wcms_161662

Introduction
1. At its 298th Session (March 2007), the Governing Body of the International Labour Office
endorsed a proposal to hold a tripartite meeting on promoting social dialogue and good
industrial relations from oil and gas exploration and production to oil and gas
distribution. 1 It also adopted new directions for the Sectoral Activities Programme, which
include the creation of advisory bodies to review the content and type of sectoral activities
in order to assist the Office in its work with the Governing Body. 2 In accordance with this
decision, the Advisory Body on Energy and Mining was set up. Its responsibilities include
advising the tripartite meeting. At its meeting on 2 October 2007, the Advisory Body
provided the Office with its recommendations to be submitted to the 300th Session of the
Governing Body (November 2007), which included the recommendation that the Office’s
report for discussion at the tripartite meeting (this report) should focus on exploration,
production and refining in the oil industry.
2. At its 300th Session, the Governing Body further decided, in accordance with the
recommendations of the Advisory Body on Energy and Mining, that the tripartite meeting
should focus on recent developments, employment, industrial relations and social dialogue
issues in the oil production and oil transportation sectors; that participants should identify
the key elements that underpin good industrial relations, including core labour standards,
collective labour agreements and voluntary initiatives to strengthen social dialogue; and
that they should also identify benefits to the industry from improvements in working
conditions and measures to render the industry more attractive to qualified workers,
including training and career development. It was also decided that the meeting would
discuss the implications of contract work in the sector; that the Office would prepare a
report, which could be used as a basis for discussion; and that the meeting should adopt
conclusions that include practical guidance for strengthening social dialogue and
promoting good industrial relations, including proposals for action by governments, by
employers’ and workers’ organizations at the international, regional and national levels,
and by the ILO. 3 It was also decided that, after consultations with the respective groups,
12 Employer and 12 Worker participants would be invited to take part in the meeting and
that the governments of all member States would be invited to nominate participants to
attend the meeting. In addition, it was decided that a representative of the Governing Body
would be appointed to chair the meeting. 4
3. The meeting is part of the ILO’s Sectoral Activities Programme, the purpose of which is to
facilitate the exchange of information among constituents on labour and social
developments related to particular economic sectors, complemented by practically oriented
research on topical sectoral issues. This objective has traditionally been pursued by holding
international tripartite sectoral meetings for the exchange of opinions and experience, with
1 ILO: Report of the Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues, Governing
Body, 298th Session, Geneva, Mar. 2007, GB.298/12(Rev.), para. 51.
2 ibid., para. 40.
3 ILO: Purpose, duration and composition of the activities to be held in 2008 and new proposals for
activities in 2008–09, including proposals resulting from the groupings of the sectors’ advisory
bodies, Governing Body, 300th Session, Nov. 2007, GB.300/STM/1, para. 8.
4 ibid., para. 9; and ILO: Report of the Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related
Issues, Governing Body, 300th Session, Geneva, Nov. 2007, GB.300/16, para. 30.
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