12-26 March 2020

338th Session of the Governing Body

  1. The 338th Session, originally scheduled for 12-26 March, did not take place in view of the restrictions to meetings and travel in place since early March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The Governing Body delegated to its Officers the authority to make decisions, in consultation with the tripartite Screening Group, on several items, or is making decisions by correspondence. Each decision made is webposted on the pages of the session, below the related item as per usual practice. Consideration of all other items on the agenda is deferred to future sessions of the Governing Body.

    With the subsequent reinforcement of travel and meeting restrictions in most countries and having due regard to the need to protect the health and well-being of everyone, the Governing Body decided, through a vote by correspondence, to defer the 109th Session of the International Labour Conference (originally scheduled from 25 May to 5 June) to June 2021, and to cancel the associated 338th bis and 339th Sessions of the Governing scheduled for 25 May and 6 June 2020, respectively.

    Official communications, ballot results and the minutes of the meetings of the Officers of the Governing Body with the Screening Group relating to items on the agenda of the 338th Session of the Governing Body are also webposted.

  2. Minutes of 338th Session

  3. Agenda (Rev.2 - 21/02/2020)

     

Sections

Institutional Section (INS)

Handles matters related to the functioning of the Office and of the Organization, including constitutional obligations. It encompasses a number of standing items such as reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association, annual reports under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the agenda of the International Labour Conference, representations under article 24 of the Constitution, and complaints under article 26 of the Constitution; institutional issues relating to ILO organized meetings; and urgent matters arising between or during sessions.

Policy Development Section (POL)

Considers ILO policies and activities in the fields of employment, training, enterprise development and cooperatives, working and employment conditions and environment, social security and promotion of equality between men and women in employment (Employment and Social Protection Segment); the effect given to the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (Multinational Enterprises Segment); social dialogue and industrial relations, such as appertaining to labour law, labour administration and labour inspection, as well as the planning, preparation and follow-up and other policy issues relating to ILO sectoral and technical meetings (Social Dialogue Segment), and matters relating to ILO development cooperation programmes (Development Cooperation Segment).

Legal Issues and International Labour Standards Section (LILS)

Considers matters relating to the ILO Constitution; the different Standing Orders; the status of the ILO in member States; legal agreements concluded by the ILO with other international organizations; and any legal aspects of institutional issues (Legal Issues Segment); as well as matters relating to the ILO’s standards-related activities, , including the approval of report forms for ILO Conventions and Recommendations and the selection of instruments for article 19 reporting, and action relating to the protection of human rights (International Labour Standards and Human Rights Segment).

Programme, Financial and Administrative Section (PFA)

The PFA section examines programme and budget proposals and programme implementation, other budgetary estimates and Office expenditure and reviews financial and administrative matters, including matters concerning the ILO premises, matters relating to information and communication technology (Programme, Financial and Administrative Segment); audit, evaluation and oversight reports, including the report of the Governing Body’s Independent Oversight Advisory Committee (IOAC) (Audit and Oversight Segment); and human resources matters and issues relating to the ILO Administrative Tribunal (Personnel Segment).