, as full or partial revision of Conventions Nos. 13 and 136 would go against ongoing trends for a global approach to hazardous chemicals and international activities related to the sound management of chemicals, the Office is suggesting that a more integrated and global approach to the regulation of exposure of workers to particularly hazardous chemical substances should be developed.

The present proposal contains an initial analysis of the purpose and content of such an integrated approach. However, as this proposal is being suggested for standard-setting action, the full implications of this proposal, particularly in relation to the Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No. 170), should be further examined. It is therefore proposed that a more developed proposal on this issue be resubmitted to the Governing Body at its 276th Session (November 1999) within the context of the portfolio.


Background

222. Due to the especially high relevance for the health of workers, the White Lead (Painting) Convention (No. 13), was already adopted in 1921 and the Benzene Convention (No. 136) in 1971. Conventions Nos. 13 and 136 are two of the three international instruments which regulate the use of single hazardous substances.(32)  They were adopted as a result of medical and scientific recognition that the growing use of white lead in paint and of benzene without adequate or appropriate preventive and protective measures was causing serious adverse effects to the health of exposed workers. It was also felt at the time that specific standards were necessary to address these specific needs. The Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No. 170), concerning safety in the use of chemicals at work, provides an overall framework for regulating chemicals at work.

223. Due to rapid technical and scientific progress made in the past two decades, some of the prescriptions in these two Conventions are now obsolete or do not reflect adequately the exposure prevention and health protection approach currently implemented in a majority of countries. For example an exposure limit (25 parts per million (ppm)) for benzene was included in Convention No. 136. This limit is obsolete today and has now been lowered to 10 ppm in a majority of countries and to 1 ppm in some. Lead causes harmful effects in many forms (sulfates, oxides, organic lead compounds) and uses (pigments, gasoline additives) that were not regulated in Convention No. 13. Instead of relying on static exposure limits, a number of recent national and international risk assessment documents on both benzene and lead are now taken as the basis for national regulatory action.

224. A review of the current law and practice in a number of member States indicate that a large number of countries have elaborated specific regulations to limit or eliminate exposure to lead or benzene. In most cases relevant hazard prevention and risk-management guidelines have also been elaborated. For example, in the United States benzene is designated as a known human carcinogen with a workplace exposure limit set by law at 1 ppm while the maximum permissible level in drinking-water is 1 part per billion. Similarly the concentration of lead is also regulated in relation to workplace exposure, children, public health (air and drinking-water), and consumer products (paints). In 1993, the European Commission recommended an occupational exposure limit of 0.5 ppm. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also classifies benzene as a known human carcinogen. This classification is referenced in most national regulations on carcinogenic substances. Similar requirements, including health surveillance mechanisms for potentially exposed workers, exist in many countries. In addition, regulations related to consumer/public health and environmental protection are also in place in a large number of countries. The review identified at least one or more regulation specific to lead and or benzene in all industrialized countries and a significant number of developing countries.

Consultation of member States

225. In 1997 and 1998, consultations were conducted with member States on the need for a full or partial revision of Conventions which included Conventions Nos. 13 and 136.(33)  With regard to Convention No. 13, the ratification prospects seemed virtually non-existent and a significant number of member States reported obstacles to ratification. Furthermore, several member States either considered that there was a need for revision of the Convention or questioned its continued relevance. One of the main concerns regarding the content of the Convention were the provisions in Article 3 providing for special rules for women and young workers, namely that women medically certified as pregnant, and nursing mothers, as well as young persons under 18 years of age shall not be employed in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene. The continued relevance of the Convention was questioned in two ways. On the one hand, it was maintained that the Convention no longer had any purpose due to the current limited use of white lead in paint. On the other hand, and as in the case of Convention No. 136, the basic logic -- to regulate the use of a single hazardous substance in a Convention -- was questioned.

226. Among the 35 member States which took part in the consultations, five member States did not see any need to revise the Convention and five were of the view that the Convention either was obsolete or had "no practical benefit". Nine member States proposed its revision on the grounds that they identified problems with specific Articles.

227. With regard to Convention No. 136, the consultation revealed a series of concerns regarding its content and form. As in the case of Convention No. 13, the basic logic of the Convention -- to regulate the use of a single hazardous substance -- was questioned. The majority of the member States which took part in the consultations were in favour of a revision of the substantive content of the Convention. A main issue for revision, as in the case of Convention No. 13, was the provisions in Article 11 providing for special rules for women and young workers. Some requests for a revision of the exposure limit in Article 6(2) were made on the grounds that the cited limit of 25 ppm was obsolete. Proposals to amend several other parts of the Convention were made, in particular on the inclusion of provisions for measures to be taken by the employer to protect the workers' health, for the indication of the carcinogenic character of benzene in the danger symbols referred to in Article 12, and for the revision of the texts regarding substitute products (Article 2), temporary exceptions (Article 3) and health surveillance (Article 9).

228. Among the 20 member States which favoured a revision, six were in favour of a partial revision and seven suggested the adoption of a Protocol. Several member States proposed considering whether the content of the Convention could not usefully be regulated in the context of other Conventions such as the Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No. 170), or the Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139).

Options for revision

229. As a result of the consultations with member States, it was decided that both Conventions should be revised and their revision be included in an item concerning the use of hazardous substances in the portfolio of proposals for the agenda of the Conference.(34)  In the course of the examination of this proposal, it was felt that the term "use" in the original title "The use of hazardous substances - .....", introduced an undue limitation to the scope of the proposal and thus should be deleted. Following the recommendations made by UNCED on environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, and taking into account ongoing international cooperation to implement these recommendations within the frameworks of IPCS, IOMC, and the IFCS, the sound management of chemicals should cover in a coherent and coordinated manner, all aspects of the life cycle of chemicals, i.e., from manufacture, transport, use, recycling to final disposal. As an example, the ongoing elaboration of a globally harmonized system for the classification and labeling of chemicals (GHS) in which ILO is the leading organization, aims at a universal instrument that will cover all chemical substances and products in all sectors, including transport, workplace, consumer use, and the environment.

