May to 16 June 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland. The agenda of the Conference

included:

* Report of the Chairperson of the Governing Body (GB) and the Director-

General

* Global report under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on the Fundamental

Principles and Rights at Work

Work of the Committees the Programme and Budget, Application of Standards,

Work in the Fishing Sector, Promotion of Youth Employment, Occupational

Safety and Health.

Mr MMS Mdladlana, Minister of Labour

Dr V Mkhosana, Director-General, Department of Labour (DOL)

Mr J Malatse, Executive Manager: Occupational Health and Safety, DOL

Mr S Nakanyane, Executive Manager: Research, Policy and Planning, DOL

Mr G Moroasi, Assistant Manager: Legal Unit, DOL

Mr V Seafield, Assistant Manager: Labour Relations, DOL

Ms Z Sigabi, Communications Officer, DOL

Ms L Lusenga, Labour Attache: SA Permanent Mission, Geneva

Mr L Gumbi, Deputy Permanent Representative: Permanent Mission, Geneva

Ms T Motheohane, Private Secretary to the Minister

Ms OR Kasienyane MP, Chairperson: Portfolio Committee on Labour

Mr CM Lowe, MP

Mr L Maduma, MP

Ms P Jayiya, Committee Secretary

Mr V van Vuuren, Chief Operations Officer, Business Unity of South Africa

(BUSA)

Mr B Botha, Advisor: Internatinal Affairs, BUSA

Ms A Ndoni, Member: Standing Committee on Social Policy, BUSA

Ms F Dowie, Chief Officer: Strategic Services, BUSA

Mr A Van Niekerk, Legal Adviser:BUSA

Mr C Lotter, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Advisor: BUSA

Ms Z Maila, Youth Advisor: BUSA

Mr N Muller, Fishing Advisor: BUSA

Mr R Manda, Fishing Advisor, BUSA

Ms R Ramdin, OHS Advisor: BUSA

Mr I Patel, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)

Mr Z Vavi, Secretary-General: COSATU

Mr CA Milani, General-Secretary: FEDUSA

Mr J Maqhekeni, President: NACTU

Ms A Rantsolase, COSATU

The parliamentary delegation arrived in Geneva on 6 June 2005 and joined the

Conference during its second sitting. The agenda of the Conference was the

following:

* Governing body elections 2005-08

Resolution concerning arrears of contribution of Armenia and the Republic of

Moldova.

* Presentation and discussion of the reports of the Chairperson of the Governing

Body, and of the Director-General

* Adoption of the First Report of the Selection Committee

The meeting was officially opened by Mr Trotman (Worker Vice-President) who

announced that the President was unable to attend the opening. As Acting

President, he requested the Government Group Chairperson, Ambassador Yimer

from Ethiopia, to propose the election of a new President for the 93rd session of the

International Labour Conference.

The following persons were elected:

President: Minister Khalil, Minister of Labour:Jordaan

Worker Vice-President: Mr Trotman, Barbados

Employer Vice-President: Mr Fuernes, Argentina

Having outlined the procedures and identified other officers at the

meeting, the Chairperson suspended the plenary until Monday, 6 June

2005.

The group first met on Tuesday 31 May, and finalised its group

spokespersons in the respective committees as follows:

Committee on Finance South Africa

Committee on Youth Nigeria

Committee on Occopational Safety and Health Senegal

Committee on Work in the Fishing Sector Namibia

Committee on the Application of Standards Nigeria

Based on the program as agreed during the first sitting, the Group met daily as

scheduled. The Minister of Labour from Cuba addressed the Group and solicited its

support for Cuba’s Governing Body membership. The Group was better organised

and, the Johannesburg Conference decision for Africa to have common positions on

matters impacting on Africa is beginning to make Africa a force to be reckoned

with.

The African Union Commission on Labour and Social Affairs decided during its

Johannesburg sitting, after regional consultations, to ratify proposals as agreed by

regional representatives.

The following representation was endorsed in Geneva and informs the current

Governing Body membership for the period 2005-2008.

Southern Africa South Africa (Titular)

Malawi (Titular)

Mozambique (substitute)

Armenia and Moldova requested the Committee to restore their right to vote after

making financial arrangements to settle the outstanding balance. The Committee

agreed to recommend to the Conference that their right to vote be restored.

The Committee voted in favour of this decision on Monday, 6 June.

The South African Minister of Labour addressed the plenary on 6 June . This was

done by virtue of him being the current Chairperson of the AU Labour and Social

Affairs Commission. He reiterated the fact that there is a need for Africa as a

continent to devise comprehensive and collective means to address the problems of

poverty and unemployment. He emphasised that joblessness and poverty are a

threat to peace and stability.

The delegation noted the important role played by South Africa in the ILO. This

was evident by it being elected as a Titular member to the Governing Body, the role

it plays in the Africa group and the Minister being the Chairperson of the AU

Commission on Labour and Social Affairs.

