88th Session |
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ILC88 - Report of the Director-General: Activities of the ILO, 1998-99 (...continued) |
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1. Promoting democracy and fundamental workers' rights
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The ILO Declaration
The adoption of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up by the International Labour Conference in 1998 constituted an important step forward in the ILO's work. The Declaration reinforces the obligation of all member States of the ILO, even if they have not ratified the Conventions in question, to respect, promote and realize the fundamental principles of:
- freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
- the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
- the effective abolition of child labour; and
- the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
For the ILO's constituents, the adoption of the Declaration marks a renewed universal commitment to these basic rights and principles, which underpin democracy, equity, economic efficiency and sustainable development. For the ILO, the Declaration has provided a renewed stimulus and mandate to refocus its whole range of advisory and operational activities more closely on the fundamental rights for which it has special competence.
Follow-up to the Declaration
The provisions of the Declaration emphasize that it is a promotional instrument, while adding that labour standards should not be used for protectionist trade purposes. At its 274th and 276th Sessions, in March and November 1999, the Governing Body adopted decisions to make the follow-up operational.
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The follow-up consists of a number of activities, ranging from information to technical cooperation. It includes an annual review process based on reporting by States which have not ratified the respective Conventions, as well as the preparation each year of a global report designed to "provide a dynamic global picture" of each of the four categories of fundamental principles and rights in sequence. A group of seven Expert-Advisers will assist the Governing Body in its examination of the country reports, on which employers' and workers' organizations may comment. The global report will be prepared by the Director-General and discussed each year by the Conference.
Operational activities started only in the last quarter of 1999. These included a regional workshop in Dakar in which African countries explored how their reports due under the annual review process could be used as a springboard for a national strategy to respect fundamental principles and rights at work, a national workshop in Uganda on better understanding the links between the fundamental principles and rights in the Declaration and development issues, a subregional workshop on the Declaration in St. Petersburg for the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and a regional meeting for Asian countries as a first step towards developing national action plans to give effect to the principles in the Declaration, held in Phnom Penh and funded jointly by Japan and the United States.
In addition to beginning the development of promotional material and undertaking briefings for constituents, speakers were provided to the ILO's African Regional Meeting and to the first Global Development Network meeting in Bonn, organized by the World Bank and other sponsors. Advisory missions were undertaken in a number of countries in relation to reporting under the Declaration.
The human rights dimension of crises:
Focusing attention on democratic institutions and the nature of a just society ...
The drafting and adoption of the Declaration, as well as the initial action taken to promote its observance, coincided in large measure with the ILO's activities in response to the Asian financial crisis. Indeed, the ILO's response to the Asian and other financial crises, the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch and the reconstruction of Kosovo all served to reinforce cooperation between the ILO, the international financial institutions and other United Nations agencies. Through its prompt action in analysing the causes and effects of the crisis, the ILO helped to focus attention on social issues and on the need to strengthen democratic institutions in the countries affected.
... among constituents ...
At the High-Level Tripartite Meeting on Social Responses to the Financial Crisis in East and South-East Asian Countries, held in Bangkok in April 1998, the ILO's tripartite constituents in the region concluded that tripartism at the national level could play an effective role in building the social consensus required for difficult policy choices. The ILO's major study of the crisis emphasized the need to strengthen democracy, which it saw as being not only good in itself but essential to post-crisis recovery.(1)
The broader debate in many countries in the region, and indeed worldwide, on the nature of a just society has led to certain tangible changes. For example, in his opening remarks to the Governing Body symposium on the crisis, held in March 1999, the Director-General was able to acknowledge the efforts towards progress made in the field of labour and social policy, particularly in Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and Thailand.
... and at the international level
At the international level, although the IMF's initial response to the crisis was to call for fiscal tightening which allowed little room for increases in social expenditure, both the IMF and the World Bank quickly came to take greater account of the social aspects of the crisis. The Managing Director of the IMF, Michel Camdessus, made a strong statement in October 1998 in support of core labour standards as part of the participatory development and democracy on which sustainable growth depends. The IMF's field missions undertaken in the wake of the crisis included consultations with workers' representatives. The World Bank has launched a new development framework to integrate a wide range of social concerns into its development strategies.
Former ILO Director-General Michel Hansenne and Director-General elect Juan Somavia made a presentation on labour policies in a rapidly changing global environment to the G8 Labour Ministers Meeting, held in Washington, DC in February 1999. During the biennium, a cooperation agreement was also concluded between the ILO and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
High-level dialogue between the ILO and senior executives of the Bretton Woods institutions took place in Washington in October 1998. Since his election Mr. Somavia has maintained regular contact with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which both sent high-level representation to the Governing Body debates in March 1999 on ILO action in response to crisis situations. The ILO now has observer status on both the IMF Interim Committee and the IMF/World Bank Development Committee.
Fuller observance of the ILO's fundamental standards through other organizations was also pursued by the provision of information and advice on standards and on the results of ILO tripartite discussions to other organizations and to constituents participating in their work. In this context, a second briefing was organized in February 1999 for the representatives of Geneva missions, shortly before the 1999 session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The briefing drew the attention of representatives from over 80 missions to the questions before the Commission relating to human rights, for which the ILO is especially competent.
International labour standards
Ratifications of fundamental Conventions
The follow-up to the Declaration specifies that its aim is to encourage the efforts made by Members of the Organization to
promote the fundamental rights and principles embraced by the Declaration. It is not, however, a substitute for the ILO's
standards or the established supervisory mechanisms. Indeed, the campaign for the universal ratification of the ILO's
fundamental Conventions gathered pace, with a total of 83 ratifications of these Conventions being registered during the
biennium. As a result, by 31 December 1999 two member States had ratified eight of the fundamental Conventions, 57
member States had ratified seven, while 49 had ratified six of them. An eighth Convention, the new Worst Forms of Child
Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), was added to the list of fundamental Conventions after its adoption.
Ratification of the ILO's fundamental Conventions During the biennium the following ratifications of the eight fundamental Conventions were registered:
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Particular reference should be made to Indonesia, which ratified Convention No. 87 in June 1998. One year later, with the ratification of Conventions Nos. 105, 111 and 138, it became the first member State in the Asia and Pacific region to have ratified seven of the fundamental Conventions. Indonesia has received technical assistance for the implementation of these standards. During the biennium Cambodia became the second member State in the region to ratify the seven core Conventions. Chile undertook a review of the harmonization of its national legislation with ILO standards which resulted in the ratification of Conventions Nos. 87, 98, 105 and 138. By the end of the biennium, the rate of ratification of the fundamental Conventions was quite rapid and began to include Convention No. 182 as well as the other seven.
Steady progress also continued to be made in the ratification of many of the ILO's other Conventions. During the biennium
125 new ratifications of other Conventions were registered, bringing the total number of all ratifications to 6,685 by 31
December 1999.
New instruments In addition to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, the following new standards were adopted during the biennium:
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Freedom of association
One of the principal elements of the ILO's mechanisms for supervising observance of its basic principles is the Governing Body's Committee on Freedom of Association. The tripartite constituents continued to refer a large number of cases to the Committee in which they alleged the non-observance of the principles of freedom of association. During the biennium the Committee reached conclusions in some 173 cases concerning 60 countries in all regions of the world. In many of these cases the Committee confirmed reports of the violation of workers' rights of association and collective bargaining. Both the Committee on Freedom of Association and the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations drew attention to serious allegations in respect of countries such as Colombia and Ethiopia.
The work of the supervisory bodies, including the corresponding promotional and training activities, was instrumental in helping constituents achieve progress in applying these important principles, particularly in such countries as Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Nigeria. In the case of Nigeria the Governing Body decided to discontinue the procedure which it had initiated under article 26(4) of the ILO Constitution, in view of the substantial progress in the trade union situation noted by the supervisory bodies.
At its 276th Session (November 1999) the Governing Body, after noting an agreement concluded between the Government
and the workers' organizations, decided that a direct contacts mission should be undertaken in Colombia and postponed its
decision on the institution of a Commission of Inquiry.
Cases of progress in the application of the principles During the biennium the measures noted by the Committee on Freedom of Association as giving effect to the principles of freedom of association included the following:
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Fiftieth anniversaries of the adoption of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98
The biennium marked the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of both of the ILO's fundamental standards respecting freedom of association, Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, which were adopted in 1948 and 1949 respectively.
The fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) was marked by the publication of a special issue of the International Labour Review, entitled "Labour rights, human rights", covering the origins and impact of the Convention and its relationship with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in the same year. The anniversaries of the Conventions were also commemorated by the publication of special issues of Labour Education.(2) Guidance on the principles set out in these Conventions continued to be provided to constituents through training and advisory activities, as well as through the publication of a technical guide on freedom of association standards and procedures(3) and the translation of existing reference material into other languages.(4) In addition, a number of publications relating to freedom of association were prepared for publication in the second half of 1999.(5)
Other cases of progress
The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations is the centrepiece of the ILO's system
of supervising the application of ratified Conventions and of the principles set out in Recommendations. At its sessions in
November-December 1998 and 1999, the Committee of Experts was able to express satisfaction at the measures taken to
improve the conformity between national law or practice and ratified Conventions in 65 cases in 55 countries. Many of these
cases concerned the Conventions on freedom of association, as well as other fundamental Conventions. They also included
the application of Conventions in such areas as maternity protection, labour inspection, workers' representatives, social
security, shipowners' responsibilities, unemployment indemnity (shipwreck) and workers with family responsibilities.