230. Furthermore, the suggestion to add the word "products" is based on the fact that over 90% of the chemicals used or put on market are in the form of mixtures of pure substances with widely different compositions. For instance, the substance lead oxide can be found in paints which themselves contains other pigments, solvents, curing agents, etc. In the same way, varying concentrations of benzene can be found in gasolines, or as impurities in solvents. In most cases, occupational exposure occurs rarely in relation to the pure substance, but rather through exposure to a hazardous substance contained in a mixture or product. This is perfectly illustrated in C.136 where reference is made to "benzene and products containing benzene".

231. The decision by the Governing Body further suggests a full or partial revision of Conventions Nos. 13 and 136. Such revisions would go against ongoing trends for a global approach to hazardous chemicals and international activities related to the sound management of chemicals. Before the supply and use of a chemical can be managed adequately (methods and conditions of production, use, transport, restrictions, eventual banning, etc.), its hazardous properties and the risks it poses to health and in some cases to the environment must first be assessed. Consequently, Article 6 of Convention No. 170 provides for the framework and establishment of necessary systems and criteria for such assessment. The Office intends to examine further how the general principles contained in Convention No. 170 may be supplemented by more specific standards regulating the category of hazardous substances such as lead and benzene.

232. Hazard and risk assessment of chemicals evolves constantly in relation to technical and scientific progress. Overall, the review of law and practice showed that in many countries, the exposure limits and regulatory controls for benzene and lead were reconsidered and revised several times over the past decades to adapt them to technical and scientific progress and that such adaptation is an ongoing process which affects the production, use, handling, transport and disposal of all chemicals or their mixtures. Therefore both the format of a Convention for selected chemicals and the establishment of their exposure limits in Conventions is no longer appropriate and it would be doubtful that even revised Conventions would be useful when many countries have now very strict regulations on the use of both benzene and lead.

233. At present, very extensive international cooperation on chemical safety is carried out through the Joint WHO/ILO/UNEP International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) which coordinates all the chemical safety activities of the ILO, WHO, UNEP, FAO, UNIDO, UNITAR and the OECD, and the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) which is an advisory mechanism set up by member States to establish priorities. This global framework was set up and designed to implement the recommendations of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Agenda 21, Chapter 19 on environmentally sound management of hazardous chemicals. The ILO plays a major role within these structures to ensure participation of its tripartite constituents and the promotion of the relevant ILO instruments. One of the IFCS recommendations is an increased ratification of the chemicals Convention by member States and also increased production of international chemical risk evaluations.

234. Within the framework of IPCS, comprehensive internationally peer-reviewed hazard and risk assessments of chemicals are carried out and published on a regular basis. The process includes the input of key national institutions as well as intergovernmental organizations specialized in the evaluation of the risks of chemicals to human health and to the environment. In addition draft assessment documents are sent for review to the IOMC organizations as well as to internationally recognized organizations of employers and workers before they are finalized and published. Currently, the IPCS has published comprehensive Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) for close to 200 chemicals or chemical families. In response to the UNCED Recommendations for accelerated and increased availability of risk assessment documents, IPCS joined recently with the OECD and the European Commission to produce at least 50 Concise International Chemical Assessment Documents (CICAD) per year. Within the IPCS the ILO manages the production of the IPCS International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC) which are also short internationally peer-reviewed documents designed for direct use by workers and those responsible for safety and health at the enterprise level. At present ICSCs are available for 1,300 pure chemicals. In addition ICSCs are conceived in such a way that they are amenable to automatic computerized translation in close to 30 languages. The respective card for benzene is attached as an example. In addition to these international efforts, a majority of developed countries produce national chemical risk-assessment documents on a regular basis.

235. These national and international assessments are produced because they are an essential basis for appropriate and informed decision-making by national authorities in regulatory processes aimed at ensuring safety in the production, marketing and use, transport and disposal of chemicals, as well as protecting the health of humans and the environment.

236. A more durable and efficient solution exists which would take into account the concerns expressed by member States as well as the ongoing international efforts and strategies for the global implementation of measures conducive to sound management of hazardous chemicals. This solution takes also into account current Office strategy concerning the rationalization of the array of ILO instruments in the field of occupational safety and health and the enhancement of their international status.

237. It is proposed therefore to consider the possibility of establishing an instrument on the use of particularly hazardous substances designed to extend the coverage of Convention No. 170 and include updated prescriptions of the present Conventions Nos. 13 and 136. The text of the instrument would make reference to:

and could call on member States, in elaborating regulations and standards related to particularly hazardous chemicals:

238. If the new instrument were formally linked to Convention No. 170 this could have the effect of further enhancing the status of Convention No. 170 as the central international instrument for the sound management of all hazardous chemicals. However, other possible approaches as to the form of the proposed standard-setting action should also be considered. Convention No. 170 is designed to cover chemical elements or components, and mixtures thereof, whether natural or synthetic. Well-defined measures for their sound management are provided whatever the chemical is: establishment of classification systems, labelling and marking, elaboration of chemical safety data sheets including exposure limits; responsibilities of suppliers; responsibilities of employers (identification, transfer of chemicals, exposure not exceeding established limits, operational control including risk assessment, disposal, information, training and cooperation); duties and rights of workers and their representatives; responsibilities of exporting member States. Article 6 of Convention No. 170 provides for the establishment by the competent authority, or by a body approved or recognized by the competent authority, of "systems and specific criteria appropriate for the classification of all chemicals according to the type and degree of their intrinsic health and physical hazards and for assessing the relevance of the information required to determine whether a chemical is hazardous". Other Conventions such as the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161), and the Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) provide additional guidance relevant to chemical safety issues.

