| INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE | Activities of the ILO, 1994-95 | |
| International Labour Conference 83rd Session 1996 |
Report of the Director-General |
Introduction
This report on the activities of the ILO in the biennium 1994-95 is divided into four chapters. The first three chapters focus on the primary objectives of the Organization, namely: the promotion of democracy and human rights; the fight against unemployment and poverty; and the promotion of equality and adequate protection for all categories of workers. The fourth chapter describes the technical activities of the ILO in the regions, and in particular the work of the multidisciplinary teams. The report is supported by a series of annexes, including a list of States Members, comprehensive data on all ILO publications published in the course of the biennium, data on ILO technical cooperation, and a listing of all meetings held in 1994 and 1995.
This report documents a wide range of achievements attained by means of ILO activities to assist constituents in member States. Details are given of research work carried out in various technical fields, of ILO publications, and of technical advisory services implemented in order to assist ministries of labour, and employers' and workers' organizations. The objectives of the Organization, as established by successive sessions of the Conference, are long term in nature -- and these obviously cannot all be achieved within the space of one, or even several, biennia. However, this report bears witness to the concrete nature of ILO activities and pinpoints the many tangible and recognizable signs of progress towards these objectives.
The biennium 1994-95 was one in which the Organization made further extensive changes in its approach to the provision of services to constituents, most notably through the implementation of the active partnership policy described in detail in Chapter 4 of this report, to respond to the major political and economic transformations taking place in the world. These transformations took the form of political and economic liberalization in many countries, especially in those countries previously belonging to the former Soviet Union, and major political change in South Africa and in the Occupied Territories.
At the technical level, developments and activities of particular note in the course of the biennium 1994-95 included the following:
- the publication of the first issue of a new major publication, World Employment, which contains reports and analyses of the major trends in the employment situation;
- the preparation of the fourth edition of the ILO Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety, one of the most significant compilations of technical information issued by the Office, for publication in 1997;
- the further development of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), the activities of which were extended to some 24 countries by the end of 1995;
- ILO participation in two crucial United Nations conferences, namely the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, March 1995, and the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, September 1995;
- the extensive application of the active partnership policy to bring the ILO closer to constituents in member States, in particular by the establishment of 14 multidisciplinary teams and the preparation of some 70 country objectives reviews;
- the development of ILO activities to assist constituents in the Republic of South Africa at this crucial stage in the development of the country;
- the further development of ILO activities to assist the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian employers' and workers' organizations;
- the launching of a major review by the Governing Body to examine the scope for the revision of ILO standards and the preparation of new standards, as well as enhanced efforts to promote fundamental and priority Conventions.
The biennium 1994-95 also witnessed extensive organizational change and reform at the level of the Conference and the Governing Body. The work of both these policy-making bodies was reorganized considerably in accordance with earlier decisions taken by the Governing Body on changes in organization and structure. The duration of the Conference was significantly reduced -- to 18 days -- both in 1994 and 1995. This change did not however affect the technical activities of the Conference, as may be seen in the various references in this report to the work of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, and to the adoption of new instruments, on part-time work in 1994; and on safety and health in mines, and on labour inspection in the non-commercial services sector in 1995. Moreover at both sessions of the Conference, despite an overall reduction in their duration, a day was devoted to an informal ministerial meeting, which was also addressed by representatives of employers' and workers' organizations.
Similarly, the work of the ILO's Governing Body was streamlined, so that it might spend less time on administrative issues, and give more attention to substantive discussions of ILO policy. The Chairperson of the Governing Body will present a detailed report of its work to the Conference, which will be reproduced in full in the Provisional Record.
At the 1994 Conference, which commemorated the 75th anniversary of the founding of our Organization, there was an important discussion on my report: Defending values, promoting change: Social justice in a global economy -- An ILO agenda. This report stressed the need for the ILO to adjust to the completely new global political situation as the trend towards market liberalization and democracy was being confirmed in member States throughout the world. It went on to identify some key issues for the future of the ILO, including in particular the future of ILO standard setting and the relationship between the ILO and the Bretton Woods institutions and the new World Trade Organization (WTO) at a time of increasing globalization in international trade. Subsequently, important aspects of the Governing Body's work in the last year have been the discussions in the Working Party on the Social Dimensions of the Liberalization of International Trade, and the revision of standards and the promotion of fundamental Conventions as discussed in committees of the Governing Body and the Governing Body itself.
A most significant event within the United Nations system, and for the ILO in particular, was the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in March 1995. The ILO was closely involved in the preparations for the Summit, and the Governing Body itself prepared inputs to the work of the Preparatory Committee. I led the ILO tripartite delegation attending the Summit, which gave special recognition to the role to be played by the ILO in the achievement of many of the goals identified as crucial to social development. The conclusions adopted by the Summit fully corroborate the place of the ILO in the United Nations system and, even more importantly, the relevance of the values of the ILO to social development in member States. The need for ILO action to follow up the conclusions of the Summit was reflected in the Programme and Budget for the biennium 1996-97 adopted by the Conference in 1995, and will continue to be borne in mind in the elaboration of the proposals for the subsequent biennium.
At the same time as the Conference was adopting the Programme and Budget for the biennium 1996-97, the financial situation of the Office began to deteriorate owing to delays in the payment of assessments. In this situation the Governing Body was obliged, already in June 1995, to take action to reduce expenditure in the biennium 1994-95, mainly by postponing the holding of meetings. Subsequently, in November 1995, the Governing Body examined a series of proposals and decided to reduce expenditure, in the biennium 1996-97, by a total of $21.7 million. This package included, inter alia, economies arising from reforms in the functioning of the Conference, most notably by reducing the number of plenary sittings to discuss this report. At the time of writing the continuing delay in the payments of certain contributions continues to overshadow the preparation of the programme of work for the provision of services to constituents in the biennium 1996-97. Hopefully progress will be made towards resolving this problem in the near future.
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I commend this report on the activities of the ILO in the biennium 1994-95 for discussion at the 83rd Session of the Conference in 1996. In so doing I am confident that this Conference, like its predecessors, will find ways -- both in its technical work and in its discussions of political issues--to confirm again its confidence in tripartism as a key mechanism for social dialogue at the international, national, sectoral and enterprise levels; its commitment to social justice, which includes justice for all categories of people, including especially vulnerable groups such as migrant workers, women workers, exploited children working below the permissible age; its determination that democracy and respect for human rights should be granted key priority in the work of the ILO and its constituents; and its recognition of the vital role of enterprise development in the promotion of employment and the elimination of poverty, without which there can be no social justice.
20 January 1996 Michel HANSENNE