The two heads of State from Algeria and Nigeria addressed the 93rd session of the

ILC on 7 and 10 June respectively.

In his speech, the President of Algeria, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, called for a

social dimension of globalisation. He also referred to the Algerian experience

relating to democracy and employment, and his country’s strategy that includes

fighting unemployment, particularly among the youth. According to President

Bouteflika, the promotion of youth employment through the creation of microenterprises,

micro-credit programmes, pre-employment contracts, rural development

programmes and temporary employment schemes have shown good results. To

fight youth unemployment in Algeria, the government has launched an integrated

policy based on multi-level training activities and economic growth, stimulating and

enabling job creation and employment.

Addressing the Africa Group, on 7 June 2005, President Bouteflika reiterated that

Africa needs capacity for handling better dialogue among social partners. The 53

African states represented are a considerable force to make an impact in the

discussions within the ILO. He welcomed the commitment to the New Partnership

of Africa’s Development, and the importance of meeting the resolutions taken at the

special summit in Ouagadougou in September 2004.

President Obasanjo indicated that decent work and debt relief were needed to build a

" new Africa". The reduction of poverty and youth unemployment remains a critical

challenge. The AU had taken up the challenge by emphasising skills building,

agriculture, the expansion of the private sector, small and medium scale enterprise

development, and retraining as ways of creating jobs for unemployed youth and

adults.

Both Presidents addressed the plenary and the Africa Group.

The International Labour Conference elected the members of the Governing Body

for the period 2005-08 on 6 June. The Governing body is composed of 56 regular

members (28 governments, 19 employers and 19 workers). Cameroon, Kenya,

Malawi, Morocco Nigeria and South Africa were elected as six regular members

representing Africa.

The Conference, in terms of the Article 13(4) of the ILO Constitution, adopted a

resolution concerning the arrears of Armenia and the Republic of Moldova.

Report of the Chairperson of the Governing Body

The Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, Mr

llipe Seguin, presented his report on the work of the Governing Body covering

2004-05.

The presentation highlighted the aspects deserved special attention that related to

international labour standards. In this area the Governing Body invited the

Director-General to launch a campaign to promote the core Conventions of the

ILO, the integrated approach to standards-related activities, the consolidation of

maritime instruments and the revision of certain constitutional procedures.

However, this past year saw the adoption of a new version of the Memorandum

concerning the obligation to submit Conventions and Recommendations to the

competent authorities, as well as an introductory note to the Standing Orders

concerning the procedure for the examination of representations under Articles

24 and 25 of the Constitution of the ILO.

The Governing Body had handled numerous representations made under Article

24 and had taken decisions on the follow-up to complaints submitted under

Article 26 of the Constitution. These included the cases of non-observance of

Conventions by the Republic of Belarus and the Governments of Venezuela and

Myanmar.

In March 2005, the Committee on Technical Co-operation (CTC) examined and

approved the " Priorities and action plans for technical cooperation" under the

ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its followup,

which focused on freedom of association and effective recognition of the

right to collective bargaining. The action plan was based on the discussion of

the Global Report at the Conference in 2004. The CTC noted the action which

was carried out within the ILO’s biggest technical co-operation programme,

namely the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour

(IPEC).

In addition to the focus on technical cooperation, the year under review was

characterised by a very intense discussion of the Director-General’s proposals

for the Programme and Budget for 2006/07.

The Chairperson, on behalf of the Governing Body commended the impact of

the support the ILO gave to the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and

Government of the African Union on Employment and Poverty Alleviation in

Africa, which was held in Ouagoudou in September 2004.

At recent sessions of the Governing Body, the Working Party on the Social

Dimension of Globalisation concentrated on an examination of the best means of

promoting decent work as a global objective. The report noted that the efforts

by the ILO may attest to its will to place the Decent Work Agenda, notably, the

promotion of a tripartite approach to the framing of national and international

policies at the heart of strategies for economic, social and environmental

development. This synergy between action of the ILO to promote decent work

as a global objective and the activities of other organisations within the United

Nations family aimed at achieving the Millenium Development Goals and

meeting the targets of Poverty Reduction Strategy, offer a clear example of the

coherence that exists between the policies recommended by the World

Commission.

The Secretary General, Mr Somavia, informed the Conference that the global

employment crisis facing the world puts democracy, security and stability at risk

and needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency. "the global economy has

evolved into an ethical vaccum" with policies that many feel are organised too

much around market values and too little around human values. The overall

effect is more insecurity and less freedom. Concern was growing worldwide

over imbalances between globalisation and growth, and job creation. The

disconnection between economic growth and job creation must be repaired.