Progress made in research and
preparatory work

239. This proposal, which is based on the decision by the Governing Body to revise Conventions Nos. 13 and 136, contains an initial analysis of a proposed integrated approach to the use of particularly hazardous chemical substances. As this proposal is suggested for standard-setting action, the full implications of this proposal, particularly in relation to Convention No. 170 as well as the possibility of proposing a new instrument, should be further considered and elaborated. It is therefore proposed that a more developed proposal be reconsidered by the Governing Body at its 276th Session (November 1999) within the context of the portfolio.

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8. Social security -- Issues, challenges
and prospects
 

Summary

This proposal suggests that a closer look needs to be taken at new developments which have a bearing on social security, and that some of the issues of social security reform that a number of countries have been experiencing in recent years should be raised in a general discussion at the International Labour Conference in the year 2001. Such a discussion could highlight the implications these new developments may have for future ILO work, and provide insights into, and guidelines for, social security policies that constituents might wish to pursue.

In the year 2001 the International Labour Conference could be called upon to establish an ILO vision of social security that, while continuing to be rooted in the basic principles that constitute the foundation of the ILO, would be responsive to the new issues and challenges facing social security. This contribution is intended to provide some key elements as background information on the issues that could be the focus of a proposed general discussion. In a second stage, this could lead to the development of new instruments or to the possible updating or revision of existing standards.


Background

240. In most parts of the world, social security systems are under challenge. Some consider that the systems are too expensive and that they harm the process of economic growth and development. Others point to deficiencies in the level of protection and the scope of coverage, and argue that in times of increased unemployment and other forms of labour insecurity, social security is more needed than ever. In some countries, there is dissatisfaction with the administration of social security, and calls for reform involve a review of the role of the State, the responsibilities of the social partners and the desirability of a greater involvement of the private sector.

241. Among ILO constituents, there has been no systematic dialogue on social security for many years. In the meantime, several countries have been going through a reform process, and the ILO has not been in the forefront of the debate. Part of the problem is that governments, workers and employers often approach social security issues from different standpoints, and there is a need to discuss these divergencies within the ILO tripartite structure. As a prerequisite for this, it is necessary to identify the new challenges and realities.

242. Social security systems need to take account of the societal and economic changes. The process of globalization means that this cannot be done only within national boundaries. The forces of globalization can have a dramatic effect on people's living standards, and raise the need to find new solutions to ensuring social protection and social cohesion at the global level. The recent Asian crisis has shown that short-term changes in global financial markets can dramatically raise the level of poverty, and have widespread repercussions on employment and poverty.

243. Developments in social security are also affected by worldwide changes in the labour market, such as greater informalization and an increased acceptance of the need for equality of treatment between men and women. Informalization of economic activities is effectively shifting a growing number of workers and families away from the mainstream forms of employment on which social insurance was based, in industrialized countries as well as in low-income, developing countries. Some commentators believe that little has changed, and that in the longer term stable forms of regular employment will prevail. Others are less convinced, arguing that labour markets and economic activities will consist of increasing numbers in non-regular, casual, intermittent, or unregistered forms of work and labour. The issue of equality between men and women has become increasingly important in the light of far-reaching changes in family structures as well as the changed role of women in the labour market and in society.

Some key issues

244. Taking into account the profound global changes affecting social security programmes, the Office proposes the review of some key issues for a general discussion at the Conference in 2001. It would assess the possible impact of social security on the economy and the labour market. Given low levels of social security protection in many countries, it could then review various options to extend the coverage of social protection. It could also highlight various ways to promote equality between men and women. It could then discuss the financing of social security and its implications for investments on financial markets, and indicate the role of governments and the social actors in the process of governance and reform. The discussion could be concluded with a review of possible implications for future ILO work.

Social security, employment and development

245. There is considerable controversy about the social and economic effect of social security, and most of the current debate is focused on its negative effects. Social security would discourage people from working and saving; high social security costs would reduce international competitiveness and employment creation; and it would encourage people to withdraw from the labour market prematurely. On the other hand, social security is also supposed to have a number of very positive effects. It would help to make people capable of earning an income and to increase their productive potential; it would help to maintain effective demand at the national level; and it would help to create conditions in which a market economy can flourish, notably by maintaining social peace and by encouraging workers to accept innovation and change. The preparatory report to a general discussion would therefore take stock of the various arguments and assess the conditions for their validity.

246. This report would also review various ways in which social security and labour market policies can be better coordinated. In general, labour market policies have three major functions: to raise labour earnings (mainly through training); to improve the functioning of the labour market (mainly through employment services and the regulation of collective bargaining); and to protect workers (mainly through the regulation of basic working and employment conditions). Social security comes into play in particular when people are unemployed; when workers leave the labour market for good as a result of old-age and disability, or temporarily as a result of sickness and maternity; and when they need to be protected against the vagaries of medical expenditure (health and employment injury insurance).

247. One of the principal goals of social security policies is therefore to improve the outcomes of the labour market process. A major ongoing debate in this context is about the conditions under which policies for economic growth, a better functioning of the labour market and adequate social protection can reinforce each other. This debate originated in the OECD countries, then spilled over to the countries in transition, and is now also affecting policy-making in the developing countries. One key issue is the complementarity between labour market policies and social protection policies, such as unemployment insurance and social assistance. It will also examine the need to establish more unemployment insurance schemes, not only in the crisis-affected Asian countries but also in other emerging countries facing similar challenges in an era of rapid economic and financial globalization.

Extending social protection

248. There are wide regional differences in formal social security coverage, but one of the key current global problems is that more than half of the world's workforce and their dependants are not covered by social security systems. Even in countries with high economic growth, more and more workers (and in particular women) are in less secure employment, such as the self-employed, casual and homeworkers. Many of these workers are barred from access to existing social security (mainly old-age pension) systems through a variety of explicit and implicit restrictions with regard to occupation, enterprise size, wage levels and employment contracts.

249. The preparatory report to the ILC would review successful experiences of countries that have been able to extend social protection, and it will also discuss the emergence of contributory (mainly health insurance) schemes set up by and for workers outside the formal sector. It will then examine the need for more social safety net provisions, in particular for those who cannot be covered by contributory social security schemes.