Cases in respect of which the Committee of Experts was able to express satisfaction During the past biennium, these included:
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The Committee of Experts continued its dialogue with constituents on problems which it noted in the application of ratified Conventions. The most serious cases raised by the Committee of Experts were discussed by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, which in 1998 drew particular attention to problems relating to the implementation of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), by Sudan, and the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), by Myanmar. In 1999 the Conference Committee expressed great concern over the application of Convention No. 87 by Cameroon, and of Conventions Nos. 29 and 87 by Myanmar.
General Surveys
Each year, as part of its work of assisting constituents in ratifying and improving the application of international labour standards, the Committee of Experts carries out a General Survey on the ILO's standards covering a particular labour issue. For this purpose reports are requested under article 19 of the Constitution from governments which have not ratified the Conventions in question, as well as on the effect given to the corresponding Recommendations. The General Surveys are subsequently examined by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards.
The first General Survey of the biennium was on the ILO's standards on migrant workers (see Chapter 3 for details). The
second was on its instruments dealing with tripartite consultation at the national level on matters relating to the ILO.(6)
Tripartite consultation at the national level One of the constant aims of the ILO has been to reinforce tripartism, not only at the international level but also within member States. Many of the ILO's instruments, including the very first Convention adopted in 1919 on hours of work in industry, call for consultation between the social partners at the national level. This aim was formally embodied in 1976 in the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention (No. 144) and the Tripartite Consultation (Activities of the International Labour Organisation) Recommendation (No. 152). Over the 23 years since its adoption Convention No. 144 has received 93 ratifications, including ten during 1998-99 (Albania, Bulgaria, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Lesotho, Mongolia, Republic of Korea). In its General Survey, the Committee of Experts greatly welcomed the fact that, some 20 years after the coming into force of the Convention, "consultation procedures, in one form or another, now exist in the large majority of member States, including those which have not ratified the Convention, and are being further extended in these countries to more and more areas of the ILO's activities". In particular, the Committee of Experts noted that, instead of a certain mistrust of tripartism which it had identified in some countries in its previous Survey in 1982, many countries now emphasize the benefits of social dialogue for the process of the democratization of public life. Indeed, many of the most recent ratifications of the Convention have been by African and Central and Eastern European countries passing through the phase of transition to multipartism and a market economy. The Committee of Experts concluded that "an increased effort to promote the ratification and application of the instruments, with the technical assistance of the Office, where necessary, should make it possible to envisage their universal application in the not too distant future". |
Forced labour in Myanmar
The Commission of Inquiry set up by the Governing Body in 1997 to examine the observance by Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), in response to a complaint against the Government of Myanmar made by 25 Workers' delegates to the International Labour Conference, concluded its work in 1998. It found that there was abundant evidence of "the pervasive use of forced labour imposed on the civilian population throughout Myanmar by the authorities and the military" and made several recommendations for action to improve the situation.(7)
The Director-General subsequently reported back to the members of the Governing Body in May 1999 that there was "no indication that the three recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry have yet been followed". In view of the gravity of the situation, the Conference adopted a resolution at its 87th Session deeply deploring the continued infliction of "the practice of forced labour -- nothing but a contemporary form of slavery -- on the people of Myanmar", and resolving "that the attitude and behaviour of the Government of Myanmar are grossly incompatible with the conditions and principles governing membership of the Organization". It also decided "that the Government of Myanmar should cease to benefit from any technical cooperation or assistance from the ILO, except for the purpose of direct assistance to implement immediately the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry" and "that the Government ... should henceforth not receive any invitation to attend meetings, symposia and seminars organized by the ILO, except such meetings that have the sole purpose of securing immediate and full compliance with the said recommendations, until such time as it has implemented the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry".
At its 276th Session (November 1999) the Governing Body decided to ask the Director-General to prepare an update to his report of May 1999, and to inform the members of the Governing Body by 28 February 2000 "of the measures taken by the Government of Myanmar to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, taking into account in its preparation all the comments made by the Government of Myanmar, the information provided by the employers' and workers' organizations, and all other reliable sources". The Governing Body also included in the agenda for its 277th Session (March 2000) a decision as to whether to include on the agenda of the Conference in June 2000 the question of the application to Myanmar of article 33 of the ILO Constitution.
Reviewing existing ILO standards
Work on reviewing the ILO's existing body of international labour standards, with a view to modernizing and strengthening them, continued in the context of the Governing Body's Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards. The process was given added impetus with the call made by Director-General Somavia in his Report Decent work (8) to reinvigorate international labour standards and enhance the ILO's work on standards by, among other approaches, accelerating the revision of outdated instruments, promoting priority standards as problem-solving tools, stepping up efforts to help countries implement ILO standards, enhancing the impact of the supervision of standards and reasserting the role of pertinent ILO standards in the broader world context.
During the biennium the Working Party completed its examination of Conventions adopted prior to 1985. It also
commenced its consideration of the ILO's Recommendations, which it should complete during the course of the year 2000.
The amendment to the ILO Constitution adopted in 1997, enabling the Conference to abrogate Conventions, had been
ratified or accepted by 50 member States by the end of the biennium. Pursuant to article 36 of the Constitution, the
amendment will take effect when ratified or accepted by two-thirds of the Members of the Organization, including five of the
ten Members which are represented on the Governing Body as Members of chief industrial importance.
Revision of the ILO's existing standards Since 1995, on the recommendation of its Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the Governing Body has reached a number of decisions regarding international labour Conventions, including:
The Governing Body has also reached a number of decisions regarding international labour Recommendations, including:
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Portfolio of proposals for new standard-setting activities
The portfolio of proposals for standard-setting activities included on the agenda of the Conference, which was first drawn up
in 1997, contained some 40 items by the end of the biennium. The portfolio is regularly updated in the light of recent
developments and of the opinions expressed by constituents on the Office's annual consultation procedure. Over 100
member States have participated in the development of the portfolio, many of which refer in their comments to preliminary
tripartite consultations held at the national level.
Standard-setting items selected for inclusion At its sessions in March 1998 and March 1999 the Governing Body selected the following new items for discussions by the Conference in 2000 and 2001: 88th Session of the Conference (2000)
89th Session (2001)
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Information on national legislation and international labour standards
As an important service in support of its standard-setting activities, the ILO continued to provide information to constituents and to the public at large on international labour standards and on national labour, social security and related human rights legislation. The two main vehicles for this service, the ILOLEX database on international labour standards and the NATLEX database on related national legislation, continued to expand during the biennium. Both are available on CD-ROM and on the ILO's website (http://www.ilo.org). From the website statistics, individual requests for information and other forms of feedback, it is clear that the databases are being consulted by institutions, companies and individuals from an increasingly broad range of countries, as well as by multinational enterprises seeking to develop their activities in different countries.
The databases were demonstrated and training in their use was provided as a means of promoting ILO standards in tripartite seminars at the Turin Centre and in all regions of the world. Participants in these seminars, in addition to representatives of governments and employers' and workers' organizations, often included labour lawyers, judges and researchers.
Child labour
The need to eliminate child labour is one of the ILO's fundamental principles around which a very broad consensus has developed in recent biennia. The ILO, which has undoubtedly helped to raise the profile of the issue, has succeeded in using this broad basis of support to set in motion effective action at the international level and in many countries.
The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
The high point of the ILO's work in this field during the biennium was the adoption by the Conference in June 1999 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) and Recommendation (No. 190).
In these instruments, which were adopted unanimously by the Conference in plenary sitting, the worst forms of child labour are defined as all forms of slavery, debt bondage, prostitution, pornography, forced recruitment for armed conflict and work which is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
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The new instruments were powerfully endorsed at the Conference by a very broad range of speakers, including President Clinton who, in so doing, became the first President of the United States to address the International Labour Conference in Geneva. In undertaking to send the Convention to the United States Senate for ratification, President Clinton reaffirmed that, "by giving life to core labour standards, by acting effectively to lift the burden of debt, by putting a more human face on the world trading system in the global economy, by ending the worst forms of child labour, we will be giving our children the twenty-first century they deserve". The Convention was subsequently ratified.
The Director-General stated on the same occasion that "with this Convention, we now have the power to make the urgent eradication of the worst forms of child labour a new global cause". He followed up this statement shortly afterwards at the high-level segment of the 12th meeting of ECOSOC in July 1999, where he emphasized that "in a world truly lacking in causes to defend the fight against the worst forms of child labour is a cause around which everyone can rally". He therefore invited everyone "to become part of this global effort".
The very broad support received by the new instruments on the worst forms of child labour during their preparation and adoption was soon followed up at the national level. The first ratification was registered from Seychelles in October 1999, followed by ratifications from Ireland, Malawi, Slovakia and the United States before the end of the biennium. Many other member States expressed their intention of ratifying the Convention in the near future. The Convention will now enter into force on 19 November 2000.
