24 August 2004, reports as follows:

1. Introduction

2. Conference Credentials

3. Plenary

4. The First Sitting

5. Special Ministerial Session of the AU Labour and Social Affairs

Commission

6. Committees

6.1. Resolution Committee

6.2. Migrant Workers Committee

6.3. Committee on Work in the Fishing Sector

Africa

6.4. Application of Standards Committee

6.5. Human Resource Committee

7. Recommendations

1. INTRODUCTION

The South African Labour Minister, Membathisi Mdladlana, led a South African

tripartite delegation (Government, employers and employees) to the International

Labour Conference that took place from 1 to 17 June 2004.

The Conference took a step forward in efforts to forge new labour standards

aimed at improving the working conditions and safety of the world's 35 million

workers in the fishing sector, and it adopted a new recommendation on human

resources development with a strong focus on education, training and lifelong

learning.

In other business, the Conference adopted a resolution on gender equality, pay

equity and maternity protection, reviewed the state of fundamental rights of

workers and employers in a discussion on this year's global report on freedom of

association and the right to collective bargaining, and discussed the situation of

workers in the Occupied Arab Territories, forced labour in Myanmar and rights at

work in other countries.

The Conference President was Mr Milton Ray Guevara, Secretary of State for

Labour of the Dominican Republic. The Conference elected as Vice-Presidents

Mr Youssoufa Wade (Employers) of Senegal, Mr Guillaume Attigbe (Workers) of

Benin and Mr Maatough Mohamed Maatough (Governments) of the Libyan Arab

Jamahiriya.

The following delegates represented South Africa at the conference:

Mr L Kettledas, Deputy Director-General: Labour Policy and Labour Market

Programmes, Department of Labour (DoL);

Mr I Macun, Executive Manager: Labour Market Information Statistics;

Mr V Seafield, Manager: Employment Standards, DoL;

Ms D Pillay, Assistant Manager: Legal Services, DoL;

Ms S Ndebele, Executive Manager: International Relations, DoL;

Mr NT Campbell, Head: Fishing Vessel Unit, South African Maritime Authority;

Mr R Ndema, Regional Director: Immigration, Department of Home Affairs;

Ms A Bird, Deputy Director-General: Skills Development, DoL;

Mr SM Rasmeni, Member of Parliament.

Mr B Botha, International Affairs Adviser, Business Unity South Africa (BUSA);

Mr V Van Vuuren, Chief Operations Officer: BUSA;

Mr H De Beer, Executive Manager: I&J, BUSA;

Ms F Dowie, Chief Officer: Strategic Services, BUSA;

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ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS NO 55—2004

Mr V Esselaar, Chamber of Mines and BUSA Migration Adviser;

Ms A Ndoni, Black Lawyers’ Association and BUSA;

Mr A Van Niekerk, Legal Adviser: BUSA.

Mr S Zamisa, HR Executive: Continental, BUSA.

Mr R Howard, Secretary General: SATAWU

Mr C Milani, General Secretary, FEDUSA

Mr K Masemola, Deputy General Secretary, FAWU

Mr J Maqhekeni, President, NACTU

Ms H Bhengu, Education Officer, Congress of South African Trade Unions

(COSATU).

Mr LM Gumbi, Deputy Permanent Representative;

Ms FLNW Lusenga, Counsellor Labour.

85 countries deposited their credentials before the 17 May deadline. South

Africa submitted their list of delegates before this deadline.

government advisers, 152 employer delegates, 478 advisers, 152 worker

delegates and 592 advisers.

The plenary sittings of the Conference were held in the Assembly Hall on the first

floor of the Assembly Building of the Palais des Nations. After the opening sitting

on Tuesday, 1 June 2004, the Conference did not meet in plenary until the

second week of its work. The second plenary sitting was held on Monday, 7 June

2004. Plenary sittings were held throughout the second week and part of the third

week, as required, for the discussion of the reports of the Chairperson of the

Governing Body and of the Director-General, as well as the Global Report.

Committee reports, draft instruments and resolutions were submitted to plenary

for discussion and voting from Tuesday, 15 to Thursday, 17 June 2004.

The President of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero,

addressed the Conference stressing the importance of giving a "social dimension

to globalisation" and establishing decent work as a universal goal. "My reflections

on the globalisation of the economy and its social consequences are based on

the assumption that decent work has to become a global goal, and not only an

ILO goal", he said.

The co-chairs of the Commission, Presidents Mkapa of Tanzania and Halonen of

Finland, as well as leaders of Employer and Worker representatives addressed

the special session held on Monday, 7 June 2004. Other invited guests included

Mr Parvanov, President of Bulgaria, and Mrs Clark, Prime Minister of New

Zealand.

The report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation

was discussed during this session. The report presents the vision for the future

and attempts to break the current impasse by presenting a message on the ways

to better harness the potential of globalisation.

It commits member states to promote a process where globalisation has a strong

social dimension based on universally shared values and respect for human

rights and individual dignity, one that is fair, inclusive, democratically governed

and provides opportunities and tangible for all.