250. Within the social protection spectrum, there are benefits that are paid on the basis of contributions, residence or universality (i.e., as of right) and provisions that are aimed at those who do not qualify for such benefits and whose standard of living is below the social minimum. In this context, the social safety net is intended to support those who have not been able to earn the right to adequate social protection. The report will review various social safety-net concepts, and will then examine how the social safety-net approach can be integrated into an overall social protection and anti-poverty policy.

Equality of treatment between men and women

251. This issue has become increasingly important in the light of significant changes in family structures as well as the changed role of women in the labour market. Women occupy most of the part-time, low-income, intermittent and precarious jobs, which more often than not fall outside the coverage of social security. Most women also often assume the greater part of parental responsibility and have therefore less time to build up their social security rights. Moreover, in most societies women still have a lower retirement age which very often makes it difficult for them to fulfil the qualifying conditions for full benefits. Men, on the other hand, also face inequality of treatment, as in most countries survivors' benefits are granted only to widows.(36) 

252. Some particular items that could be discussed, and that would be amenable to the development or updating of standards, are the following:

The financing of social security

253. National expenditure on social protection is increasing worldwide, and this has given rise to controversial national and international debates about the affordability of contemporary types of national social protection systems. These debates often ignore the fact that social protection systems are institutionalized social transfers systems, redistributing income to beneficiaries. Most of these transfers are simply necessary to maintain an adequate level of consumption of non-active members of the society. The elderly, the disabled, the sick, the poor and the unemployed require transfer income in any society through some form of institutionalized or non-institutionalized transfer system.

254. The preparatory report to the ILC would provide factual information about the limits of affordability. It will examine the reasons for rising social expenditure, distinguishing between "avoidable" cost increases, such as the possible effects of inefficiencies and perverse incentives, and "unavoidable" increases, such as the consequence of ageing populations. It will then review various options as to how the resulting financial burden could be distributed between consecutive generations and between different social actors, such as the State, the private and the non-profit sector. Finally, it will explore why some countries are accepting much higher overall tax and contribution limits than others and why acceptable tax and contribution structures vary between countries.

255. Another issue is the widespread trend towards greater capitalization of national social protection systems. Social security institutions are increasingly involved in investment activities, with significant implications for the governance and management of these funds. As shareholders for example, social security funds can have a considerable impact on company management whose decisions have wide-ranging implications for the economy, workers and the environment. Greater funding of social protection systems therefore inevitably raises questions about the formulation of objectives of investment policies, the effective safeguarding of reserves, the degree of co-determination of insured persons in the formulation of investment policies and the supervision of investment practices, and the actual determination of investment portfolios. The preparatory report would then discuss some guidelines (or possibly a code of conduct for social security funds) with respect to investments, legislation, tax treatment and the participation of social partners.

The role of the social actors

256. This report would highlight the rights and responsibilities of the different actors, e.g. the State, enterprises and individuals. One part of the discussion would concentrate on the questions as to whether social security institutions can be reformed so that they combine the best features of public and private ownership and whether there is scope for certain functions to be contracted to private sector management. While the State remains responsible for social protection for its citizens, the key issue is the extent to which the State should directly provide social security rather than establish an environment and a regulatory framework within which workers, employers and their associations can make their own arrangements.

257. In most countries workers' and employers' organizations have had a major impact on the development of social security. As their contributions represent the largest share of social security revenues, they need to be specially involved in the governance of social security, i.e. in policy-making as well as in implementation. But since social security is expanding its scope beyond the world of wage employment, an attempt should be made to assess the possible role of all relevant social groups in the process of governance and decision-making. For developing countries, where the majority of the labour force is in informal sector employment, the report will outline the role of emerging labour groups that are willing to, and capable of, participating in social security schemes.

Implications for future ILO work

258. The greatest challenge for future ILO work will be to assist member States in meeting these challenges in their own socio-economic context. Important challenges would be to define national and international policies to ensure social security protection for all, as well as the formulation of comprehensive policies to ensure the sustainability of social security schemes and to adapt them to the changing needs of the population and of increasingly flexible and global labour markets. Both at the national and international level, much experimentation will be needed, in close collaboration with the social actors. The ILO should be involved in various pilot projects with informal sector workers, and on the basis of lessons learned, it would disseminate that information and assist governments and the various social security partners with training and technical cooperation programmes.

259. The proposed discussion for the International Labour Conference in 2001 might also result in a consideration of standard-setting activities in this area, taking into account the outcome of the work of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards. It could also possibly cause the development of proposals for new standards, in particular in the area of equality of treatment between men and women.

* * *

9. Employment of women
 

Summary

Women have made significant gains in the labour market; in many countries they now account for close to half the labour force. But male and female labour markets remain strongly segregated. About half of the world's workers are in sex-stereotyped occupations. An extremely high number of women are confined to "female jobs" -- with low status, often insecure, unsafe and poorly paid -- which men still will not do. Even for similar kinds of work, women are typically paid 20-30 per cent less than men. More women have reached middle management, but they are not about to storm the world's boardrooms or parliaments. At and near the top, their numbers are still vanishingly small. If they want a family as well, the odds against success lengthen. Attempting to balance work, family demands and community responsibilities requires exceptional stamina and determination. Falling birth rates in some industrialized countries can be traced to women opting for work over family because they cannot manage the stress of handling both. Everywhere, women's march into the labour market has had profound effects on men. The traditional model of male breadwinner and head of household is being challenged worldwide. Both men and women are being confronted with the new reality of working women and mothers, implying an urgent need for a more equitable sharing of childcare, domestic and community responsibilities. The elimination of gender discrimination with respect to employment and occupation, therefore, is not only a fundamental right but will also shape future societies and economies and the quality of life for women and men. The ILO can play a role in influencing the course of these changes.


