TNAG-0592-FCO40-725-Inspection-of-Hong-Kong-and-Indian-Ocean-Department-1976 — Page 83

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13. The failure by a territory to produce a report, or any inadequacies in the form or content of their report, attracts criticism which is directed at the Member State. We were informed by the Overseas Labour Adviser that Ministers attach considerable importance to criticism by the ILO being kept to the minimum.

14. In many cases the reports by the Dependent Territories are so poorly produced that they would not meet the requirements of the Organisation or would mislead. In either case they would attract severe criticism. The section's main function is, therefore, to monitor them, advise the territory concerned on how best the report should be framed and suggest alterations both in content and presentation. The research and consultation necessary are often considerable.

15. Our predecessors had doubts about the need to monitor reports in such depth and expressed the view that, in at least the cases of those territories for whose internal affairs we no longer have responsibility, we should do no more than act as a channel of communication in our role as Member State. We do not share this view. So long as HM Government is responsible for the implementation of ILO obligations by Dependent Territories and importance is attached to that responsibility, a monitoring exercise is necessary. Miss Swan and Miss Oldfield perform this task well. Miss Swan complained to us that the Section could not meet the demands made upon it and that there were a number of subjects to which she had not been able to give time. Like our predecessors, we suspect that she makes work.

We are nevertheless satisfied that there is sufficient real work for two officers and are not recommending any change in staff numbers. The Head of Section post is highly graded at DS 6 and we recommend that it be flexibly graded DS 6/7.

16. The ILO work bears little relation to the other responsibilities of the General section, in which it falls, and increases the impression of Gibraltar and General depart- ment as a rag-bag department. We are recommending that the General section should play a much more active role in the coordination of Dependent Territories policy. If it is to do so it should not have extraneous responsibilities such as the ILO work. We recommend therefore that Miss Swan's and Miss Oldfield's posts should be returned to form part of the Overseas Labour Adviser's department with whose work and knowledge their work is most closely associated.

6.

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/17. There has,