DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR

1. DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Labour 9 March 2007

2. Instrument for the Amendment of the Constitution of the ILO The instrument provides for a new paragraph to Article 19 of the Constitution: • This Article governs the Adoption of Conventions and Recommendations and Members’ obligations in their respect; • The Governing Body of the ILO placed the draft amendment on the agenda of the Conference in 1997, • The Instrument of Amendment was adopted by the Conference on 19 June 1997.

3. Aim of the Instrument of Amendment • The Constitutional amendment is part of a series of initiatives to reinforce the relevance, impact and coherence of the ILO’s normative system. • By allowing the abrogation of certain conventions, the constitutional amendment answers the question: what to do with international conventions that are ineffective or outdated.

4. Continued • The abrogation of obsolete conventions involves their removal from the ILO’s body of standards.; • It satisfies legal requirements and constitutes a practical and effective way of updating the body of standards; • The relevance, impact and coherence of the system would be enhanced.

5. What is the effect of Abrogation 1. It is to eliminate definitively all legal effects arising out of the convention between the Organisation and its members; • Thus, members that have ratified the convention are no longer obliged to submit reports under Article 22 of the Constitution and can no longer be subject to representations and complaints for non-observance of the Convention. • The abrogation of a convention in no way implies that members must revoke the legislative or other measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Convention internally.

6. When will the Instrument of Amendment enter into force? 1. It will enter into force once ratified or accepted by two-thirds of the members of the Organisation which means 120 States out of 179, including five of the ten members of Chief Industrial importance 2. The total number of ratifications and acceptances currently stands at 81.

7. The new paragraph By a majority of two-thirds of the votes of delegates present, the Conference, acting on a proposal of the Governing Body, may abrogate any Convention adopted in accordance with the provisions of this article if it appears that the Convention has lost its purpose or that it no longer makes a useful contribution to attaining the objectives of the Organisation.

8. Briefing on the International Labour Conference 1. The ILC will be held from 30 May- 15 June 2007. 2. The agenda of the conference is: Standing items: • Reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the Director General • Global report under the follow up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at work

9. Cont • Programme and Budget proposals for 2008/09. • Information and reports on the application of Conventions and Recommendations

10. Items placed on the agenda by the Conference or the Governing Body • Work in the Fishing Sector- Standard setting, with a view to the adoption of a Convention and Recommendation. • Strengthening the ILO’s capacity to assist members’ efforts to reach its objectives in the context of globalisation- General discussion • The promotion of sustainable enterprises- General discussion.

11. Reports of the Chairperson of the GB and of the Director General • The Chairperson of the GB will submit a report to the Conference on the work carried out by the Governing Body from June 2006 to June 2007. • The Director General will submit a report to the Conference which will invite participants to provide guidance to the ILO in shaping its action to best serve Members’ needs as the Organisation approaches its 90th anniversary.

12. Global report under the follow-up to the Declaration • The follow –up calls on the Director General to issue a report each year providing a dynamic global picture relating to one of the four categories of fundamental principles and rights. • This year the Global report will focus on the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, both in member States that have, as well as those that have not yet, ratified the relevant fundamental conventions.

13. Work in the Fishing Sector-Standard Setting • The item was discussed in 2004 and 2005 under the double discussion procedure. • In 2005, the Convention concerning work in the Fishing Sector was not adopted due to a lack of quorum when the text was submitted to a vote. • The accompanying Recommendation was adopted. • The Conference requested the GB to place an item again on the agenda for this session

14. Continued • The Legal adviser considered that it would be necessary to review the Recommendation that had been adopted.

15. Strengthening the ILO’s capacity to assist its Members-General discussion • The report addresses the multidimensional question of the ILO’s capacity to promote its constitutional objectives efficiently in the radically changed environment of the 21st century. • Two main categories of questions can be distinguished: The first relates to the ILO’s internal governance and possible improvements that could be introduced to a number of its modus operandi with a view to obtaining a more coherent appreciation of trends and needs among its members in respect of the strategic objectives;

16. Continued to promoting a better understanding of the synergies and interactions between those objectives; and to ensuring a more systematic coordination of the Organisation’s means of providing more effective assistance to Members, with a verifiable impact. The second category relates to the policy issue of the opportunities and possible ways to encourage Members better to direct their efforts towards the objectives, as part o an integrated social policy.

17. The Promotion of sustainable enterprises-General discussion • There is a wide-ranging international debate on the promotion of enterprises and a growing recognition of the central role of the private sector in addressing key development challenges, including employment creation; • A report has been prepared which takes stock of these developments and experiences from an ILO decent work perspective with particular emphasis on the means of strengthening the contribution of enterprises to productive and equitable economic and employment growth;

18. Continued • The report includes a review of contemporary thinking, experiences, and emerging good practices in the promotion of enterprises, illustrating how trends and paradigms have evolved in recent times • The report explores the concept of sustainable enterprises in terms of factors both internal and external to the enterprise. • The intended outcomes are:

19. Continued • A stocktaking of the International debate on the role of the private sector and sustainable enterprise in overall social and economic development, and an assessment of the relevance and implications of this trend for the implementation of the ILO’s Decent work agenda; • An ILO contribution, centered on the Decent Work Agenda, to the global debate on the role of the private sector in overall social and economic development;

20. Continued • Recommendations for ILO work to enhance coherent policies and strategies that promote decent work through sustainable enterprise development.