Employment and decent work must be moved fully into the mainstream of the

international development debate. Mr Somavia reflected on the agenda of the

ILC and supported initiatives such as efforts to help the youth find decent jobs,

address the issue of forced labour in the global economy, to finalise a

comprehensive new standard for the world’s fishing industry, to review the

impact of standards on hours of work, and to scrutinize the application of

Conventions and standards by ILO members states.

This Committee discusses and concludes the budget of the ILC. The items

discussed included the following:

The status of collection of contributions.

Assessment of the contributions of new member states.

The scale of assessment of contributions to the budget.

The composition of the Administrative Tribunal on the ILO.

Programme and budget proposal for 2006/7

In addition to deliberating on the budget, this Committee decides on the

programme to be followed. South Africa represented the views agreed to by

Africa. The latter is the biggest contributor among the African countries in the

ILO. United States, as the biggest contributor in the world, proposed the

reduction of the budget.

The Committee conclusions were as follows:

Endorse the expenditure budget for 2006/7

The developing countries, particularly Africa were expected to benefit from the

ILO Technical Programmes

Introduction

In June 2003 the ILC adopted a global strategy for occupational safety and

health (OSH). The aim was to build and maintain a preventative safety and

health culture, focused on the right to a safe and healthy environment and a

systematic approach to managing OSH. The strategy included:

* The promotion of OSH through raising awareness and advocacy;

* The ILO instruments such as standards (subject to the Committee on Safety and

Health), codes of practice and guides;

* Technical assistance and co-operation on OSH;

* Knowledge development, management and dissemination; and

* International collaboration.

In July 2004 the Office produced Report IV (I), titled "Promotional framework for

Occupational Safety and Health, which provided much technical background and

proposals for a new instrument on promotional framework for OSH. The same

report included a questionnaire about the way forward, and responses to this

questionnaire were summarised in Report IV (2). The second report included a

commentary prepared by the Office, together with the proposed conclusions for

discussion by the Committee.

The Committee met for its first sitting on 31 May 2005. It consisted of 192

members (73 Government members, 48 Employer members and 71 Worker

members). To achieve quality of voting strength, each Government member was

allotted 3 408 votes, each Employer member 5 183 votes and each Worker member

3 504 votes.

The Committee elected its Officers as follows:

Chairperson: Mr A Bekes (Government member, Hungary);

Vice Chairpersons: Mr C Lotter (Employer member, South Africa), and

Ms P Seminario (Worker member, United States)

Reporter: Mr A Annakin (Government member, New Zealand).

The Committee held 13 sittings with a view to discuss and finalise two crucial

elements in the process of establishing a promotional framework on Occupational

Safety and Health. According to the proposals, the Committee was expected to

come up with the following during this Conference:

1. Define the form of the instrument and,

2. The outline of the instrument. (This relates to the nature/structure of the

instrument).

The Office made a presentation on the report to the Committee and emphasized that

the discussions should culminate the form of a Convention and Recommendation.

Workers and the African Government members, as well as many European Union

countries supported the proposal by the Office. The Employer group, supported by

the Governments of the US, UK, Switzerland, Australia and the Netherlands

opposed this proposal and indicated that they were in favour of a declaration.

After a vote on the matter, it was decided to go the route of an instrument in a form

of a Convention and a Recommendation as proposed by the Office.

The committee proceeded on the remaining points of the proposed conclusions for

amendments to the text. The proposed amendments were as follows:

* The inclusion of a new point titled "National Policy"

This relates to national policy forming the framework on Occupational Safety and

Health (OSH) in a country.

This area has no major impact as it is currently being addressed through the process

of integrating Occupational Health and Safety and Compensation Commission

competencies.

Other changes related to shifting the clause on "National System" to come before

the one on "National Programme". This was informed by the fact that the national

programme is part of the implementation of the system.

This is the implementation component which includes identifying and targeting

high-risk areas as part of an OHS Programme. In the case of South Africa, these

include iron and steel, construction, agriculture, food and beverage sectors, as well

as the elimination of silicosis programme.

This outlines the OHS situation in a country. In the case of South Africa, the

situation relates to the process of integrating OHS and CC into a single competency

to deal with the problem of fragmentation, which causes inefficiency to the system.

The committee emphasised the promotion of OSH as part of the core objective on

the "decent work for all".

However, the final report was considered and adopted by the Committee on 13 June.

The latter was discussed and adopted during the plenary on 16 June. The 94th

session in 2006 will hold a second discussion on the matter with a view to establish

a new Convention and Recommendation.

Introduction

In accordance with Article 7 of the Standing Orders, the Conference set up a

Committee to consider and report on item III on the agenda, namely,

Information and Reports on the Application of Conventions and

Recommendations. The composition of the Committee included Government

delegates, Employer delegates and Worker delegates. In addition, 34

international non-governmental organisations were represented as observers.

