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CHAPTER III
NOTE OF DISCUSSIONS
The following paragraphs briefly summarise discussions which took place in the seminar on the working papers presented to it, with a view to highlighting the significant concerns expressed by the participants and to indicating possible sclu- tions proposed to particular problems. The summary of discussions should not, however, be regarded as a complete record of the seminar's proceedings.
1.
ILO activities in the field of social security (working paper prepared by Tomio Higuchij
Discussions on this subject took place with regard to the following three major problem areas: (a) the effectiveness of international instruments in the field of social security; (b) the possibility of comparing national social security statistics; and
(c) the different methods of technical co-operation activities of the ILO.
As regards the first point, the seminar was orally informed by the author of the organisation, procedures and functions of existing machinery for supervising the application of ratified Conventions. The role of international instruments in guiding public opinion and in stimulating public concern about the improvement of social policies was also discussed and the seminar appeared to appreciate this role. Some participants expressed doubts about the effectiveness of international labour standards set up in the 1920s and 1930s when many of them vere based on the experience of industrialised countries in Europe, and, in their view, such standards aid not take account of the prevailing conditions in developing countries in the world today. The attention of the participants was, however, drawn to the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference
recent years, particularly to the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102). and to those which have been subsequently adopted in respect of different benefit branches of social security. These Conventions, taking account of social and economic conditions in developing countries, contained special provisions which enabled such countries to resort to temporary exceptions from the prescribed obligations, SO that they could pursue by stages the improvement of their social security systems.
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Questions were raised by some participants as to the validity of international comparisons of statistics published in the ILO publication Cost of social security. bearing in mind that in some developing countries national statistics were not reliable and that their accuracy might difter from one country to another. In the first place, the seminar noted that, like other national administrative statistics, social security statistics suffered from an inherent weakness and were not free from flaws, since they were produced from administrative records. Secondly, it was noted that even where two countries - in which, for example, 25 per cent of the employees were covered by health insurance were grouped together as having the same degree of social security protection, the quantity of protection might vary a great deal between then. The seminar was informed of the availability and usefulness of the "Scheme of statistical tables for the practical application of a minimum programme of social security statistics", which had been prepared by the ILO to facilitate international comparison of social security statistics.
The participants in the seminar were naturally interested in the ILO's technical co-operation activities, although some of them appeared to confuse such activities with those relating to the application of international labour standards. While taking such standards into account when technical recommendations or suggestions were formulated, the ILO'S technical co-operation provided at the government's request was not a means of intervening in the national authority's legislative action. The seminar was informed in this connection that the services of the ILO's Asian Regional Adviser on Social Security were available to provide, upon request, prompt technical advice to social security institutions for the improvement of their operation, or to give preliminary advice to governments considering the introduction of a nev social security scheme or a new benefit branch. Several participants expressed their intention to advise their governments to avail themselves of the regional adviser's services on their return from the seminar.
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