ILO-IPEC
The very broad consensus on the need to eliminate child labour was further demonstrated by the continued expansion of the ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC). Central to the success of the programme is its cooperation with a wide range of partners at the national, regional and international level, including employers' and workers' organizations, NGOs and multilateral agencies such as UNICEF, backed by strong donor support from over 23 countries and contributing agencies.
With a further nine countries joining during the biennium (Albania, Ecuador, Haiti, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Paraguay, South Africa, Uganda), a total of 38 member States have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the ILO, thereby committing themselves to work towards the elimination of child labour. Close to 30 countries continued to collaborate with ILO-IPEC in a less formal manner. First-time contributions were received from six new donors during the biennium. IPEC delivered US$22.7 million of technical cooperation in 1998-99.
The Global March
Building on the advocacy campaign against child labour, the centrepiece of which in 1997 had been the holding of the Amsterdam and Oslo Conferences, ILO-IPEC provided support for the Global March against Child Labour.
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Starting in Manila in January and ending in Geneva in June 1998, where it was received by delegates attending the Conference, the Global March covered 107 countries, making it one of the most significant campaigns against child labour to have been mounted in recent years.
Progress made by ILO-IPEC
The efforts of ILO-IPEC continue to focus on tackling the worst forms of child labour. The biennium witnessed a substantial increase of targeted efforts in Asia, Africa and Central America. Strategically targeted programmes were initiated for bonded child labourers in Nepal and Pakistan. In Nepal the Ministry of Land Reform and Management established a high-level national task force and five district task forces and a considerable number of children were withdrawn from bondage through various action programmes. Research on the trafficking of children resulted in the design of comprehensive regional programmes for South Asia and the Mekong region. In India integrated area-specific programmes are about to be launched in collaboration with the national child labour project societies in seven districts with a high concentration of hazardous or abusive child labour. In Peru, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania action programmes targeting children in mines and quarries served as a basis for larger programmes in other countries. Action programmes targeting children, mainly girls, in domestic service in Brazil, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand have pushed the issue higher on the agenda and larger programmes are under development.
Child labour statistics
The development of statistical methods and data on child labour has also been an important element in the ILO's advocacy work at the international level and in guiding action by member States. The production by the ILO during the previous biennium of global estimates of the number of economically active children served to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem. In particular, the estimate that there are 250 million economically active children between the ages of 5 and 14, or around one-quarter of all children in the age group, has been very widely quoted throughout the world.
Based on the methodology developed in previous years, ILO-IPEC launched the Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC) in January 1998. The programme's objective is to help member States generate comprehensive and reliable quantitative and qualitative data on child labour in all its forms, as a basis for the development of policies and programmes to overcome the problem. During the five-year programme, it is planned that SIMPOC will help around 50 countries undertake surveys which will:
- serve as essential tools for identifying the reasons for child labour;
- determine the magnitude and nature of the problem;
- facilitate the development and monitoring of policies against child labour;
- inform the public and generate awareness of the issues involved; and
- promote the campaign against child labour at the global and national level.
National child labour surveys During the biennium, staff of national statistical offices and labour ministries in 15 countries were trained to collect data on child labour using the ILO-IPEC Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC). Surveys on economically active children were carried out for the first time in:
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SIMPOC will also work closely with other international organizations, particularly UNICEF and the World Bank, and with NGOs. A working arrangement was concluded in early 1999 with UNICEF for joint activities on child labour statistics and related activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. A process has also been launched of inter-agency research collaboration and information-sharing between ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank for the development of new strategies to understand children's work and its impact.
Child labour agreements in selected industries
One major development in combating child labour has been the launching of sectoral agreements in which industry
associations undertake to implement programmes in collaboration with ILO-IPEC for the progressive elimination of child
labour, with the children going to school and employment opportunities being generated for their parents. Based on the
experience in the carpet sector in the Punjab, Pakistan, and the garment industry in Bangladesh, a high-profile initiative was
launched to combat child labour in the soccer ball industry in Sialkot, Pakistan.
Eliminating child labour in the soccer ball industry, Sialkot, Pakistan Prior to the 1998 soccer World Cup in France, a campaign was launched to raise media attention regarding the involvement of children in the manufacture of soccer balls. This led to an initiative by the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) in Pakistan to prevent and eliminate child labour from the Sialkot soccer ball industry. A partnership agreement was signed by the ILO, UNICEF and the SCCI in Atlanta, United States, in February 1998. ILO-IPEC was made responsible for the overall management of the project in partnership with a local NGO, the Bunyad Literacy Community Council (BLCC), and the SCCI. The main components of the project include:
The project has been significant in a number of respects:
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Mainstreaming successful approaches and achieving sustainability of impact
Since it was first launched in 1992, ILO-IPEC has implemented over 1,000 action programmes, which have served to raise
awareness of the problem of child labour at the national and international level, demonstrate the type of action that can be
taken and develop a broad range of instruments for use in addressing the issue. A number of IPEC participating countries
have made a serious effort to mainstream the lessons learned from these experimental action programmes, either by making
allocations that support IPEC initiatives or by incorporating models into large national development programmes. Examples
include the child labour component of the so-called backward villages programme in Indonesia, the development of a child
labour curriculum for primary schools in Thailand and the Centre for Working Children in Ankara, Turkey.
Mainstreaming successful approaches to combating child labour In some of the countries with which ILO-IPEC has been collaborating for a number of years, the progress achieved is shown by the effort made to mainstream successful approaches to combating child labour that were originally pioneered in ILO-IPEC action programmes. The countries concerned include:
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Tripartism and social dialogue
Just as the Asian crisis served to focus renewed attention on the importance of democratic institutions and social dialogue, the ILO's response to the crisis provides a good illustration of many of the methods that it uses to strengthen the social partners and social dialogue in the handling of vital social and economic issues.
Supporting the social partners in a crisis situation
Employers' organizations were assisted in developing strategies for enterprise survival, job preservation and creation, and human resource development strategies. Support was likewise provided to trade unions to help them analyse the impact of the financial and economic crisis and develop a trade union response strategy as a basis for playing a more effective role in tripartite dialogue at the national level and with the international and regional financial institutions. At the same time, assistance in the region was designed to develop mechanisms for social dialogue and to extend them to such areas as dispute settlement and wage determination. The ILO provided substantial support in the process of labour law reform and the development of dispute prevention and resolution mechanisms in Indonesia (see box 17). (More detail on the ILO's response to the Asian crisis is to be found in Chapter 5, Asia and the Pacific.)
Negotiating flexibility
More general guidance took the form of a publication on the role of collective bargaining in negotiating greater flexibility in the labour market.(9) Based on 22 country studies of both industrialized and developing countries, the book discusses the extent to which the labour market is in practice becoming more flexible and the role that collective bargaining is playing, or can play, in the process of introducing flexibility.
The survey's main conclusion is that, to be successful in this respect, collective bargaining must be adapted to the requirements of flexibility and, in particular, that:
- collective bargaining cannot be a highly adversarial process if it is to be instrumental in developing the high-trust relationships between management and individual employees which are vital to maximizing the commitment of employees to continuous improvement;
- a collective bargaining process which integrates elements of joint problem solving tends to be more successful in introducing labour market flexibility than a collective bargaining process that merely establishes rights and procedures; and
- collective bargaining tends to be more effective in enhancing labour market flexibility when decentralized bargaining is supported by mechanisms of coordination at a higher level, and governments can play an important role in promoting such higher- level coordination.
Employers' activities
In more general terms, the assistance delivered to employers' organizations throughout the world resulted in about 20 of them
formulating for the first time strategic plans for their future development, thereby opening the door to more focused technical
support from the ILO in a broad range of fields. A guide to strategic planning in employers' organizations was also produced
for use in training activities.(10)
Strengthening the capacity of employers' organizations Countries where progress has been achieved by employers' organizations with the assistance of ILO strategic planning and capacity-building activities include:
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Based on the strategic planning process, the ILO assistance provided to employers' organizations is designed to strengthen
their capacity to provide services to their members. These capacity-building activities focus on a number of areas in which
there is a recognized demand by employers, including industrial relations, human resources development, productivity
improvement, enterprise development and safety and health. Training materials have been developed in these areas and
training activities and workshops continued to be carried out at the national and regional level, as a result of which many
employers' organizations have been able to improve the services that they provide to their members, or to start providing
services in new areas.(11)
Honduran Electronic Employment Exchange The Bureau for Employers' Activities set up an electronic employment exchange in Honduras' leading employers' organization, the Honduran Council for Private Enterprise (COHEP), in the form of a database linking labour supply and demand. The exchange, which can be consulted on the Internet, basically registers jobseekers, but it also includes job vacancies. It provides complete information on the human resource profiles available and classifies jobseekers according to their professional skills and experience. The exchange, which was widely promoted through the media, provides the opportunity for entry or re-entry into the labour market for women and men, semi-skilled and skilled workers alike. The launch of the exchange coincided with the blow that Hurricane Mitch dealt to the Honduran economy and provided an effective response to the urgent need to find work faced by people who became unemployed when a high percentage of the country's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. In its first months of functioning, 80 per cent of those registered with the exchange found a job, entailing over 3,000 placements; the exchange is now registering increasing numbers of jobseekers. |
Another important function carried out by employers' organizations is lobbying to obtain a policy and legal environment that is more conducive to enterprise development and employment creation. Many employers' organizations were provided with information on trends and developments in other countries to help them in their own policy formulation activities. In view of the critical stage reached in policy development in many transition countries, training was provided to employers' organizations in China, Mongolia and Viet Nam on representing employers' interests through lobbying and social dialogue. A subregional seminar in Central America covered the issue of lobbying for an enabling labour market environment. At the Eighth Pan-African Conference of Employers' Organizations, held in Dakar in May 1999, the participants focused on building competitive economies, mobilizing financial resources, developing human resources and strengthening employers' organizations. They identified both constraints and opportunities facing their countries, and resolved to turn African enterprises into the driving force behind economic growth and the main generator of wealth, income and jobs.