Women's increasing share of the
labour force

260. One of the most striking phenomena of the twentieth century has been the extent to which women have increased their share of paid employment. With globalization, revolutionary advances in information and communications technology and the growth of modern service economies, women's labour force participation has not only increased but come to dominate labour force growth in many countries. Since 1980, women's labour force growth has been substantially higher than labour force growth for men for every region of the world except Africa.

261. It is critical to understand, however, the dynamics behind women's increased participation in the labour force -- both because gender differences have affected the ways in which countries cope with rapid changes in the world economy and because gender relations have themselves been transformed by the economic forces unleashed by globalization. The implications of these changes for the quantity and quality of women's and men's employment can be considered.

262. First, to cope with intensified external competition and product market volatility, enterprises around the world have been attempting, on one hand, to lower costs, especially those associated with labour, and, on the other, to enhance their capacity to adapt to rapid changes in market conditions and consumer demand. This has meant investing in new technology, outsourcing labour-intensive production processes to the informal sector or relocating them to low labour-cost countries, and reorganizing production at the firm level. The new production techniques have changed skill and job structures. In certain sectors, some countries have noted a decline in the proportion of jobs requiring craft, apprenticeship or prolonged on-the-job learning, which have traditionally been male-dominated. Another key characteristic noted has been a trend to skill polarization, with a small core of workers possessing specialist competencies and a majority requiring minor training through modules of employable skills in which manual dexterity, docility, application and rote learning tend to feature more prominently -- and which are normally associated with "feminine" characteristics. Such skill polarization places more reliance on external rather than internal labour markets especially because there is less benefit to enterprises from workers' on-the-job continuity. One traditionally cited reason for discriminating against women -- that they have higher labour turnover -- has thus lost ground. In fact, employers resorting to casual or temporary labour and job rotation may prefer women.

263. Second, the reorganization of production has been accompanied by the weakening of protective regulations and labour market institutions that were seen to impede free functioning of the labour market. One result of such deregulation has been to weaken the strength of labour market "insiders", namely unionized (male) workers in stable full-time jobs. Since it is now easier to dismiss workers and to "downsize", enterprises have been able to resort to external labour markets to substitute lower-cost labour for core workers. Much of the new employment involves non-standard, often precarious, forms of work. Informal economic activities, subcontracting, part-time work, home-based work, self-employment have all proliferated, and the rate of unionization has declined. All these labour market developments have pushed up the female share of the labour force.

264. Third, the casualization of the labour market has created a demand for female migrant workers in certain sectors, even when unemployment is rising in a receiving country. In several developed countries, the very low-paying, dirty, difficult and sometimes dangerous jobs -- such as piecework and shift work in small and medium-sized factories and, sometimes, in sweatshops, cleaning jobs, domestic service and work in restaurants -- tend to be filled by female migrant workers. Local workers may either shun these jobs or female migrant workers may be hired in preference to locals because they are more docile and work for lower rates, demand fewer fringe benefits, and insist less on other worker rights. A striking recent phenomenon has been the feminization of Asian temporary labour migration, with women moving more and more in their own right as autonomous economic migrants rather than as dependents of male migrants. As opportunities have burgeoned in female-dominated jobs, it is Asian women rather than men who have been leaving family and home to become income-earners. The availability of migrant domestic maids has freed local women from their domestic responsibilities to make it possible for them to seek paid employment outside the home.

265. Fourth, in industrialized countries and transition countries, although for different reasons, the real wage decline for large proportions of the labour force has led to income loss which is compensated by additional labour supply. Moreover, the reduction or increased selectivity of state benefits in many countries has reduced the number of people who receive entitlements: this has boosted the "additional worker" effects, pushing more women into the labour market and keeping them there because of the growth of income insecurity. Doing away with minimum wage-fixing legislation/machinery or the weakened enforcement of existing provisions has also promoted the growth of very low-wage employment, and the payment of individual rather than family wages has encouraged the hiring of women.

266. Fifth, in developing countries, the globalization of trade, production and capital flows has had important effects. One is the now well acknowledged fact that industrialization in these countries has been as much female-led as export-led. Firms have relied heavily on low-cost women workers as part of their cost-cutting competitiveness strategy. What is now also becoming evident is that the share of women in export manufacturing, especially in export processing industries, peaks and then declines over time. The decline is associated with diversification of the export product mix towards higher value added, more technologically demanding export categories and with the increasing capital intensity of production technologies. It appears that, as jobs and wages improve in quality, women tend to be excluded from those areas. Another important impact has been the high proportion of women workers in the international financial services sector, more in the low-skill applications such as data entry but also increasingly in the customized, higher-skill business services such as software design, computer programming and banking and insurance services.

267. Finally, it must be recognized that changes in family structures have had an impact on female employment. A number of developments, including the breakdown of extended family structures, the increased mobility of populations, the erosion of the traditional nuclear family, the growth of one-parent households, female-headed households and one-parent families have resulted, to some extent, in higher levels of female employment. In a few countries, the wider availability of childcare facilities has also encouraged women to remain in, or seek, paid employment. In respect of many of these factors, it is of course difficult to determine whether changes in family relation have created a greater demand for employment or whether women's entry into employment has occasioned some of the changes.

Have more jobs meant better jobs for women?

268. If women in some countries now make up close to half the labour force, we might expect them to be doing a broad range of jobs, similar to those done by men. Occupational segregation by sex has fallen in some parts of the world, but overall women still have very limited labour market choices. Occupations remain highly segregated by sex and women tend to work in a small set of occupations, which represent relatively poor jobs in terms of pay, status, decision-making powers and career opportunity. These occupations also tend to have characteristics highly consistent with typical female stereotypes in society at large. Male-dominated occupations are over seven times as numerous as female-dominated ones, and tend to be much higher valued.

269. Over time, women have increased their share in administrative and managerial work, but they are normally in lower- or middle-level management, concentrated in sectors such as medical and health care, personnel and labour relations and education, which reflect extensions of their traditional domestic role. Whether in business, the professions, academia or politics, the top layer everywhere is still almost exclusively male. The term "glass ceiling" was coined in the 1970s to describe the invisible barriers that block women from top executive jobs and to illustrate the point that when there is no objective reason for women not to rise to the very top as men do, there must be something inherently wrong in the organizational structures of companies and institutions as well as in society. Women may look through the glass ceiling to see what they know they are capable of achieving but are not able to break through.