South Africa pointed to its world leader status in terms of institutions and social

dialogue, where partnerships are being advocated. Other important elements

identified in the report include a greater focus on people, sustainable

development, productive and equitable markets, fair rules, globalisation with

solidarity, greater accountability, and an effective United Nations.

The Chairperson of the Governing Body, in the first sitting of this session, tabled

his report on the work of the Governing Body for the period June 2003 to June

2004, that alluded to the activities undertaken in the different areas of the

International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) operations. The report included:

Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work;

territories.

The Director-General of the ILO highlighted in his report that three fundamental

and interlinked concepts were developed in the past five years. These are:

This meeting met to adopt the Draft Strategic Framework on Migration for Africa.

The following were considered as proposed agenda items:

Benin. The delegates confirmed its contents as reflective of developments

during this meeting;

Framework on Migration for Africa. Members indicated that time given for

proper consultation was not sufficient and that the current discussions at

the ILO might have a significant bearing on the framework. Time extended

to 30 November;

and Minister Mdladlana promised to consider the request;

moves towards peace in Sudan and thanked the continent for its support;

Information on the Declaration and plan of action is available on the AU

website.

Conference committees resumed their work on Tuesday, 1 June, and worked

until the adoption of reports in terms of the timetable. Except when provided

otherwise, the initial composition of committees was decided by the Conference

at the opening sitting.

The Group elected the following spokespersons:

The Group met daily as scheduled to be updated on progress and to discuss

common positions for the respective committees.

6.1. RESOLUTION COMMITTEE

The Committee had 16 submitted resolutions for consideration. Sponsors of

resolutions made presentations on the importance of these being considered and

adopted by the committee. Delegates then had to prioritise the top five to be

discussed. Normally, between one and three resolutions are finalised during the

conferences.

The number of resolutions for consideration amounted to eight after the merger

of similar structured resolutions.

The African Group prioritised the following resolutions:

The top five resolutions in order of importance were:

Palestine and other Occupied Arab territories as a result of continued

Israeli occupation and aggressive practices;

economy and their impact on the world of the work, competitiveness and

sustainable development;

The Committee considered 116 amendments. The Committee managed to

conclude only one resolution, which it was unanimously adopted by the plenary

on 15 June.

Discussions were based on three themes:

To assist the debates a report entitled "Migrant workers, Report VI, International

Labour Conference, 92nd Session, 2004", was prepared. This report analyses the

challenges and dominant features of labour migration, the conditions and

treatment of migrant workers, the impact and consequences of migration, the

impact of international standards on condition of migrants and the role of

tripartism and social dialogue for governance and labour migration policy.

After three days of general discussions the Committee constituted a Drafting

Committee, which sat and produced a set of draft conclusions. The drafting

process involved representatives from workers, employers and government. The

draft conclusions were divided into eight sections. These are:

migration);

economy;

member states);

information sharing by member states);

ILO Governing Body).

The African Group members of the Committee on Migrant Workers gave their

support to the conclusions. 186 amendments were considered and agreement

was reached. The report was adopted on 16 June 2004 by the Conference

plenary.

The provisions of the existing standards do not apply to fishermen and do not

take into account the nature of fishing operations, employment relations, and

other issues of social protection. Two reports were prepared as the basis for

discussion. The first report, "Conditions of work in the fishing sector", was

accompanied by a questionnaire to which all governments were asked to give

reasoned replies. Their replies were summarised in a second report, "Conditions

of work is the fishing sector: the constituents’ views", which also indicated the

main points the Conference may wish to consider.

The objectives of the discussions were as follows:

sector;

Worker representatives questioned the following matters:

convention (C102) that excludes fishers from social security;

fishing standards.

Workers wanted specific provisions for different sized vessels included in the

proposed standard. Governments raised the issue of port state control as well as

the need to deal with the issues of flags of convenience. Countries in the

Americas as well as the IMEC group were of the view that the standard should

be applicable only to larger vessels.

The African Group pushed for the following:

as greater synergy with the work of other UN agencies.

South Africa motivated for a number of amendments to the proposed text of the

standard. These included:

vessels;

of the changing health care system.

A number of amendments where tabled. Issues raised of a substantive nature

were:

size;

employment contract;

adequately occupy the vessel for the safe functioning and navigation of

the vessel.

Achievements in terms of the stated objectives for South Africa

SA realised the following objectives it set itself at the onset of the conference:

conventions when the competent authority exempts vessels. A clause

was included in the preamble to this effect;

from employment. This was achieved through an inclusion of an

amendment to this effect.

The report by the Committee on the Fishing Sector was adopted in the plenary

sitting of the Conference on Wednesday 16 June 2004.

A number of issues were deferred for discussion to the next conference in June

2005 due to time constraints. These were:

The Committee proposed that a technical committee, to address the concerns

with regard to the accommodation and rations provision, meet before next year’s

conference. South Africa was nominated to send an expert to this meeting, which

will be held in December 2004.

