Employers' Handbook on ILO Standards-related Activities

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EMPLOYERS’ HANDBOOK ON ILO STANDARDS-RELATED ACTIVITIES
l Supervision of ILS: As from 1995/96, the reporting procedures of the regular supervision
have been streamlined and focused on fundamental and priority Conventions.
The new reporting procedures were introduced for a trial period of five
years; they are presently being revisited.
l Renewal of existing ILS: In 1994, the GB set up a standing Working Party on
Policy regarding the Revision of Standards whose task is to assess and classify
existing ILS (except fundamental and priority Conventions and instruments
adopted since 1985). The Working Party has identified a significant number of ILS
which it considers obsolete or in need of revision. In 1997, the ILC adopted
amendments to the Constitution as well as to its Standing Orders providing for the
withdrawal and abrogation of obsolete Conventions. For the abrogation to be
applied, the constitutional amendment has yet to enter into force (see Chapter VI).
l Promotion of fundamental ILS: In 1995, the Director-General launched a ratification
campaign regarding the fundamental Conventions with a view to promoting
their universal ratification and implementation.
l Setting of ILS: In 1997, with a view to improving the selection of standard-setting
items, procedural changes were introduced, involving a more comprehensive list
of items developed in direct consultation with ILO constituents. Further proposals
for changes in standard-setting were made in the reports of the Director-General to
the ILC in 1997 and 1999 (see the excerpts in Appendices 6 and 7).
Recently, the reform discussion has gained further momentum:
“If the ILO is to ensure its continued relevance in this field and reassert the
usefulness of international standards, it will need to reinvigorate its efforts
and experiment with new approaches. ... This debate should be extended and
deepened.”
Decent work, Report of the Director-General, International Labour Conference,
87th Session, Geneva, 1999, p. 15.
l At its annual meeting in May 2000, the General Council of the IOE adopted a
position paper on standards reform (see Appendix 8) and the employers’ group of
the ILC submitted a draft resolution on this subject to the ILC in June 2000.
l In November 2000, an Office proposal for an “integrated approach” to ILS activities
was discussed and approved by the GB. This new approach, which takes up
many elements from the above IOE position paper, aims at better integrating ILS
with one another and with other means of ILO action (see box entitled “The integrated
approach” on the following page).
l Also in November 2000, employers and workers in the GB agreed on a “Basis for
common understanding” regarding future ILS activities which could open the
door to more consensual standard-setting.
l The Joint Maritime Commission of the ILO at its meeting in January 2001 decided
to embark on a comprehensive overhaul of all existing ILO maritime labour standards
(see box entitled “The maritime approach to standards reform” on the following
page).