The Committee elected its Officers as follows:

Chairperson: Mr Sergio Paixao Pardo (Government member, Brazil);

Vice Chairpersons: Mr Edward E. Potter (Employer member, US);

Mr Luc Cortebeeck (Worker member, Belgium);

Reporter: Ms Carine Parra (Government member, France)

The Committee considered information and reports supplied by Governments in

pursuance of Articles 19, 22 and 35 of the ILO Constitution on measures taken

to give effect to Conventions and Recommendations. In line with the indicated

Articles, the Committee’s discussions focussed on the following:

* Report of Experts on the Application of Standards and Recommendations

(Report III (Part 1A) of the 93rd Session of the ILC.

* The General Survey Report dealing with Hours of Work (industry) Convention

1919, (No. 1) and Hours of Work, (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930

(No. 30).

The first area of debate focussed on the ILO’s supervisory mechanisms, (Article

19 of the ILO Constitution on adoption of the International Labour Standards

and submission of the newly adopted instruments to the competent authority)

and the mandate of the Committee on the Application of Standards.

The Committee considered the General Survey – application of ratified or

unratified conventions. The extensive debate on the hours of work survey was

to ascertain whether hours of work should be fixed or flexible.

By the end of April 2005, 109 states had ratified eight fundamental Conventions

and 26 ratified seven.

During its second week, the Committee considered 25 individual cases relating

to the application of various Conventions. The examination of the individual

cases was based principally on the observations contained in the Committee of

Experts’ report, and oral and written explanations provided by the governments

concerned. However, time restrictions required the Committee to select a

limited number of individual cases among the Committee of Experts’

observations.

Social partner representatives and a number of countries expressed their

dissatisfaction on the working methods of the Committee.

Most developing countries, led by Cuba, raised their dissatisfaction at the

measures taken to deal with the revision of working methods. The question of

transparency and fairness was raised. Developing countries felt that the manner

in which countries are chosen to answer to the Committee marginalised most

members from developing countries. This was viewed as an abuse of power by

developed countries.

Emergent issues:

1. Competent authority:

Employers pointed out that the obligation to submit instruments adopted by

the ILC to the competent authorities arose from the ILO Constitution and

that the term "competent authority" referred to the legislature. They,

therefore urged Governments to comply with this obligation and, if

necessary, approach the ILO for technical assistance. The worker

representative supported this position.

2. Working method of the Committee:

The request by developing countries for transparency and a fair procedure in the

identification and listing of countries to appear before the Committee was not

addressed. This matter needs to be addressed as the Committee continues to

engage in political matters of member states.

3. Hours of Work:

The majority of member states supported the proposal that there should be no

amendments to the Conventions and that the hours of work remain as they are in

both Conventions 1 and 30. It became abundantly clear in the debate that no

member was opposed to the flexible observation of minimum standards.

Members proposed that an urgent meeting of experts be called to probe further

whether there was justification to tamper with the provisions of Conventions 1

and 30, and whether a new international instrument was necessary. It was

agreed that the Governing Body should ensure a tripartite involvement in the

envisaged process.

The Committee also debated the issue of respect for obligations. A number of

countries listed were called to account for failing to report on their obligations.

These were Afghanistan, Armenia, Cambodia, Haiti, Loa People’s Democratic

Republic, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Turkmenistan and

Uzbekistan.

A government representative indicated that the new Ministry of Labour, with the

technical assistance of the ILO, would make every effort to submit to the

competent authorities the instruments adopted at the 82nd session of the

Conference. Other countries failed to respond as they were registered but not

accredited with the Committee, and therefore could not furnish their responses.

The Committee expressed its dissatisfaction at the latter situation.

The general feeling was that some of these countries’ conditions of conflict,

poverty and lack of capacity should be considered.

Regarding countries that were on the list of violations of Conventions, the

Committee dealt with these cases in the following manner:

Unions had alleged that Government had deprived them of their right to strike

and their members killed. The Government had repeatedly pointed out that the

existence of the drug cartels were responsible for these activities. The

Committee Chairperson was invited to visit the country for a first-hand

experience of the developments.

The Committee condemned all acts of violence and requested the Government to

provide detailed reports on developments at its next meeting. The Government

was also requested to report on progress made with regards to finalised murder

cases

Russia Federation: Convention 87 - Freedom of Association and

Protection of Rights to Strike

The workers alleged that the current legislation was restricting their right to

strike. The process was tedious and restrictive in that a strike could only take

place with the involvement of a two-thirds majority. Employees, especially

those with two jobs, were not allowed to strike.

Government indicated that it was in the process of amending legislation to bring

it in line with the Convention.

The Committee requested Government to take all necessary measures to speed-

up the process of finalising the legislative amendments.

Panama: Convention 87 - Freedom of Association and Protection of Rights

to Strike

(1) The limitation on the number of party representatives in the collective

bargaining process. This allows interference with the autonomy of trade

unions.

(2) The imposed penalty for withdrawing from a collective agreement.

(3) The imposition of conditions on the establishment of trade unions for

civil servants.