This Committee considered information and reports on measures taken to give

effect to Conventions and Recommendations. The reports dealt with the

following:

1964 (No. 122), the Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions)

Recommendation, 1984, (No 169), the Human Resources Development

Convention, 1975, (No. 142), and the Job Creation in Small and Medium

Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189).

Delegates expressed their concerns about the working methods of the

Committee.

the reflected geographical imbalance of countries chosen to appear before

the Committee - a greater number of developing countries;

respect of the lists of cases. It appears that the officials did not apply their

minds to the matter and therefore it seems that their conclusions were predetermined

South Africa’s contribution to the debate focused on the following:

and clarity in choosing the list of cases;

instruments.

The report of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of

the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel was discussed (this

happened every three years). The focus was on:

conditions, salaries and the image in the teaching profession).

The case of Zimbabwe, violation of Convention 98 (Right to organise and

Collective Bargaining Convention), was heard and the South African Government

delegation made an intervention to the following effect:

of Zimbabwe’s commitment to bringing its legislation in line with

Convention 98;

the labour act;

opposed to a direct contacts mission being sent to Zimbabwe;

Zimbabwe was to be encouraged.

There was an obvious division of opinions between the speakers of different

countries. The Government of Zimbabwe urged the Committee to make a clear

distinction between legal and political issues and to remain focused on the

technical issues before it.

The report of the Committee was adopted by the Plenary on 17 June 2004.

6.5. HUMAN RESOURCE COMMITTEE

The function of the Committee was to update the outdated instrument on Human

Resource Training and Development. South Africa presented its four preconference

proposals to the Committee, namely that:

the UN and its agencies;

to the problem of the aggressive recruitment of skilled workers by

developed nations;

learning need to be streamlined in the text.

An African Group meeting on HRD formulated 35 amendments to the proposals

raised by South Africa.

The groups added additional items to the discussions, namely the right to

training, entrepreneurship, and the impact of training on the achievement of

broader human development goals.

Employers stressed the need to clarify the roles and functions of various

constituencies. This meant ensuring that the principle responsibility

remained with government for the education and pre-employment training.

The amendment submitted by the African Group was not supported.

However, there was an in-principle agreement on the point.

The proposal by the African Group was discussed, but found that the

matter was discussed the previous year. The African Group withdrew the

range of amendments throughout the text.

It was revealed that there were different understandings of various words;

there was consensus on the need to tidy up the text in this regard.

Other issues

The proposal to include ‘poverty eradication’ were accepted and included

in several points in the text.

A clause underlying the importance of employers giving work to the young

was accepted for inclusion.

The majority view was that we should support the right to training. This

meant that the proposed amendment had to be removed from the original

text, which enshrined this as a right. The HRD Committee formally

adopted the Recommendation on 14 June 2004. However a problem

arose.

The employers indicated, the day after the vote was taken, that they

disagreed and would be submitting an amendment to the

recommendation. Parties made several attempts at finding a compromise.

During the final sitting of the HRD Committee the Committee formally

adopted the text as originally voted due to article 67 of the Standing

Orders, which states that the chairperson has the power to decide whether

or not to allow an amendment to an agreed clause.

The HRD report was adopted by the Plenary on 15 June 2004.

7.1. It is important for Parliament to prepare well in advance for all ILO

activities. This included, amongst others:

7.2. The Committee must draw up an oversight programme related to ILO

programmes and objectives.

7.3. Parliament needs to send a larger delegation to the ILO Conference

related to issues that will be discussed or to the conference

programme. The delegation must include support staff.

7.4. The status of members attending the ILO Conference should be

maintained.

3. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Finance on the Financial

Administration of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures, dated

25 August 2004:

The Portfolio Committee on Finance reports as follows:

This Report is made in terms of a resolution adopted by the

National Assembly on 24 June 2004. This resolution instructed

the Portfolio Committee on Finance to take over a mandate given

by the House to the Ad Hoc Committee on Finance on 18 June,

viz to ‘‘consider the subject of the financial administration of

Parliament with a view to introducing a bill dealing with the

matter, in accordance with the Assembly Rules’’. The Portfolio

Committee was instructed to confer on this matter with the

Select Committee on Finance of the National Council of

Provinces and to report to the National Assembly by 31 August

2004.

1. The Committee decided to build on work begun on this subject

in the previous Parliament under the auspices of the then Deputy

Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.

2. Ajoint meeting of the Portfolio and Select Committees was held

on 6 August to receive a presentation on a draft Bill on this

subject, prepared in November 2003.

3. The Committees agreed that this draft could serve as the basis for

further work, but felt that additional comments and inputs would

be useful to prepare a further draft that could be introduced and

processed through Parliament according to Assembly Rules.

4. The Presiding Officers and Secretaries of the two Houses, the

Speakers of Provincial Legislatures and the National Treasury

were invited to submit comments. The Committees are still

awaiting these comments.

5. When these comments are received, the Committees plan to

meet to evaluate them and initiate a process of producing a

further draft Bill.

6. The Committees envisage publishing this draft for introduction

and public comment according to normal procedures.

7. The Committees would hope that a Bill on this subject could be

passed before the end of this year.

Report to be considered.