With a view to helping employers' organizations address their major challenges, an International Symposium on the Future of
Employers' Organizations was held in Geneva in April 1999.
Conclusions of the International Symposium Constant and rapid change of the business environment of enterprises presents employers' organizations with many challenges, as well as with opportunities to increase their relevance and usefulness to enterprises. In this new environment:
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In its work to promote the integration of gender issues in the work of employers' organizations, the ILO developed a dual approach: encouraging employers' organizations to design and implement policies to promote equal treatment for women and men in the workplace, and educating and training women managers to develop an entrepreneurial spirit so that they can increase their participation in private sector activities.
Sensitization to gender issues, changes of attitudes and recognition of the value of integrating gender equality in business were
promoted through training activities and the dissemination and translation of training materials in a number of countries.(12)
Technical assistance was provided to employers' organizations in several regions for this purpose. In particular, a technical
cooperation project was carried out in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Mauritania, the Philippines and Seychelles. Preliminary
studies were carried out on the gender situation in each country as a basis for developing plans of action for the promotion of
gender equality.
Employers' organizations and gender equality With assistance from the ILO, a number of employers' organizations took important steps during the biennium to promote gender equality and the mainstreaming of gender issues. These include:
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In response to the increasingly proactive attitude adopted by employers and their organizations to the issue of child labour, the ILO continued to provide employers' organizations with guidance and assistance in identifying strategies and mobilizing action. With assistance from the ILO, employers and their organizations have played an important role on the national steering committees set up within the framework of ILO-IPEC and in the implementation of a number of ILO-IPEC action programmes. A Declaration was adopted at a regional meeting of Latin American employers (held in Bolivia in October 1998) which:
- calls upon governments to adopt policies that reduce the size of the informal sector, in which child labour is concentrated;
- urges national authorities to declare basic education to be compulsory and to develop structures which can provide young persons with training that prepares them for the world of work;
- supports the provisions of Convention No. 138 and any national provisions setting equivalent or higher standards, as well as any measures to eradicate immediately the worst forms of child labour; and
- requests the ILO to mobilize the necessary resources to support action programmes proposed by employers.
Workers' activities
Much of the assistance provided by the ILO to workers' organizations throughout the world is designed to reinforce their
workers' education structures and courses. In the training activities organized by the ILO, particularly in cooperation with the
Turin Centre, emphasis continued to be placed on information about the ILO and its fundamental standards, including the
ILO Declaration, as well as on the adoption and efficient use by trade unions of the latest information technology techniques.
Building trade union capacities In addition to strengthening the education structures of trade unions, the ILO's workers' education programme builds their capacities in other areas. Recent examples include:
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The ILO conducted a series of activities in the regions and at the Turin Centre to help trade unions adopt information
technology in their work. As a result, the use of information technology is now being considered by many trade unions which
had not previously done so. The ILO has helped several of them to prepare an information technology development plan.
Examples of the progress made in this respect include the Ghana Trades Union Congress, the General Federation of
Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) and the Inter-Trade Union Assembly -- Workers' National Convention (PIT-CNT) in
Uruguay, which have started using e-mail in their work and have launched, or are considering launching, their own websites.
Workers' organizations lobbying Trade unions are often among the most active members of civil society campaigning for the more widespread and improved observance of international labour standards. Some examples of their activities during the biennium include:
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International Symposium on Trade Unions and the Informal Sector
The symposium, held in October 1999, was attended by more than 50 trade unionists, including representatives from 28 national trade union centres and a number of observers from international trade union organizations and international trade secretariats. Being the first meeting organized by the ILO specifically for trade unions on this subject, it provided participants from all the regions with a unique platform to exchange views and experiences on the informal sector and to begin developing a coherent strategy in response.
The first outcome of the meeting consists of a detailed set of recommendations drawn up by the participants, which set out the framework for future trade union intervention in this field. These recommendations refer both to internal trade union policies that should be enforced to organize informal sector workers effectively and to policy proposals for governments and international organizations as to how national and international policies in areas such as labour standards and labour legislation, economic policy and social protection should evolve so as to transform the informal sector activities progressively into more productive, organized and socially responsible enterprises.
Another important outcome of the symposium was a set of clearly articulated demands from the trade union movement to the
ILO with regard to technical assistance and policy for the informal sector. A framework has accordingly been established for
increased cooperation at headquarters and in the field structures between ACTRAV and the ILO's technical programmes
with respect to future informal sector activities.
Raising environmental awareness in trade unions A project completed during the biennium was designed to encourage trade unions to carry out workers' education programmes on environmentally sustainable development and to promote their participation in the respective consultative and decision-making bodies at the enterprise, local and national level. While the project focused on international trade secretariats, activities were also undertaken in 13 countries. The final evaluation of the project found that, as a result of the assistance provided:
The project's networking activities have also had a significant impact. One example is India, where the national trade union centres, which had not previously cooperated due to religious and political differences, have established the Trade Union Partnership for Environmental Protection. Trade union representation on national advisory committees on environment is also reported to have been accepted in India. |
Gender issues
One area of particular emphasis during the biennium was to reinforce the focus on gender and equality concerns throughout the ILO's activities in support of workers' organizations, as well as through specific activities addressing women workers' issues. A guide was published on developing gender equality through collective bargaining and was used in seminars and workshops.(13) Gender training workshops were held in Kampala and Penang for Africa and Asia, respectively. At two subregional African seminars participants were asked to develop a plan of action to increase the participation of women at all levels in their unions. The implementation of the plans will be closely monitored and their impact will be evaluated in 2001.
A regional project was also carried out to strengthen trade union action on women workers with a view to eliminating child labour. The project covered Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam and focused on: developing materials in local languages, including the translation of international labour standards; developing curricula for workers' education programmes on gender; conducting courses for trainers; and organization awareness campaigns for trade union members on gender issues and the harmful effects of child labour. These activities resulted in a marked increase in the number of women taking a leadership role in trade unions at all levels, from grass-roots to national trade union centres. For example, the textile and plantation workers' organizations in Indonesia reported an increase in the number of women conducting educational activities. In Thailand and Viet Nam women now occupy 30 per cent of leadership positions in trade unions.
Trade unions combating child labour
The ILO's efforts to promote trade union activities against child labour at both the national and the international level led to a reinforcement of the cooperation between trade unions and ILO-IPEC. A number of national and subregional training activities were organized in cooperation with the international trade secretariats to mobilize trade union action on child labour and strengthen their advocacy of the respective standards, with particular reference to the newly adopted Convention No. 182.
During the biennium an interregional project, carried out in cooperation with international sectoral trade union organizations
and their affiliates at the national level, continued to focus on such areas as child labour surveys, the production of training
and campaign materials and the organization of workshops and training programmes on child labour issues.
Combating child labour in the tobacco growing sector In a project carried out in cooperation with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), working through the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF), trade unions in Malawi were made aware of the child labour problem in the tobacco growing sector. The IUF Tobacco Workers Trade Group Conference, held in October 1998, adopted a plan of action directed, in particular, at the Tobacco Tenant Workers' Union in Malawi, which included the following measures:
These activities led to the adoption of a joint statement by the IUF and the International Tobacco Growers' Association (ITGA), which was signed and witnessed at the ILO in June 1999. The statement recognizes the need to end the use of child labour in the sector and includes a commitment to achieve best practice in relation to both agricultural production and internationally recognized employment standards and workers' rights. The signatories "agree to seek to establish a joint programme of research, information exchange and action in order that internationally recognized standards can be fostered in countries where tobacco and related crops are grown". |
Labour law and labour relations
Constituents continued to be offered advice and guidance to help bring their labour legislation into line with ILO standards,
particularly those on freedom of association and collective bargaining. Beneficiary countries included Indonesia, Mauritius
and the Russian Federation.