The Committee was concerned that the ILO had not yet afforded Panama the

necessary assistance despite the request. It urged the Government to resolve

other problems through dialogue.

Swaziland: Convention 87 - Freedom of Association and Protection of Rights

to strike

The complaints related to the following:

* The enactment of the Internal Security Bill.

* The interference of government in trade union activities.

* The scope of the Industrial Relations Act on the Prison Services.

Workers alleged that the existence of the Internal Security Bill was intended to

harass the unionists. They further alleged that the Government activities led to

the death of a unionist. The process before unions could result in industrial

action.

The Government responded by pointing out that there was no such bill in

existence. The process was terminated four years ago after discontent from the

general community. The Government also indicated that it had no knowledge of

any fatality during the said demonstration, and challenged the unions to produce

evidence of such a death.

With respect to the allegation around the scope of the Industrial Relations Act on

the Prison Services, the Government contended that the matter was under

consideration in order to comply with the Convention since prison staff is

regarded as "armed forces" in the Kingdom.

The Government further illustrated progress made seeking to practically effect

the provisions of the Convention. They indicated that the current constitutional

process in the country, which has reached draft constitution status, takes into

account the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms.

In his intervention, the worker representative outlined their frustrations as

workers on the exclusive nature of the process of constitutional consultations

and how power still resided power in the hands of the head of state.

Governments from almost all the developing countries supported the

Government by appreciating progress made especially relating to amendments

made in an endeavour to comply with the Convention.

Swaziland appreciated the comments made and reiterated its position that no

unionist was killed as claimed by the unions. According to them this was further

strengthened by the failure of the unions to provide any evidence of this

incident.

Both employers and workers called for Swaziland to accept a high-level mission

that would investigate the alleged killing. It should also look into the

implementation of the amendments and how these are put into practice.

Employers emphasised the need for the Government to implement social

dialogue.

The Committee noted that no deaths occurred during the protest action. It

requested the government to hold meaningful consultation with social partners

on the draft constitution to ensure that none of its articles would have effect of

contravening the Convention, and that its adoption would have the effect of

repealing the 1973 decree, as well as number 11, 12 and 13 decrees. The

government was also requested to take necessary measures to eliminate the

remaining discrepancies between law and practice. The government should

provide a copy of the draft Constitution to the Committee of Experts. The

Committee also urged the government to accept a high-level mission to establish

a meaningful framework for social dialogue.

NIGER: Convention 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions alleged that Niger was

practicing the worst forms of child labour in that young girls were trafficked for

domestic work and sexual exploitation, whilst young boys were used for

economic exploitation. Niger was therefore in violation of Convention 182.

The Government of Niger argued that its country was again being accused under

this Convention. It indicated that it had ratified eight fundamental Conventions,

including Convention 182, as part of the process of eradicating human rights

violations.

However, the Government denied that the country practised child labour as well

as child trafficking within its territory. The Government of Niger appealed to

the Committee to remove its name from the list. Several countries confirmed on

behalf of the Government of Niger that no such practices were in place in Niger

and called on the Committee to remove its name from the list.

The Committee shared the same concerns as the Committee of Experts that such

practices were harmful to the welfare and health of children, and indicated that

the Government should enhance its efforts to eradicate child labour.

Recommendations made to the Government of Niger were as follows:

(1) It should ensure access to free education, especially in rural areas.

(2) It should remove all minor children below 18 years from begging and

working in the mines and quarries.

(3) It should provide additional information to the Committee.

(4) Since it denies the existence of child labour, a fact-finding mission

should be carried out to establish this fact. It should seek technical

assistance from the ILO.

The Government of Turkey was accused of refusing workers, specially those in

the public sector, to exercise their right to organise themselves and to join trade

unions. Article 2 of the Convention provides that workers without distinction

have the right to organise and to join any trade union of their choice.

The Government stated that it had already amended its labour egislation to bring

it in line with the Convention. In addition, workers in Turkey were free to join

any Union they wished within their sectors. Turkey was in compliance with the

provisions of Convention 87. The worker and employer representatives from

Turkey confirmed that there was freedom of association in their country. The

listing of their country was a surprise to them. This was conceded to by the

biggest federation in Turkey and supported by other countries.

The Committee concluded that government should put measures and procedures

in place to ensure that there is proper consultation with respect to the ratification

of Conventions. It should provide the Committee with a detailed report of the

developments. The Government should promote dialogue with social partners

and ensure consultation. Lastly, it should seek technical assistance from the

ILO.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) raised a concern around the

Government’s continued anti-trade union activities based on the fact that the

Labour Relations Act requires collective agreements to be submitted for

Ministerial approval, and be published as statutory instruments in order for them

to be in force. A provision to fix maximum wages was still in force.

The ZCTU further alleged that the Government was not prepared to engage in

tripartite negotiations, and that the latter system lacked a governing statute and

relied on the will of the Government to be convened.