270. Rather than banging their heads against the glass ceiling, women have increasingly created their own enterprises. In the United States, a third of small and medium-sized companies are now run by women. In Brazil it is believed that women run over 50 per cent of micro-enterprises and small businesses. Women entrepreneurs have become significant actors in the growth of small and medium-sized firms throughout the world. But setting up a business is not necessarily a lucrative activity for women. Even in the United States, it was found that full-time self-employed women earn only half as much per hour, on average, as full-time female employees. Still, compared with the rigidity of corporate life, the flexibility of self-employment offers many working women a solution to their biggest problem: reconciling career and family.

271. Women, compared to men, face more barriers entering or expanding businesses. In Western countries, a major difficulty for women entrepreneurs is to be taken seriously and to get men to work for them. In developing and transition economies, they face discrimination by creditors, suppliers and customers. Lack of collateral and the size and nature of their businesses limit their access to credit. Limited access to credit means that women's enterprises tend to start small, expand slowly and are more vulnerable to failure than businesses founded by men. Another obstacle for female entrepreneurs is the lack of networks which could provide support and information on opportunities, developments and business conditions. Male-dominated business associations are well-established and not always friendly to women.

272. The majority of women, especially in developing countries, have found work because they have been prepared to go into "women's jobs" -- with atypical statuses, often insecure and poorly paid -- which modern service economies appear to create in ever-growing quantities and which men are still not prepared to do. Increasingly they are "contingent" workers (whose jobs are not expected to last) in a narrow range of industries doing temporary or casual work involving irregular or unusual hours or done on a contract or piece-rate basis. They are paid less than their non-contingent counterparts and normally are not covered by labour and social security regulations nor by the provisions of collective bargaining. The number of part-time women workers has also been increasing sharply, and part-timers are still generally regarded as less committed and less valuable than full-timers and treated accordingly. Of course, some women choose part-time jobs so as to be able to combine work and family, but more often than not they have no other choices. The fact remains that such flexible forms of work generally meet employers' cost-containment needs more than they meet the needs of women workers for quality employment.

273. In occupations where many women but few men work, pay levels tend to be low. With so many women concentrated in low-paying jobs, it is no surprise that despite the increasing adoption of equal pay legislation, a large gap exists between male and female earnings. Even for similar jobs, women tend to earn 20-30 per cent less than men. The gap has been closing to some extent, especially among young childless, professional full-time workers. But once women start having children their relative income drops, and the more children they have the more their pay falls behind: because of the loss of income from the time they take off to have children, because they miss out on promotion opportunities and because they often have to accept a less skilled job to return to the labour market.

274. There is no denying that women have come a long way in the labour market, but any review of their situation and working conditions must conclude that there is still a long way to go. Progress towards the achievement of equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men has been far from continuous or sustained. In times of economic growth and prosperity, equality is paid more than just lip-service and resources are devoted to the elimination of discrimination. However, in periods of transition, recession or downturn, such efforts are minimized and the measures to enable women better to balance work and family responsibilities are among the first to be abandoned. Moreover, women are less inclined to seek redress for discrimination in troubled economic times for fear of retaliation that could result in loss of employment. Notwithstanding, women are still among the first to lose their jobs. Cyclical adherence to the most fundamental human right of equality of opportunity and treatment has thus resulted in slow and uneven progress towards gender equality. Sometimes there is even a distinct reversal of earlier gains. There are new and growing highly vulnerable groups: the poorest groups of women, including female heads of households, migrants and indigenous women who do not appear to be able to escape in any meaningful and sustainable way from being victims of discrimination and marginalization.

Education and training: The key to better
employment for women

275. The World Employment Report, 1998-99 cites a number of reasons why education and training are a key to better employment for women:

276. School and post-secondary enrolment rates for girls and women have risen in almost all countries in recent decades, although important disparities persist. Girls are out-performing boys at school, but a major problem is that their general education tends to lack career orientation. Another worrying problem is that factors such as financial constraints and the resurgence of fundamentalist religious attitudes in poor countries still mean that parents invest less in girls' education than in boys' education and female drop-out rates are higher.

277. It is in skills training, however, that the more serious discriminatory impacts are felt. The World Employment report notes that compared to men, women have inferior access to: (i) vocational training; (ii) workplace-based training; (iii) lifelong learning; (iv) training programmes for the unemployed; (v) new technology training; and (vi) entrepreneurship training. Policies to support lifelong learning and new pathways to skill development for workers in non-standard forms of work and those in occupations with low training opportunities can have a large impact on women's labour market success. Since increasingly it is not just the levels but rather the types of education and training that women and men receive that matter, it is important to encourage and support women and girls to take up studies in non-traditional fields especially those in areas of future job growth.

278. But the report also emphasizes that training policies on their own are insufficient to bring about labour market change: "a range of policies, with training as a key but not lone component, is needed to widen women's choices in the labour market". It is of course imperative that measures also be taken to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of access to employment in general, as well as to particular occupations.

Ending gender discrimination and improving
employment for women (and men)

279. As the employment of women has immeasurable benefits for society at large through, for instance, the better utilization of human resources, its contribution to national economic growth and the elimination of poverty and to the financing of social security schemes, it is incumbent upon governments to take rigorous measures to end discrimination. The Conventions relating to women workers -- Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) -- are among the most widely ratified. National implementation, is, however, often weak for a number of reasons. First, the legislative framework is frequently inadequate. The ILO receives many requests from governments and the social partners for advice on how to frame national law that is in conformity with international standards while being appropriate to internal conditions, and on how to promote a conducive environment for effective application of the law. For instance, many countries are not able to implement Convention No. 100 because they lack local expertise to establish job evaluation systems and labour market statistics by sex are inadequate. Second, national machinery for enforcement is weak, especially in those countries where industrial relations systems are poorly developed, and women are under-represented in senior decision-making positions. Political will and commitment tends to wax and wane in line with economic and social conditions. Third, women workers themselves are often not aware of their legal rights and obligations or are too intimidated, or lack the means and power to enforce their rights.