Social dialogue and labour legislation in Indonesia Following a change in political leadership in the first half of 1998, Indonesia ratified Convention No. 87, received an ILO direct contacts mission, issued Ministerial Regulation No. 5/1998 establishing a new system of trade union registration, released imprisoned labour activists and deferred implementation of the controversial Manpower Act 1997 in view of the concerns raised by the ILO and the social partners. The Indonesian Government then set in motion a process of labour law reform based on broad social dialogue involving tripartite-plus workshops, a tripartite drafting committee and the examination of draft legislation by a national tripartite committee. By the end of the biennium, this process had led to:
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In Indonesia, following the ratification of Convention No. 87, assistance focused on the revision of the Manpower Act and
the drafting of the Trade Union Bill and the Labour Dispute Settlement Bill. In the Russian Federation, detailed comments
were provided on a draft Labour Code and a national tripartite seminar was organized for its discussion. All three countries
were supported in the revision of their national pay determination systems.
Russian Federation -- Wage policy reform In the course of transition the Russian Federation faced a number of challenges in the field of wage and income policy reform. Assistance was provided to the Ministry of Labour and Social Development on:
An ILO consultative mission to Moscow in February 1999 undertook substantive analysis and the results were formulated in a substantive analytical report,* with a set of recommendations to the Government of the Russian Federation concerning the following major areas:
These recommendations were discussed in a tripartite workshop in Moscow in October 1999. Subsequently, the ILO assisted the Government in implementing the recommendations on wage and income policy of the International Conference on Social and Labour Issues held in Moscow in October 1999. To this end, a project document was submitted to the donor community in early 2000. * Assistance provided by the ILO to the Russian Federation in the field of wage policy: Analytical report containing recommendations to the Minister of Labour, Mr. Kalashnikov, by Y. Ghellab and M. Sollogoub, 1999. |
Building on its experience over the past two biennia in the creation of the South African Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, the ILO helped to promote industrial relations, peace and stability in Lesotho and Namibia through the development of a legislative framework for dispute settlement. Following the measures taken in the previous biennium to develop social dialogue in Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, activities were undertaken in several other French- and Portuguese-speaking African countries to reinforce the national machinery for tripartite consultation.
Labour administration
There is a striking contradiction between the weakness of labour administrations throughout the world and the needs that are voiced and that come within its purview. The consequences of the recent economic crisis in Asia are very much a case in point and they have given many of the potential donors reason to think that there should be a better balance between social and economic considerations. This is precisely where labour administrations can play an important role, provided they focus on priorities and make effective use of the increasingly scarce resources at their disposal.
Labour administrations can and must be closely associated with any attempt to make the State more responsive to the needs of workers and enterprises.
The ILO's activities in this area were directed mainly at providing labour administrations in general, or employment and labour inspection services more specifically, with information, diagnostic analyses and technical cooperation.
The ILO is especially concerned that its constituents should have access to relevant information on innovative practices or examples of the organization of labour administrations in various parts of the world. It has accordingly set up a database on labour administration systems that will be built up over the years with regularly updated data from many different countries. A major publication has also been prepared on best practice in several countries; it analyses recent innovations in the face of globalization and the use of new technology and shows how labour administrations can make a useful contribution to development. Diagnostic missions on the labour administration system as a whole, or on certain aspects of it (e.g. labour inspection, employment services) visited many countries, including Benin, Dubai, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Senegal and Thailand. The visits were usually followed up by cooperation activities.
The technical cooperation programmes on strengthening and modernizing the labour administration in Albania and Central
America continued.
Modernizing labour administrations in Central America The objective of this three-year project is to contribute to the development and democratization of the region, on the one hand by seeing how the labour administrations can be reorganized so as to respond properly to the social demands of the workers and employers and, on the other, by promoting a form of social dialogue and tripartite consultation that is conducive to equitable economic progress. During the biennium the countries concerned received support in the reorganization of the ministries responsible for labour administration, in the improvement of their management and in the training of the management staff and officials. Several national and regional seminars and training courses were organized, and an electronic labour exchange project for all the countries is currently under way. With the participation of the social partners, two countries amended the laws governing their ministries; they also adopted new public service statutes and new administration career regulations. Target reform projects have been approved for the other countries, and other reforms are in the process of being adopted. The Dominican Republic ratified the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150). It is planned to extend the project to the end of 2002. |
Given the fact that the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150), is to be the framework for future activities in this field, a major campaign promoting the standard has been undertaken. Among other things, some ten ministries of French-speaking African countries have called for a joint declaration in favour of the application and possible ratification of the Convention.
Finally, with an eye to strengthening social dialogue, a programme has been launched to support and train those secretariats of tripartite consultation bodies that come under countries' labour administrations.
Labour inspection
Rapid change and innovation in the working environment continue to pose major problems for labour inspectorates everywhere. At the same time, labour inspectorates have been under the same pressure as public administration in general. The constraints include reductions in public spending, drives towards lean administration, calls for greater accountability and transparency, and the decentralization of responsibilities. In response, labour inspectorates have been forced to innovate and seek new partnerships. One of the key elements in the responses made by labour inspectorates in a number of countries has been to increase their role in prevention, in place of their more traditional reactive role of taking action once accidents and violations of the relevant legislation have occurred.
Towards the beginning of the biennium the ILO published a paper reviewing the experience of advanced labour inspection systems in around 25 industrialized and developing countries in the adoption and application of prevention strategies.(14) The paper documents experiences in prevention involving a wide range of activities, including initiatives to promote partnerships between employers, workers' representatives and other experts and competent government bodies with a view to identifying hazards and violations at the workplace. A parallel approach is to use sanctions as instruments of improvement, for example by negotiating lower rates of fines and other penalties in exchange for a commitment to set in motion mechanisms for the improvement of safety, health and working conditions.
The publication was used to promote the preventive role of the labour inspectorate in several meetings and in advisory and technical cooperation activities in various countries. A guide for labour inspectors, incorporating the principles set out in the above paper, was also prepared and will be published early in the biennium 2000-01.
ILO standards on labour inspection
The ILO's objectives in the field of labour inspection are set out in the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), and their corresponding Recommendations. With over 120 ratifications Convention No. 81 is one of the ILO's most widely ratified and influential Conventions. The Protocol of 1995 to Convention No. 81, which has now received seven ratifications, came into force during the biennium.
A series of activities was carried out to improve the application of these standards in member States, including the provision of advisory services to ten Central and Eastern European countries. The advice and support provided to the labour inspectorate in South Africa resulted in its reorganization. A comprehensive audit was also carried out of the labour inspection system in Kenya, using new audit tools and methodologies developed by the ILO for the purpose. A training project was launched in Bulgaria with a view to reinforcing the capacities of labour inspectors and developing an integrated labour inspection system.
Labour inspection and child labour
As awareness has increased of the need to combat child labour, greater emphasis has been placed on labour inspection as one of the instruments for identifying instances of child labour, supervising the application of the relevant legislation and playing a preventive role in stopping the spread of child labour. In September 1999 the ILO held a Meeting of Experts on Labour Inspection and Child Labour, which adopted recommendations on action at the national level and on future ILO action. Inter alia the recommendations called on member States to:
- establish a comprehensive national policy on labour inspection, including a clear policy on labour inspection of child labour;
- strengthen the authority of the labour inspectorate in supervising compliance with child labour legislation;
- show the necessary political commitment, including the allocation of an adequate budget to the labour inspectorate;
- encourage labour inspectorates to play a more proactive and preventive role in combating child labour; and
- include labour inspectorates in the determination at the national level, under the provisions of Convention No. 182, of the types of hazardous work to be eliminated as a matter of urgency.
Improving social and labour conditions
in multinational enterprises and export processing zones
Globalization thrived at the end of the twentieth century and multinational enterprises (MNEs), comprising the major network of global trade and foreign direct investment, were the focus of interest not only for their positive contribution to employment generation but also with respect to management practices, industrial relations and working conditions. The ILO continued to promote the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy adopted by the Governing Body in 1977, linking it to more recently adopted instruments such as the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Promotion of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles was carried out in seminars held in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Thailand, the United States and Viet Nam. The meetings brought together employers' and workers' organizations and the MNEs in the exchange of information and policy views on the way to give effect to the principles and practices enunciated in the Tripartite Declaration. Such activities also contributed to a better understanding by the social partners of the labour and social problems that might arise as a result of foreign direct investment and the activities of MNEs.
Six research papers were published in 1998-99 to review the economic impacts and industrial relations issues of MNEs and other foreign investments in selected countries, including Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Jamaica, Namibia, Tunisia, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.(15) These studies make recommendations on strategies that can be adopted to expand employment and to improve working conditions and labour practices. In Barbados and Jamaica for instance, a case study published in 1999 provided up-to-date information on labour practices in the telecommunication and computer industries in the Caribbean. The findings confirmed that global competitiveness, technological change and national investment policies influenced the working conditions in offshore data service enterprises and resulted in limited adherence to the principles embodied in the Tripartite Declaration.
A worldwide analysis of corporate codes of conduct was carried out. Some 440 multinational enterprises were invited to provide copies of their codes of conduct and other labour-related guidelines. More than 200 texts were obtained covering the major industrial sectors: chemicals, commerce, financial and professional services, food and drink, tobacco, agriculture, forestry, metal trades, minerals, service industries and textiles. The study appraised the extent to which corporate codes respect the principles embodied in the Tripartite Declaration and provided technical advice and guidelines on how such codes would better reflect good practices in industrial relations and other labour rights issues. The conclusions and recommendations of this study will be published in 2000.