There was a difference of opinion among other ZCTU representatives who

challenged the allegations expressed by the General Secretary. This position

was supported by the employer representatives from Zimbabwe, who pointed

out that the labour laws were very sound. They were surprised at the allegations

levelled against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe maintained that this development was

another way of being targeted for political reasons. The Government

representative of Zimbabwe expressed a concern at the procedures used for the

selection of the individual cases to be examined by the Conference Committee.

He, therefore, called for a review of the working methods of the Committee,

especially with regard to the criteria and reasons for the selection of individual

cases.

All African countries commended the Government of Zimbabwe for the

progress made with regard to amendments as proposed by the Committee in

2004. They indicated their surprise at Zimbabwe being on the list and

questioned the workings of the Committee, especially with regard to identifying

countries that should appear for alleged violations. The African position was

supported by the Governments of Cuba and China.

Some members of the Industrialised Market Economy Countries (IMEC)

suggested that the government of Zimbabwe should accept a direct contact

mission and technical assistance from the ILO in order to bring its laws in line

with the Convention.

The Committee noted that the government had informed the committee of

experts that the provision concerning Ministerial approval of collective

agreements was being amended and urged the Government to take all the

necessary measures to make the law and practice comply with the Convention.

It further requested the Government to submit a clear and comprehensive report

to the committee of experts, which contained information on all problems

indicated in the complaint. The Government was urged to obtain technical

assistance from the ILO.

The Committee concluded its work and adopted the report, which was in turn

adopted by the Conference.

Introduction

The fishing sector had been identified as a sector that required attention as a

result of the nature of work that is performed in the sector and the current

provisions that do not apply to fishermen. These provisions do not take into

account the nature of the fishing operations, employment relations, and other

issues of social protection.

The first discussion on a comprehensive standard (a Convention supplemented

by a Recommendation) on work in the fishing sector took place at the 92nd

Session (2004) of the ILC.

Following that discussion, the Labour Office prepared and submitted to the

governments of member states Report V (1), which contained a proposed

Convention and Recommendation based on the conclusions adopted by the ILC

at its 92nd Session.

The Committee held its first sitting on 31 May 2005. Originally it consisted of

123 members (54 Government, 21 Employer and 48 Worker representatives).

The Committee elected its Officers as follows:

Chairperson: Mr F Riberio Lopez (Government representative,

Portugal) at its first sitting.

Vice Chairperson: Ms R Karikari Anang (Employer representative, Ghana)

and

Mr P Mortensen (Worker representative, Denmark) at its first sitting.

Reporter: Mr G Boumbopolous (Government representative,

Greece) at its second sitting.

The Committee held 16 sittings and considered Reports V(2A) and V(2B) as

prepared by the office as the fifth item of the agenda of the Conference.

South Africa was represented by the following persons:

Mr N Campbell (Government representative)

Mr V Seafield (Government representative)

Mr K Masemola ( Worker representative)

Mr R Manda ( Employer representative)

However, the discussions at the 93rd Session were a follow-up to the first

discussions that were held in June 2004, as well as those that were held in December

2004 with a tripartite committee of experts on the fishing sector. The Committee

of Experts dealt with issues such as the provision of accommodation, the

construction of vessels in accordance with the provisions of the sectoral

determination, noise and vibration control and other provisions of a technical nature.

The 93rd session attempted to refine the current draft, social security protection for

fishers and special provisions for larger vessels.

Issues dealt with were as follows:

Special provisions for large vessels

* The provisions on accommodation on vessels of 24 metres (in length) has to a

large extent been finalised. This included issues of accommodation, mess

rooms, medical care provisions and occupational health and safety provisions.

* Since different member states use different measurement provisions, a set of

equivalent measures with respect to tonnage have been agreed upon.

* Certain provisions for larger vessels have also been extended to vessels that

remain at sea for longer than three days.

Social Security

* Social security protection should be extended to all fishers in line with national

legislation, policy and practice. It should be noted that the social security

convention 102 of the ILO specifically excluded fishers.

* This protection should be afforded to all fishers that are ordinarily resident in the

member state, irrespective of the nationality of the fisher.

* Where bi-national agreements exist, provision should be made that where non–

national fishers choose to return to their countries, they should be able to ’take’

their benefits with them. This is only required where bi-national agreements

exist or where provision is made for this in such agreements.

With respect to the position that has been forwarded at the African Union

Labour and Social Affairs Commission, South Africa confident that we will

meet those objectives.

The Committee discussed and finalised the text with regard to social security.

This seemed to be a contentious area for the Committee as a number of member

states were against the extension of social security to fishers, whether nationals

or non-nationals. This was due to the contributory nature of some social security

systems in certain countries.

