Employers' Handbook on ILO Standards-related Activities

ILS AND EMPLOYERS
systems. Because of this flexibility the Convention had a model character and
should be ratified.
l Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156)
The employers noted at the ILC in 1993 that this Convention sought to promote an
evolution in the family responsibility roles of men and women. Since these roles,
however, depended on cultural traditions, individual values and attitudes, changes
lent themselves only in a limited way to standard-setting. Moreover, the instrument
was overloaded with comprehensive and ideal targets, which did not allow
for any real flexibility in implementation, although very few specific measures
were stipulated. Nevertheless, the employers supported the objective of creating
conditions which would enable workers to combine their family and occupational
responsibilities to the greatest extent possible, not least because their full potential
and capability would otherwise be lost. Therefore, the employers continued to
promote a more harmonious combination of these responsibilities.
l Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (No. 158)
At the ILC in 1995, the employers noted that this Convention as a whole set very
high and demanding requirements. The majority of ILO member States had some
form of protection in this field which was generally, however, below rather than
above the standards set by the Convention. This also explained the relatively small
number of ratifications. Employers had an own interest in retaining workers, particularly
when they had invested in their training. However, any protection beyond
the simple prohibition of arbitrary dismissal complicated the capacity of enterprises
to adapt to operational or general economic changes. One serious problem
in this respect was Article 9 of the Convention regarding burden of proof, which
was linked by the Committee of Experts “to the principle whereby in labour disputes
legal provisions must be interpreted in favour of the worker.” Similarly, Article
12, which required the payment of a severance allowance even in case of
justified dismissal was seen as inadequate. The employers believed that the Convention
should, for these reasons, be revised.
l Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983
(No.159)
As regards this instrument, the employers at the ILC in 1998 commended the efforts
made by the ILO to improve the situation of persons with disabilities, who
made up a particularly disadvantaged category of the population. The Convention
defined disability in terms of difficulty in securing and advancing in suitable employment.
The employers appreciated this concept and they also stressed the flexibility
of the instrument. For example, the provisions on vocational rehabilitation
allowed each country to adopt the measures which were most suitable for its particular
national situation. The instrument avoided rigid definitions and aims and
was promotional in character.
For more detail, see:
l ILO: Reports of the Conference Committee on the Application of Conventions and
Recommendations, in particular Part One: General Report (Reports requested
under art. 19 of the Constitution), in: Record of Proceedings, International Labour
Conference (Geneva, yearly).
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