During the period under review the ILO also provided technical advisory services to constituents on the interpretation of the
Tripartite Declaration for policy-makers and negotiators. In response to a request by a member State, an interpretation of
the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration was given that was subsequently used as a guideline in the elaboration of new
legislation on industrial relations.
Request for interpretation of the Tripartite Declaration Some 3,000 workers at a European subsidiary of a major auto manufacturer learned through the press of a decision taken at corporate headquarters to close operations, without any prior consultation either with them or with their organizations and without informing the Government of the country where the subsidiary was located. The Government, without questioning the right of the employer to take the decision, condemned this "most basic disregard shown for the workers" and the fact that the company had not respected its obligation to engage in prior information and consultation. It sought explanations as to the "timing of an enterprise's obligations prior to a decision to close a factory, and the precise scope of the dialogue that must take place between the enterprise, the public authorities and the social partners' organization" before a final decision of such magnitude. It argued that what had transpired "jeopardized universally recognized culture and practices which, within the framework of international operations of MNEs, ensured respect for fundamental rights of workers and the objectives of domestic policies pursued by governments". Moreover, citing paragraphs 8, 10, 25, 26 and 51 of the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, it requested interpretation on: (a)whether decisions made for economic reasons would be of such a nature as to escape consideration under "local practices" and relevant international labour standards; (b)whether negotiations and consultations between the MNEs and the government and the workers' organizations concerned applied to situations other than the closure of entities; (c)how paragraphs 25 and 26 should be interpreted in the context of an inevitable closure, so that implementation was neither abrupt nor unexpected; (d)whether the provisions of paragraph 51 sanction contacts between the representatives of the workers and corporate headquarters which was located outside the country where the factory was to be closed, given that local management was not in a position to do anything about the irreversible decision. The company recalled that national legislation did not contest the authority of the enterprise to close an establishment and justify its decision as financially and technologically necessary, due to poor results worldwide. Consultations to put in place social measures were under way. In addition, opportunities for relocation had been envisaged, and the social component of the decision was to be negotiated, thus complying fully, inter alia, with the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration. In its substantive consideration, the Governing Body underlined that the Tripartite Declaration must be viewed as a broad framework for establishing a proper balance between parties' expectations and responsibilities. Consistent with the ILO's concept of timely social dialogue, the Tripartite Declaration aimed at avoiding a fait accompli by any party which would seriously disadvantage the other social partners. It aimed at providing guidance in order to help understand and manage, with as much lead time as possible, economic decisions that had a major impact on employment and economic development. The respective interpretations given were:
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In recent years ILO work on industrial relations and the social impact of the globalization process has emphasized the issue of MNE activities in export processing zones (EPZs). Boosted by the wave of liberalization, deregulation and globalization the number of MNEs operating in EPZs has rapidly increased, and their social policy practices have become the major driving force of labour relations in these zones.
Priorities and guidelines for improving social and labour conditions in EPZs
EPZs have become one of the major features of the labour market in some developing countries and with globalization the rate at which zones are being formed is accelerating. This offers challenges and opportunities to EPZ-operating countries including:
- the potential to attract more investment and hence create more jobs for more workers (and women in particular) in the formal sector;
- the need for zones and enterprises to improve their efficiency and competitiveness through better technology, organization of work, skills and labour-management relations;
- the need continuously to improve and develop the backward and forward linkages between the zone and the local economy to maximize their economic benefits; and
- the need to continue improving working conditions, labour relations and human resource development, in particular for women.
A report reflecting the findings of the Action Programme on Labour and Social Issues in EPZs was published in August 1998 and discussed at a Tripartite Meeting of Export Processing Zone-Operating Countries from 28 September to 2 October 1998. The conclusions and guidelines adopted by that meeting represent a tripartite consensus on best practice in EPZs on:
- policies and strategies;
- labour standards;
- labour-management relations;
- human resource development;
- retraining and re-employment;
- wages and working conditions;
- social infrastructure; and
- women workers.
Many countries have had to reinvent their zones in order to maintain their competitiveness and secure the social and
economic benefits they hoped for. In Zimbabwe, for example, the ILO has assisted the Government in the development of a
strategy to take advantage of its rich agricultural potential. The export production chain has been decentralized by granting
zone privileges to processing plants situated close to farms. The scheme is progressing successfully and currently covers the
production of vegetables, coffee and wood. Initially these zones were excluded from the Labour Relations Act 1985 but
after protests by trade unions and expressions of concern by the ILO, tripartite negotiations were convened which resulted in
the extension of the key provisions of the labour laws to the zones.
China -- SCORES An ILO mission to visit special economic zones in China in 1997 revealed a need for improved human resource development and labour relations. This resulted in a training course organized by the ILO and the Chinese State Council Office for Restructuring Economic Systems (SCORES) which was held in Qingdao in October 1998 and was attended by 70 officials from over 30 investment zones. The course dealt with labour relations and human resource development issues as well as the development of EPZs worldwide and their contribution to economic development. The success of this activity prompted a request from the SCORES not only for further courses but for the ILO's training to be expanded into a country-wide programme covering 1,000 export processing zones. This was implemented by developing a project proposal to be implemented over the next three years covering human resource and enterprise development, labour relations and dispute resolution. Meanwhile, a second course for the SCORES was held in October 1999 in Chengdu where, in addition to labour relations issues, the special position of women workers was a major focus. This was followed by a third course held at the Turin Centre in December 1999 dealing with issues of zone management, labour relations and human resource development. |
The ILO prepared technical papers for a number of conferences on EPZs, including the annual general meeting of the World Export Processing Zones Association (WEPZA), a forum for chief executive officers organized by the Shannon Zone in Ireland and the ILO Symposium on Labour Issues in the Context of Economic Integration and Free Trade -- A Caribbean Perspective, held in Trinidad and Tobago in January 1999. Policy advice on EPZs was requested by ILO constituents in China, Sri Lanka, the United States and Zimbabwe.
Sectoral activities
The ILO's programme of sectoral meetings serves as an important instrument for promoting social dialogue at the sectoral level and focusing on the problems and issues of specific industries. Topics raised at these meetings are often followed up in national seminars and workshops. Related technical assistance activities also paved the way for improvements in working conditions and labour relations, for example in small-scale mines in Pakistan, in mines in Zimbabwe and in the education sector in South Africa.
Forestry
Forest work remains one of the most hazardous occupations in many countries, despite the efforts of many governments and companies to make it safer. While the situation is particularly bad in tropical countries, much remains to be done in temperate climates as well. For some years now the ILO has been promoting codes of practice for forestry. These were supplemented by the ILO Code of practice on safety and health in forest work, adopted by a tripartite meeting of experts in September 1997.(16) The code of practice draws in the latest international experience in providing guidance for safety and health management in the sector at the national level, in companies and at the worksite.
The code was originally published in English, French and Spanish, and has since been translated into Czech, Brazilian
Portuguese, Latvian, Russian and Swedish. Constituents in Romania and Slovenia have been authorized to translate the code
into their languages and the Chinese State Forest Administration has decided to publish it in Chinese. The adoption and
promotion of the code provide a good illustration of how the ILO can respond to the urgent needs of its constituents through
a mutually reinforcing combination of sectoral expertise, international tripartite meetings, the development of guidelines,
advocacy, advisory services and partnerships with other international organizations.
Code of practice on safety and health in forest work In several countries the ILO's 1997 Code of practice on safety and health in forest work is being used, not just for information and guidance but as a basis for national policies and regulations. These include:
China and Mongolia have also requested assistance from the ILO, in partnership with the FAO, for the development of national codes of forest practices. It is expected that a draft code will be prepared for China in 2000, with a view to its full implementation in 2001. |
Mining
The assistance provided to constituents in the mining sector continued to focus on promoting the ratification and improved implementation of the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176). The ratifications of eight countries were registered during the biennium (Armenia, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the Philippines, Slovakia, Zambia), bringing the total number of ratifications of the Convention to 12. The Office has also been informed that several other member States are considering ratifying Convention No. 176 in the near future.
The ILO's efforts to improve social dialogue in the sector included activities focused on the subregional and national level. One of these was the workshop held in Zimbabwe which brought together 56 employer and worker participants from Zimbabwe, and experts from Australia and South Africa (the mining industries of the latter two countries play a major role in Zimbabwe). The workshop focused on the remodelling of traditional workplace roles and the development of new workplace relationships as increased productivity is sought in capital-intensive mining operations. Social dialogue plays a key role in reaching agreement on change. The workshop was followed up by the organization of a study tour for eight employer and worker participants. The tour included visits to organizations of mining companies, mining unions, federal and state training agencies and mines in Western and Eastern Australia, to learn how new job structures, work methods and skills had been introduced and managed.