The Committee agreed to a text that effectively accepted that the extension of

social security to fishers should be done in terms of national laws, practice and

regulations. The latter takes into consideration the position of individual

member states on whether national legislation makes such provision or not, and

is in line with the position that was agreed at the African Union Labour and

Social Affairs Commission meeting. In a situation where such a right has been

extended to non-nationals, the maintenance of social security should be

protected in bi-lateral agreements or arrangements where they exist or where

new ones are negotiated.

With respect to accommodation, greater flexibility was arrived at with the

introduction of a clause that allowed for substantial equivalence. This would

allow for member states to have conditions that are substantially equivalent to

those set in the Convention, in the event that members found it difficult to

comply with.

Issues dealt with by the Committee were as follows:

* Amendment to the ANNEX III of the Convention.

* Amendments to article 37.

* The size of vessel for which the special provisions that are proposed should be

applicable.

* Amendments to the section of the proposed recommendation that deals with

accommodation.

* Coming into force of the Convention

* Revision of the existing fishing Conventions (5)

The Committee dealt with amendments to the Annex of Convention III as it relates

to standards of accommodation for fishing vessels and special provisions for vessels

larger than 24 metres.

A new article was proposed for fishing vessel owners with respect to employer

liability in terms of medical care where a fisher is on foreign soil. This requires the

fishing vessel owner to be responsible for the cost of medical care as well as related

maintenance costs whilst the fisher is sick or injured. The flexibility that is provided

in terms of this article is that the cost could be recouped if the fisher acted

fraudulently.

With respect to the closing articles of the convention, the following two issues were

agreed upon:

With respect to the Fishermen’s Competency Certificates Convention of 1966, these

Conventions could not be ratified by member states that still wished to ratify it but

member states that have already ratified it, would continue reporting on them.

South Africa has not ratified any of these Conventions.

The Committee agreed that the Convention would come into effect when at least 10

member states had ratified the Convention with at least eight of them being from the

coastal states. It further agreed that previous fisher Conventions would be revised

automatically if a member state ratified the new proposed Convention. The only

existing fisher Convention that would not be revised was the one on a fisher’s

vocational training.

The text of the proposed recommendation was amended and provided a set of

guidelines for member states to utilize when they implemented the Convention.

It was reported that the ILO had launched a campaign against the trafficking of

women and children.

The following matters were identified and outlined in the AU Labour and Social

Affairs Commission and were agreed to by the Conference.

* Social Security.

* Different standards to be applicable to larger vessels.

* Identity documentation for fishers.

* The size standard that would differentiate small vessels from larger vessels.

The following draft resolutions were proposed for submission to the plenary on 15

June.

(1) The impact of the earthquake and Tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean

This resolution was meant to request the Director-General of the ILO, when using

the resources of the organisation, to use the expertise at its disposal in order to make

a contribution to the labour market, employment and social protection needs of the

affected countries.

(2) Social security protection in the fishing sector

The ILO should promote social security protection for fishers and prepare a global

report on the provision of social security protection for fishers.

(3) The impact of globalisation of the fishing sector

This resolution proposed to the ILO that a report be developed after examining the

impact of globalisation on the fishing sector. The report should include the growing

employment or engagement of non-domiciled fishers.

(4) Occupational diseases and injuries in the fishing sector

The proposal was aimed at the examination of occupational diseases and injuries

affecting fishers by the ILO and the World Health Organisation, and the impact on

both the fishing sector and fishers and their dependants.

(5) Technical cooperation relating to work in the fishing sector

This proposal requested the ILO to assist countries by providing technical expertise

to member states that wanted to ratify the proposed Convention.

The manner in which issues were dealt with was appreciated, as matters were

resolved through consensus. In the event of disagreements, parties would ask for an

adjournment so that the spokesperson could consult his or her principals.

These resolutions were not adopted although they were noted in the report on the

work of the Committee. On 16 June, the Conference had to vote on the instrument.

However, pertinent pints emerged from the vote and it was lost by lack of one vote

as both governments and worker voters were not in plenary. It was agreed that the

matter should be placed on the agenda of the 2007 ILC for both a Convention and a

Recommendation.

This Committee engaged in discussions and debate on challenges and

approaches to the problems of youth employment.

Youth unemployment was identified as a global challenge that warranted an

integrated approach.

In 2004, the ILO organised a tripartite meeting on Youth Employment to

identify initial areas of agreement for discussion. This meeting produced a

substantive document, which together with the contents of a report of the general

survey of the Committee on the Application of Standards and Recommendations

on Employment Promotion, informed the discussion document for the ILC

Committee on Youth Employment.

Specific areas that informed the discussion were identified as follows:

(1) The major disadvantages faced by young people in the labour market and

the possible consequences of their lack of access to decent work

Discussions around this matter concluded that challenges facing young

people were multi-dimensional. Issues such as the demand and supply of

labour, and the lack of demand for labour due to a lack of investments

and low economic growth were identified as factors impact negatively on

employment.