280. A conducive environment for the employment of women also requires governments to make changes to their tax and social security systems. The sort of incentives or disincentives they offer can make a big difference to the way people organize their lives. To enable women to make a free choice about taking jobs, tax and social security systems need to be tailored to individuals rather than family units. Ways in which governments can make it easier for women to combine work and having children (and look after the elderly) need also to be considered: such measures have assumed greater urgency in many countries with plunging birth rates on the one hand and rising proportions of the elderly on the other hand.

281. Companies need to be convinced that it is good for business to employ and promote women and to provide training and family-friendly policies so that they can contribute their full potential. It is therefore important to gather and evaluate the evidence. With women increasingly as well, or better, educated than men, a company would be narrowing its choices to only half of the brightest and best people were it recruiting only men; if a company is already employing women, and has invested in their skills, it makes economic sense to retain them by offering, for example, maternity leave or flexible hours rather than risk losing them and having to recruit and train replacements; the approach and attitudes of women bring benefits to the company; giving women employees a fair deal is good public relations for a company, especially since women are major consumers of their products and services.

282. A growing number of companies are now implementing family-friendly policies. The challenge, however, is to convince employers, especially in smaller enterprises, that such policies are cost-effective. It is also important to ensure that such policies are not aimed exclusively at women; they could backfire by inviting discrimination since men too have families. It is necessary to encourage not only women but also men workers to make use of them without fearing that it will be construed as lack of commitment to their work or justification for lack of promotion opportunities.

283. For the large groups of women workers outside formal sector employment, the ILO has been providing policy advice and technical cooperation assistance for comprehensive and integrated measures to promote more new and better jobs. For instance, programmes to assist vulnerable groups of informal sector women workers have included components for training not only in income-generating skills but also in entrepreneurship development, gender-awareness raising and legal literacy, group mobilization and organization, access to credit, markets and other support facilities, etc. The programmes have also tried to ensure that productive and remunerative employment for women translates directly into improved welfare for the family, more equal gender relations, schooling for children and the reduction of child labour. It is time to take stock of these multidisciplinary experiences of the ILO's various technical departments and the International Programme on More and Better Jobs for Women and to identify and more widely disseminate the good practices.

284. Finally, policies to promote true equality need also to address men -- as the other half of the labour force and of the social unit. The large-scale entry of women into the labour force has outpaced changes in social attitudes, norms and institutions. In many countries, the model reflected in legislation (e.g. social security and taxation) and in popular perception is still based on the notion of male breadwinner and female housewife or secondary earner, but the reality is very different. Men (and women too) need to become accustomed to women bosses, female co-workers, working mothers, dual-earner couples, and men need to be prepared to take on an increased share of domestic tasks. Young boys (and girls) need new role models to equip them for these changed realities.

Suggested issues for a general discussion
at the Conference

285. Employment of women as an agenda item for general discussion at the Conference would be important on at least two grounds: (1) in light of the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; and (2) as integral to the ILO's central concern for employment promotion.

286. Should the Governing Body decide to include such an item, the following are some suggestions for issues that the Conference may wish to address:

* * *

287. In the light of the above proposals the Governing Body is invited to determine the agenda of the 89th Session (2001) of the International Labour Conference:

Geneva, 8 February 1999.

Points for decision:

1. GB.254/16/19, para. 5.

2. GB.273/2.

3. GB.271/4/1.

4. International Labour Conference, 86th Session (1998): "Resolution concerning the possible adoption of international instruments for the protection of workers in the situations identified by the Committee on Contract Labour", Record of Proceedings, Vol. II, p. 33.

5. The Committee of Experts suggested that a Protocol might also be adopted to allow countries to undertake to reverse the burden of proof, under some circumstances, in cases of alleged discrimination. As this proposal has not been favourably received in discussions in the Governing Body, it is not taken up at this time.

6. The Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3), Art. 2; Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4), Art. 3; Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1934 (No. 41), Art. 3; Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 [and Protocol, 1990] (No. 89), Art. 3; Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), Art. 6, para. 1(a)(i); Plantations Convention, 1958 [and Protocol, 1982] (No. 110), Art. 46; Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168), Art. 6; Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), Art. 5(1); Employment (Women with Family Responsibilities) Recommendation, 1965 (No. 123), Para. 9(2); Human Resources Development Recommendation, 1975 (No. 150), Para. 50(b)(v); Older Workers Recommendation, 1980 (No. 162), Para. 3; Termination of Employment Recommendation, 1982 (No. 166), Para. 5(a); Private Employment Agencies Recommendation, 1997 (No. 188), Para. 9.

7. The Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3), Art. 2; Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (No. 103), Art. 2; Plantations Convention, 1958 [and Protocol, 1982] (No. 110), Arts. 2 and 46; Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168), Art. 6; Seamen's Welfare in Ports Recommendation, 1936 (No. 48), Para. 3; Vocational Training (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1956 (No. 101), Para. 3(1); Indigenous and Tribal Populations Recommendation, 1957 (No. 104), Para. 35(b); Plantations Recommendation, 1958 (No. 110), Para. 2. It should be noted that the ground of nationality is fundamental to the standards in relating to migrants and that provisions intended to ensure them equality of opportunity and treatment and/or protection against discrimination are therefore included in the corresponding instruments, namely: the Maintenance of Migrants' Pension Rights Convention, 1935 (No. 48), Arts. 2 and 10; Migration for Employment Convention, 1939 (No. 66); Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), Art. 2; Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118), Art. 3; Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143); Maintenance of Social Security Rights Convention, 1982 (No. 157); Migration Statistics Recommendation, 1922 (No. 19); and the Migration for Employment Recommendation, 1939 (No. 61); Migration for Employment Recommendation (Revised), 1949 (No. 86); Protection of Migrant Workers (Underdeveloped Countries) Recommendation, 1955 (No. 100), Para. 45.

