Employers' Handbook on ILO Standards-related Activities

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EMPLOYERS’ HANDBOOK ON ILO STANDARDS-RELATED ACTIVITIES
taken of the interests and needs of the enterprise, and of the link between the
training and the job carried out.
l Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142)
Also at the ILC in 1991, the employers stressed the importance and topicality of
this instrument. They also noted the enormous scope of its concept and its impact
on extended domains of social life and economic development. The Convention
had a “promotional” character and was therefore flexible by nature. The latter was
particularly important because the content of vocational training and vocational
guidance could be very different in an industrialized economy, an agricultural
country or a developing nation.
l Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143)
At the ILC in 1999, the employers expressed the view that the character of migration
had changed to such an extent since the Convention was adopted, that even the
key terms of the instrument were no longer universally accepted. For instance, the
Convention made no distinction between migration for permanent settlement and
temporary migration, nor did it allow operating on the basis of reciprocity. Following
the oil price shock of 1973, the Convention sought to restrain migration,
whereas in today’s integrating world economy, migration was inevitable. For all
these reasons, the employers believed that the Convention should be revised.
l Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976
(No. 144)
At the ILC in 2000, the employers considered this Convention to be one of the
most successful ILO instruments both in terms of ratification and effective application.
It was “a very flexible instrument which prescribed in simple terms what
logic and common sense dictated with regard to consultations on ILO standards”.
In particular, the nature and form of the procedures for consultation were left to
national practice. An essential point was that consultations had to be carried out
with employers’ and workers’ organizations, which had a particular responsibility
in social and labour matters. This point distinguished them from NGOs.
l Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147)
The employers noted at the ILC in 1990 the comprehensive and, at the same time,
flexible character of this instrument, in that it required ratifying States to adopt
legislation “substantially equivalent” (Art. 2 (a)) to Conventions mentioned in the
Appendix. They also stressed that the Convention had a greater influence in the
world than the relatively small number of ratifications suggested, owing to provisions
which allowed port State intervention.
l Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150)
The employers emphasized at the ILC in 1997 that employment laws and regulations
would be worthless if there were no system of labour administration to assess
and enforce compliance. In this respect, Convention No. 150 provided a structure,
general guidelines and an institutional framework. The instrument was short and
composed of clear general principles, which gave ratifying States a great deal of
discretion as regards implementation. The provisions of the Convention did not,
for the most part, impose an obligation to produce specific results, but rather encouraged
ratifying States to use their best efforts to improve labour administration