Small-scale mining
Some 13 million workers worldwide are engaged in small-scale mining, which is usually labour-intensive, non-mechanized and artisanal and in the majority of cases only provides them with a subsistence income. Despite the undoubted economic value of the sector, small-scale mining gives rise to many problems in relation to safety and health, working conditions, workers' rights and child labour. These issues were discussed at a Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines, held in Geneva in May 1999, which adopted broad-ranging conclusions for the improvement of social and labour conditions in the sector.(17)
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The conclusions of the meeting were widely disseminated and promoted at workshops and seminars held in Australia,
Finland, Germany, India, South Africa and the United States. A short video was made on safety and health in small-scale
mining. The ILO has provided active support for the establishment of a Consultative Group on Artisanal and Small-scale
Mining, coordinated by the World Bank, and is ensuring that the social partners are fully involved in its work. The ILO and
the World Bank have arranged jointly to contact possible donors to support a coordinated programme of assistance for
small-scale mining.
Safety and health in small-scale mines in Baluchistan Some 25,000 people work in small-scale private coalmines in Baluchistan, Pakistan, producing about 1.6 million tonnes of coal a year under very difficult conditions. On average, around 80 miners a year are killed and there is a very high incidence of lung disease. The rate of fatal accidents is about 400 times as high as in the best performing coalmining countries. A few years ago the ILO provided the mines inspectorate in Baluchistan with mine rescue equipment and training. In April 1999, at the invitation of the Government, a team of experts analysed the safety and health situation in small-scale mines. Based on visits to several mines and rescue stations and discussions with mine owners, labour contractors, miners, the inspectorate and the Ministry of Labour, the experts made a series of recommendations which emphasize prevention, the need for concerted action by all parties and clearly established rights and responsibilities. |
Petroleum and chemical sectors
Employers and workers in the petroleum industry have for some years been using the conclusions of an ILO meeting held in 1993 as a basis for action on safety issues on offshore installations. At the request of the industry the ILO acted as an endorsing agency for the Fourth SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, held in Caracas in June 1998. The ILO promoted the participation of workers' representatives in this industry-led Conference and will also endorse the Fifth Conference in 2000. Participants at the Conference discussed both the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention, 1993 (No. 174), and, on the basis of a paper on encounters between petroleum exploration operations and indigenous peoples, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169).(18) Labour issues in the industry were also examined at the Tripartite Meeting on Employment and Industrial Relations Issues in Oil Refining, held in February 1998.(19)
Voluntary initiatives
In addition to creating an international forum for social dialogue through its tripartite sectoral meetings, the Sectoral Activities
Programme generated new social dialogue opportunities within specific sectors. Constituents in the chemical industry focused
on the impact of voluntary initiatives at the Tripartite Meeting on Voluntary Initiatives Affecting Training and Education on
Safety, Health and the Environment in the Chemical Industries, held in Geneva in February 1999. The report to the meeting
noted that voluntary initiatives and codes of conduct in the chemical industry are proliferating and appear to have had positive
impacts in terms of improving company performance in health, safety and environment on an industry-wide basis.(20)
However, the report also pointed out that, in spite of considerable progress in the field of public information, workers and
their trade union representatives are neither widely involved in nor well informed about these initiatives. The meeting therefore
examined the extent to which chemical industry workers should and can be associated more closely with voluntary initiatives,
as well as the training required to promote stewardship and a more effective life-cycle view of the safety, health and
environmental impacts of the chemical industry.
New dialogue opportunities The conclusions adopted at the ILO Meeting on Voluntary Initiatives Affecting Training and Education on Safety, Health and Environment in the Chemical Industries stated that "there is a dialogue in process which will be formalized and continued on the meaningful involvement of workers and their representatives on the subject of Responsible Care between ICCA and ICEM". This was probably the first time that such a commitment involving two named international organizations, representing employers and workers, was made in an ILO document. Furthermore, concrete steps have already been taken since the ILO meeting took place to give effect to the commitment. The ICCA (International Council of Chemical Associations) and the ICEM (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions) met at the highest level to develop the necessary structures to enable them to meet their commitments. These mechanisms are expected to be in place in early 2000 and will examine how to follow up the ILO conclusions at the international level. It is anticipated that this collaborative initiative between ICCA and ICEM will be an ongoing process and will help to ensure that the Responsible Care programme (the world's biggest industry voluntary initiative) will more fully involve both sides of industry and lead to enhanced safety, health and environmental performance. |
Joint pesticides health, safety and environment training for agriculture workers Following the ILO Voluntary Initiatives Meeting, the IUF (International Union of Food and Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association) and the GCPF (Global Crop Protection Federation, an international trade association of the pesticide industry) met in May 1999 and reached an agreement, in principle, for the two organizations to provide joint pesticides health, safety and environment training for agriculture workers using or exposed to pesticides. The framework for this cooperation is the IUF's Global Pesticides Project and the GCPF's Safe Use Programme. This agreement led to the participation of an IUF representative at the GCPF annual meeting to present and discuss the IUF case study prepared for the ILO Voluntary Initiatives Meeting. A further meeting was held between the two organizations in Kenya in October 1999 to discuss a pilot joint training project for agricultural workers in Uganda involving the National Union of Plantation and Agricultural Workers. The pilot project will focus on workers in the sugar and cut flower industries and is expected to consist of:
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Teachers
The ILO's work in relation to the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers included the organization of several subregional meetings and workshops between representatives of teachers and the national authorities. These meetings led to a marked increase in many countries in the exchange of views on proposed reforms between governments and teachers' unions. The Office has been informed by international teachers' unions that their national affiliates consider these forums to be extremely valuable.
The work of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee on the Application of the Recommendation (CEART) also led to progress at the national level in several cases. One example was the Czech Republic where, as a result of dialogue with the representatives of teachers, the Government agreed to abolish Decree No. 68/1997 which had increased the hours of work of teachers and educators. The ILO also contributed significantly to the development of a new UNESCO Recommendation concerning higher education teaching personnel. The new Recommendation was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO and is expected to become an important guide to best practice. The Governing Body and the UNESCO Executive Board have approved the extension of the CEART's mandate to permit its monitoring and promotion of the new instrument beginning in 2000.
Breaking through the glass ceiling:
Women in management
A Tripartite Meeting on Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management was held at the end of 1997 and recommended a set of comprehensive strategies to promote women in management.(21) A programme was designed in 1998-99 to provide for follow-up to the numerous recommendations of the meeting and will form the basis for gender mainstreaming activities in the 2000-01 strategic programme and budget, as well as for attracting extra-budgetary resources. During the 1998-99 biennium there was continued media interest in the Office's report to the meeting and the steady demand for copies required the report to be reprinted. During 1999 the report was updated and revised and will be issued as an ILO publication in June 2000.
An ILO working paper(22) on women in management in Argentina was published in early 1999 and will be translated into English.
In addition, ILO advice and guidance was sought in a range of national and international forums, including:
- a Women in Dialogue workshop for women managers organized by a group of multinational companies based in Brussels (February 1998);
- a panel at the Global Forum for Women (London, June 1998);
- the Women in Business Exposition (Geneva, May 1999); and
- a workshop on promoting women in management at the European Space Agency (Paris, October 1999).
Health services
As a follow-up to the Joint Meeting on Terms of Employment and Working Conditions in Health Sector Reforms, held in Geneva in 1998, a subregional conference was organized in collaboration with Public Services International in Kazakhstan in March 1999. The conference played an important role in the countries in the region, which are generally seeing a deterioration in health services, in drawing attention to the vital role of the sector in underpinning economic growth and social development. The participants agreed on the basic guiding principles of equity of access to health services, the need for good working conditions in the sector and the importance of health workers having the right to organize.
In collaboration with the WHO, the ILO's sectoral constituents and NGOs, six country studies were carried out (covering Cameroon, Colombia, Jordan, the Philippines, Poland and Uganda) on public service reforms and their impact on health sector personnel. Based on these studies, in October 1999 a round table of international experts in Berlin developed a framework on the design and implementation of reform processes. The framework was formulated as a set of critical questions for initiating and reviewing public service reforms. These questions were intended to provide a common basis for all stakeholders in the reform process and to stimulate social dialogue among them both in the process of formulation and implementation of the reforms and also in their subsequent monitoring, evaluation and review. The format of questions was chosen by the participants in order to avoid ready-made reform packages which were not applicable to different situations. The questions refer specifically to the social and labour dimensions of the delivery of health services and to how reform impacts on employment and working conditions of the personnel which in turn condition the quality of the services.
Public service
With over 450 million employees worldwide, the public sector accounts for around 30 per cent of global employment. However, in recent years the effects of globalization, reductions in public expenditure under the influence of structural adjustment policies, and the transition to market economies have entailed far-reaching changes in the levels and structure of public employment in many countries. With a view to gaining a more accurate picture of the trends in the sector during a period of rapid change, a study was conducted on statistics for public sector employment.(23) The statistics were provided by statistical agencies from over 80 countries.
Social dialogue in the context of public service reforms was improved through the holding of a conference, at the request of the sectoral trade unions, on restructuring public services and the role of the trade unions in Tbilisi in July 1998. The participants included representatives of the governments and workers' organizations of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Advice on the implementation of public service reform was also provided to the Civil Service Agency in Kazakhstan, and a study tour was organized for senior members of the agency so that they could gain first-hand experience of modern personnel management systems in the public service in a number of industrialized countries.