Other points of agreement raised related to factors such as lack of

relevant skills and labour market information. The former related to

what has been identified as a mismatch between education and skills

required by the industry. The outcome of this situation is availability of

skills not demanded by the industry thus contributing to unemployment.

Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the African Group, emphasised the

importance of youth employment in alleviating poverty on the continent.

This position, supported by South Africa, is in line with the resolutions

of the AU Labour and Social Affairs Commission meeting held in

Johannesburg in April 2005. It was emphasised that Youth Employment

should not be viewed in isolation from the overall unemployment

problem, especially in Africa.

(2) Components of the package of policies, and programmes that encourage

decent work for young people

Discussions on this topic touched on a wide-array of policies required to

address the challenge of youth unemployment. These included

interventions relating to education and training, entrepreneurship

development and the support for small and medium enterprise

development.

The Committee supported the identified policy options. The Africa group

emphasised the importance of the development of co-operatives in

attempting to address the challenge of youth unemployment.

South Africa was concerned at whether having identified all these

interventions as discussed before, it would not be appropriate to check if

there were structural problems, which these policies are unable to

address. This position, supported by other Committee members, was

informed by the need to shift from focusing on discussions to the

implementation programme.

(3) Respective roles of Governments, employer and worker organisations in

promoting pathways to decent work for young women and men

The Committee concluded that this responsibility could not be borne by

governments only, as it was an inclusive responsibility. There was a

need to engage social partners and other interested parties. This position

was informed by the realisation that persistent youth unemployment has

serious implications to all social partners.

(4) The establishment of a new instrument by the ILO that will focus on

youth employment

The ILO needed to get an indication whether it should begin a process of

establishing a Convention that would specifically focus on youth

employment. Discussion on this matter received a negative response to

such an approach. Member states argued that there was a plethora of

instruments in existence that supported employment. It was concluded

that the ILO needed to strengthen the supervisory mechanism in order to

enhance the existing instruments.

The Committee reached consensus on the causes, implications and

necessary policy interventions related to the identified problem. There

was no contentious area of disagreement as the discussions confirmed the

same issues identified by forums that met before this session.

Conclusions

The issues and challenges reflected the same issues as those that related

to opportunities brought by young workers into the working

environment. It was realised that young workers seek employment in

diverse surroundings, and that there was lack of alignment between skills

and education.

On the policies and programmes, the one-size fits all approach was not

applicable. There was a need for a coherent approach that combines

macro- and microeconomic intervention. Governments needed some

space in the formulation of policies and should most importantly place

growth and employment generation at the centre of their national policy

objectives.

The action plan, however, called upon the ILO to amongst other things-

* Work closely with the Youth Employment Network (YEN);

* Expand knowledge through the gathering of factual data and

empirical evidence on the effectiveness of country policies;

* Facilitate global peer partnerships;

* Develop a research agenda that includes an evaluation strategy;

* Strengthen research and knowledge dissemination on the 10 core

elements in the ILO Global Employment Agenda.

The ILO was also called upon to undertake, as part of the advocacy a

campaign to promote these conclusions.

The Committee stressed that the ILO should as part of the technical

assistance-

* Intensify the provision of guidance and policy advice, particularly

to developing countries;

* Enhance capacity of employers and workers organisations to

effectively participate in the setting of policies;

* Assist developing countries in establishing and strengthening

inspection services.

The ILO was also called upon to maximise the comparative advantage of

its tripartite structures in its activities to promote decent work.

In line with the Conference procedures, the conclusions of the

Committee were supported by a Resolution that invited the Governing

Body to give due consideration to these conclusions in its planning for

future activities around youth employment and for the Director-General

to give consideration to these in his implementation of the budget for the

2006-07 financial year.

The Committee adopted its report, which will be used as a basis for

future discussions on the matter.

A sub-regional conference on youth employment was convened by the

ILO in Zimbabwe in October 2005. The objective was to discuss

challenges for Southern Africa and further develop strategies on how to

address this problem.

The YEN, a structure established to connect global youth employment

initiatives, held a side event in which countries shared their experiences

on youth employment. What emerged from this discussion was an

emphasis on the need for collectivity, that is, the involvement of social

partners and youth structures in challenges posed by this problem. The

UK, through its Africa partnership initiative, expressed its willingness to

assist in funding some of the initiatives by the Office supporting member

states in their approaches.

Conclusions of the Conference

(1) Countries should develop action plans outlining interventions in dealing with

youth employment.

(2) Identify sectors with high potential for youth employment.

(3) Gather factual data on the effectiveness of country policies and

interventions.

(1) The Committee’s delegation to the ILC should be increased and each member

should be opportunity to attend.

(2) The DOL should strengthen the level of engagement with social partners in

preparation for the ILC.

(3) The Committee should consider inviting all stakeholders from the youth

structures to discuss matters related to youth employment