8. The Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 82), Art. 18(1) and (2); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), Art. 1; Plantations Convention, 1958 [and Protocol, 1982] (No. 110), Art. 2; Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117), Art. 14(1) and (2); Social Policy in Dependent Territories Recommendation, 1944 (No. 70), Para. 41(3); Plantations Recommendation, 1958 (No. 110), Para. 2; Workers' Housing Recommendation, 1961 (No. 115), Para. 25. Trade union membership of migrant workers is referred to in Recommendation No. 100, Para. 38, and in the Migrant Workers Recommendation, 1975 (No. 151), Para. 8(3); Private Employment Agencies Recommendation, 1997 (No. 188), Para. 9.

9. The Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168), Art. 6; Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), Art. 5(1); Employment (Transition from War to Peace) Recommendation, 1944 (No. 71), Para. 43(3); Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955 (No. 99), Paras. 25 and 41; Private Employment Agencies Recommendation, 1997 (No. 188), Para. 9.

10. The Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156); Workers with Family Responsibilities Recommendation, 1981 (No. 165); Private Employment Agencies Recommendation, 1997 (No. 188), Para. 9.

11. Selected list of international instruments: disability has been interpreted as included in "other status" in ICESCR, art. 2(2) -- CESCR General Comment No. 5 (E/1995/22-e/c.12/1994/20, p. 99), para. 2; language as ground for discrimination is clearly established in international law: See UN Charter, arts. 1, 13, 55, 76; UDHR, art. 2; ICCPR/ICESCR, art. 2; ICCPR, art. 4; nationality has been interpreted as included in the category "other status" in ICCPR -- Human Rights Committee, Communication No. 196/1985 (Gueye et al. v. France), paras. 9.4, 9.5 and 10 -- ICCPR, arts. 2, 26. But see ICESCR, art. 2(3) providing that developing countries may determine to what extent to guarantee economic rights to non-nationals: see also relevant CESCR Committee interpretations; and sexual orientation: see, inter alia, Optional Protocol cases, Human Rights Committee, under the ICCPR.

12. Many analogous provisions exist, e.g. in the Inter-American human rights provisions (OAS Charter and Protocol of Buenos Aires, Convention on Human Rights and Protocol of San Salvador); European Convention on Human Rights and various Protocols, European Social Charter and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

13. International Labour Conference, 72nd Session, 1986, Report V, and Record of Proceedings, pp. 37/21-29.

14. The resolution and conclusions are appended to GB.267/ESP/3/2.

15. GB.273/ESP/7, postponed to the present session as GB.274/ESP/3.

16. GB.271/ESP/4.

17. These include: N. O'Higgins: The challenge of youth unemployment, Employment & Training Papers No. 7, 1997, also published in the International Social Security Review, Vol. 50, No. 4, Oct. 1997, pp. 63-93; M. Keune: Youth unemployment in Hungary and Poland, Employment & Training Papers No. 20, 1998; C. Russell: Education, employment and training policies and programmes for youth with disabilities in four European countries, Employment & Training Papers No. 21, 1998; C. Bruno and S. Cazes: French youth unemployment: An overview, Employment & Training Papers No. 23, 1998; Y. Ghellab: Minimum wages and youth unemployment, Employment & Training Papers No. 26, 1998; P. Visaria: Unemployment among Indian youth: Level, nature and policy implications, Employment & Training Papers No. 36, 1998; D. Gross: Youth unemployment and youth labour market policies in Germany and Canada, Employment & Training Papers No. 37, 1998; F. Mazzotta and F. Carroleo, Youth unemployment and youth employment policies in Italy, Employment & Training Papers No. 42, 1999; G. Kanyenze: Youth unemployment and youth employment policies in Zimbabwe, ILO/SAMAT, 1999.

18. J. Gaude: L'insertion des jeunes et les politiques d'emploi-formation, Employment & Training Papers No. 1, 1997.

19. O'Higgins, op. cit.

20. ILO: World Employment Report, 1996-97 and Jobs for Africa, Geneva, 1997.

21. Ghellab, op. cit.

22. R. Anker: "Theories of occupational segregation by sex: An overview", in International Labour Review, Vol. 136, No. 3, pp. 315 ff., 1997. R. Anker: Gender and jobs: Sex segregation of occupations in the world, ILO, Geneva, 1998.

23. Creating a favourable climate and conditions for cooperative development in ... Africa (1993), Asia (1994), Latin America (1996) and Central and Eastern Europe (1996).

24. GB.264/10.

25. GB.256/6/7; background paper appended.

26. Previous contributions on this theme were submitted to the Governing Body in March and November 1998. See GB.271/4/1, paras. 175-205, and GB.273/2, paras. 153-166.

27. GB.261/STM/4/14 and GB.261/8/26, para. 14.

28. GB.273/STM/7.

29. GB.244/2/2, paras. 96-116; GB.259/2/2, paras. 226-248; GB.262/2, paras. 69-94; GB.268/2, paras. 9-41; GB.271/4/1, paras. 175-205; GB.273/2, paras. 32-44.

30. GB.254/2/1, paras. 53-64.

31. GB.272/3.

32. The third is the Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162).

33. GB.271/LILS/WP/PRS/2, ss. I.2 and II.8.

34. GB.271/11/2, Appendix I, paras. 35-38 and 80-82.

35. The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), expected to be operational in 2001 for which the body responsible for its maintenance and updating will probably be a UN ECOSOC committee of experts based on a restructuring of the current UN Committee of Experts on Transport of Dangerous Goods.

36. ILO: Social security and social protection: Equality of treatment between men and women, TMESSE/1994, prepared for the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Social Security and Social Protection: Equality of Treatment between Men and Women, Geneva, 21-25 November 1994, and report of the Meeting: TMESSE/1994/D.1, appended to GB.262/ESP/3.

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

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