Maritime sector
In the maritime sector a sustained effort was made to promote the ILO's maritime labour standards among major flag States. This resulted in over 30 ratifications, including four of the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147), and one of its 1996 Protocol. Convention No. 147 has now been included in regional port state control arrangements (regional arrangements on the inspection of foreign ships) in the following regions: Asia-Pacific, Caribbean, Europe, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, West and Central Africa. As an important means of improving the application of the Convention, emphasis was placed on the training of inspectors, with ILO training materials being used in several regions. Two Conventions adopted by the 84th (Maritime) Session of the International Labour Conference -- the Labour Inspection (Seafarers) Convention, 1996 (No. 178), and the Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers Convention, 1996 (No. 179), received sufficient ratifications to enter into force.
The conclusion of an agreement between European shipowners and seafarers was instrumental in the development by the
European Union of a Directive on the working time of seafarers. The agreement between the social partners was based
primarily on the provisions of the Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180). The
Directive will eventually influence the working time of seafarers not only on ships registered in the Member States of the
European Union but also on other ships visiting European ports.
Seafarers' working time The Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180), requires member States to set maximum limits on seafarers' hours of work or minimum periods for seafarers' rest and includes a mechanism for recording and monitoring work or rest. Ireland ratified Convention No. 180 in April 1999 and several other member States have indicated that they are in the process of doing so. In September 1998 the European Community Shipowners' Association and the Federation of Transport Workers' Unions in the European Union concluded an agreement on the working time of seafarers which contained a joint request to the Commission to implement it by a decision of the Council of the European Union. The agreement was largely modelled on Convention No. 180. Council Directive 1999/63/EC of 21 June 1999 concerning the agreement on the organization of working time of seafarers concluded by the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA) and the Federation of Transport Workers' Unions in the European Union (FST) has since been addressed to EU Member States; by 30 June 2002, these States are required to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with it, or to ensure that, by that date at the latest, management and labour have introduced the necessary measures by agreement. In November 1998 the Commission also recommended that the EU Member States ratify Convention No. 180, as well as the 1996 Protocol. In December 1999 the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Directive 1999/95/EC concerning the enforcement of provisions in respect of seafarers' hours of work on board ships calling at Community ports. The Directive calls on Member States to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive not later than 30 June 2002 and provides a mechanism for the verification and enforcement of compliance by ships calling at European ports with, inter alia, the provisions of Convention No. 180. The Directive also cites the IMO/ILO Guidelines on seafarers' hours of work or rest. In short, it is expected that by mid-2002 all ships registered in EU Member States and ships visiting the ports of those States will be required to comply with the provisions of ILO Convention No. 180. Bearing in mind the high percentage of world trade carried on European ships or transhipped through European ports, this requirement will have a substantial impact on the working hours of a large portion of the world's seafarers. This breakthrough will have been achieved through international and regional social dialogue and inter-agency and EU/ILO cooperation. It will reduce fatigue at sea, thus enhancing seafarers' health, the safety of ships and protection of the marine environment. |
Port workers
One of the principal contributions made by the ILO to the improvement of the working and employment conditions of port workers is through its port worker development programme (PDP), which is designed for the training of port workers in marine container terminals. The PDP is built around centrally prepared training materials, which are used by a corps of specially trained instructors working within a carefully established organizational framework. Following a period of development, including pilot projects in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania, the PDP was introduced during the biennium in Malaysia, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, China. Preparatory work was undertaken for its introduction in the Republic of Korea and Portugal, and the training materials were being translated into Spanish with a view to their use in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
In the first 15 months of implementation some 600 port workers have been trained by the centres implementing the PDP. The result has been an improvement in the safety record of the ports concerned, an increase in productivity and efficiency in port work and a rise in the status of the port workers concerned. In the port of Durban, South Africa, during an ILO evaluation of the preliminary phase it was found that, in the five-month period following the use of PDP materials to revise the safety procedures at the container terminal, the number of accidents decreased and thereby the claims for injury and cargo damage. In the new container terminal in Port Louis, Mauritius, the PDP materials have been used to prepare procedures and an operations manual. Port workers at all levels at the new container terminal have been trained for the first time in various facets of modern container terminal operations. The handling rate of containers had increased gradually to 17 moves per gross crane working hour, thereby increasing both the productivity and efficiency of the new terminal and the remuneration of the workers concerned.
Fishing
Fishing, which employs roughly 15 million people worldwide, is in many countries an extremely hazardous occupation with fatality and injury rates frequently exceeding those in any other sector. The centrepiece of the ILO's work concerning fishing in the 1998-99 biennium was the Tripartite Meeting on Safety and Health in the Fishing Industry, held in December 1999. The meeting adopted conclusions on safety and health in the fishing industry and a resolution concerning future ILO activities in the fisheries sector and social dialogue. As part of its conclusions it made recommendations on international labour standards concerning fishing to the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards of the ILO Governing Body's Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards (LILS). During the biennium work was undertaken with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to revise and update the Document for Guidance on Fishermen's Training and Certification.
Notes
1. The Asian financial crisis: The challenge for social policy, by E. Lee, 1998.
2. "Voices for freedom of association", in Labour Education, 1998/3, No. 112; "Collective bargaining: A fundamental principle, a right, a Convention", in Labour Education, 1991/1-2, Nos. 114/115.
3. Technical guide on freedom of association standards and procedures, forthcoming.
4. Freedom of association: Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee of the Governing Body of the ILO (available in English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish); ILO law on freedom of association: Standards and procedures (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish).
5. Freedom of association: A user's guide -- Standards, principles and procedures of the International Labour Organization, by D. Tajgman and K. Curtis, 2000; ILO principles concerning the right to strike, by B. Gernigon, A. Odero and H. Guido, 2000; Collective bargaining: ILO standards and the principles of the supervisory bodies, by B. Gernigon, A. Odero and H. Guido, 2000.
6. Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, Report III (Part 1A), International Labour Conference, 88th Session, Geneva, 2000; Tripartite consultation, Report III (Part 1B), International Labour Conference, 88th Session, Geneva, 2000.
7. Forced labour in Myanmar (Burma): Report of the Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization to examine observance by Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), Special supplement of Official Bulletin, Series B, Vol. LXXXI, 1998.
8. Decent work, Report of the Director-General, International Labour Conference, 87th Session, Geneva, 1999.
9. Negotiating flexibility: The role of the social partners and the State, M. Ozaki (ed.), 1999.
10. A guide to strategic planning in employers' organizations: A training module, written for the ILO by P. Brennan, Irish Business and Employers' Confederation, Feb. 1998.
11. El empresario y la communicación, by J. Monroy Morante, 1999; Guía para el análisis del entorno en las organizaciones de empleadores, by G. González Marroguin, 1998; Desarrollo de la capacidad de liderazgo para dirigentes y futuros lideres empresariales, 1999; Cobertura de los riesgos del trabajo, by A.H. Conte-Grand and C.A. Rodríguez, 1999; Cases on South Asia: Human resources and industrial relations (Vol. 1: Case studies, Vol. 2: Teaching notes), C.S. Venkata Ratnam (ed.), 1999; Human resources development for adjustment at the enterprise level (Vol. 1: Participant's manual, Vol. 2: Facilitator's guide), C.S. Venkata Ratnam (ed.), 1999; Performance-related and skill-based pay: An introduction, by S. de Silva, 1998; Human resource management in enterprise competitiveness, by S. de Silva, 1998; Developing and establishing an occupational safety and health service in an employers' organisation: A practical guide and training programme for small or developing employers' organisations, by T. Briscoe, 1998.
12. As one employer to another ... What's all this about EQUALITY?, 1996 (available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish). A version in Bengali was also produced by the Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF).
13. Gender equality: A guide to collective bargaining, series of six booklets entitled: Gender equality bargaining: An overview; Working conditions; Maternity and family responsibilities; Defending rights of non-permanent and vulnerable workers; Dignity at the workplace; and Giving women a voice, by S. Olney, E. Goodson, K. Maloba-Caines and F. O'Neill, 1998.
14. New prevention strategies for labour inspection, Labour Administration Branch, document No. 56, 1998.
15. The impact of multinational enterprises on employment, training and regional development in Namibia and Zimbabwe: A preliminary assessment, by O. Ilanda, 1999.
16. Safety and health in forestry work, an ILO code of practice, 1998.
17. Note on the proceedings, Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines, 17-21 May 1999, Geneva.
18. Indigenous peoples and oil development: Reconciling conflicting interests, by M. Tomei, 1998.
19. Note on the proceedings, Tripartite Meeting on Employment and Industrial Relations Issues in Oil Refining, 23-27 February 1998, Geneva.
20. Voluntary initiatives affecting training and education on safety, health and environment in the chemical industries, Report for discussion at the tripartite meeting, 22-26 February 1999, Geneva.
21. Note on the proceedings, Tripartite Meeting on Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management, 15-19 December 1997, Geneva.
22. Rompiendo el techo de cristal: Las mujeres en el management en Argentina, by A.M. Mass, M.A. Sáez, S. García and L. Cukierman, 1999.
23. Statistics on public sector employment: Methodology, structures and trends, by M. Hammouya, 1999.
Updated by SD. Approved by RH. Last update: 30 May 2000.