37489 Page 499 of 662
4
Speaker after speaker referred to this question during the discussion on the Director General report, calling attention, amongPage 1500safvotages, to the
9 fact that an unmanageably heavy_agenda could only lead to inefficient work and unacceptable conclusions. The International Labour Conference is generally scheduled to last 3 weeks and the time allotted is strictly adhered to. A heavier agenda could only be undertaken if more time is allotted to the Conference--which is both difficult and expensive or by an increase in the size of delegations-which, besides being expensive, would be impossible for many States. The matter is engaging the attention of the Governing Body, but the Government members of the Governing Body will need to act with great firmness and restraint if, against the increasing pressure from all parties to add items to the agenda, they are to succeed in keeping the agenda within manageable limits.
The Work of the 1949 Session of the Conference
14. I shall be communicating to my colleagues in due course the usual White Paper containing the detailed account of the proceedings of the Conference. In addition I shall submit to them my proposals regarding the action to be taken on the various measures adopted by the Conference. In the meantime I append the following brief notes on some of the principal subjects discussed.
Finance
15. The Conference adopted the expenditure Budget for 1950 $5,983,526 as compared with $5,185,539 in 1949. The figure for 1950 is not high compared with the essential work which has to be done, particularly when rising prices and automatic salary increases are taken into account, and it should be noted that the discussions in the Governing Body resulted, mainly on proposals made by the British Government representatives, in reductions of approximately $650,000 on the estimate presented by the Director-General. After allowing for the balances available from previous years, the amount to be provided by contri- butions from member States in 1950 is $5,725,697, of which the United Kingdom share is $719,241. The I.L.O. has not yet adopted a permanent post-war scale of contributions. The general inclination of most members is in favour of the adoption of the United Nations scale when that is finally established, although there is a strong feeling in some quarters against a per capita adjustment based on population. The United States are resisting the early adoption of the United Nations scale since they will not in any circumstances agree to pay to the Specialised Agencies on the same scale as they pay to the United Nations (39.89 per cent.). It will indeed be difficult to persuade them to go above 25 per cent., and there are at present ceilings fixed by Congress on the amounts which may be contributed to the I.L.O., the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agricultural Organisation, which in the case of the I.L.O. would not permit them even to approach 25 per cent. In the meantime some relief will be afforded to other members of the I.L.O. in 1950 by the decision to raise the United States contribution from approximately 18 per cent. to 22 per cent., but even this latter percentage will bring the United States contribution substantially above the existing ceiling fixed by Congress, which the latter are being asked
to remove.
Industrial Relations
16. In supplementation of the Convention on Freedom of Association adopted at San Francisco last year, the Conference adopted a Convention on the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively. This is a short but important convention. It is designed to pro- tect workers against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employ- ment and provides other guarantees designed to protect the right to organise into trade unions and employers' organisations. Further, it provides, amongst other things, for encouraging and promoting the full development and utilisa- tion of machinery for voluntary negotiation. The Convention was agreed only after long, hard and patient negotiations. There were some votes cast against it, including that of the British employers' delegate. It represents a further importage 50ande662 the international plane towages 500 din64 freedom of association. Its provisions are acceptable to the British Government and, sub- ject to examination of details, I think we shall be able to ratify it—with the inclusion of Northern Ireland.
5
Wages
17. Building 50 treffendations laid last year, the Conferee 501 of 662 (1) adopted a Convention and a Recommendation on labour clauses in public contracts. The provisions of the Convention are broadly on the lines of our fair wages clause and we should be able to ratify the Conven- tion. The Recommendation is unacceptable because it provides that actual rates of wages and details of other conditions of employment shall in certain circumstances be written into the contract: (2) adopted a Convention and a Recommendation on the protection of wages. These instruments contain a series of safeguards relating to the payment of wages which are based, to a considerable extent, on the provisions of the Truck Acts. The British Government delegates were able to vote for both the Convention and the Recommendation.
Migration for Employment
18. Following upon much preparatory work carried out by the International Labour Office and by the Permanent Migration Committee of the Governing Body, the Conference revised the 1939 Convention on this subject, which had been ratified by no single State. The main purpose of this Convention is the protection of the migrant, a matter of particular importance at the present time in view of the contribution which migration can make to the redistribution of the world's manpower and to a proper development of the economic resources of different countries, especially those which are under-developed. The 1939 Convention failed to attract ratifications largely because it went into too great detail, much of which was unacceptable to one or more of the receiving countries. The revised Convention also goes into detail, but the body of the Convention is largely confined to general principles, the detailed measures being relegated to three Annexes, and it is provided that any State can ratify the Convention with or without all or any of the Annexes. This is a novel feature of I.L.O. Conventions and, like the question of Fee Charging Employment Agencies referred to above, is an example of the Conference's new and more realistic approach to the difficult problem of drawing up international instruments which will help rather than hinder progress in the social field. The Conference also adopted a Recommendation, to which was annexed a draft Model Agreement on temporary and permanent migration for employment, including migration of refugees and displaced workers. The subject of migration, incidentally, is an outstanding example of co-operation between the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies; agreement has been reached as to their respective responsibilities in regard to this question and, under this agreement, the I.L.O. takes the lead over a considerable area of the field.
Other Instruments
19. (1) The Conference, with a view to removing obstacles in the way of ratification, revised three of the Maritime Conventions adopted at Seattle in 1946, dealing respectively with holidays with pay, crew accommodation and wages and hours of work.
(2) The Conference adopted a detailed Recommendation on Vocational Guidance.
!
(3)_Reference has already been made in paragraph 6 above to the revision of the Fee Charging Employment Agencies Convention.
Technical Assistance for Under-Developed Countries
20. This matter was discussed at length both in the Governing Body and in the Conference, and a resolution was adopted by the Conference authorising the Governing Body to make, as necessary, interim arrangements to initiate an expanded technical assistance programme as part of the co-operative pro- gramme contemplated by the Economic and Social Council, pending the submission of more detailed proposals to the 1950 Session of the Conference.
Resolutions
21. A number of other resolutions were brought before the Conference, which adopted two of them. One of these requested the Governing Body to consider giving instructfons for the preparation of a complagas repo2on
238
4
4
Speaker after speaker referred to this question during the discussion on the Director-General's fengnt, calling attention, among other disadvantages, to the fact that an unmanageably heavy agenda could only lead to inefficient work and unacceptable conclusions. The International Labour Conference is generally scheduled to last 3 weeks and the time allotted is strictly adhered to. A heavier agenda could only be undertaken if more time is allotted to the Conference which is both difficult and expensive-or by an increase in the size of delegations-which, besides being expensive, would be impossible for many States. The matter is engaging the attention of the Governing Body, but the Government members of the Governing Body will need to act with great firmness and restraint if, against the increasing pressure from all parties to add items to the agenda, they are to succeed in keeping the agenda within manageable limits.
The Work of the 1949 Session of the Conference
14. I shall be communicating to my colleagues in due course the usual White Paper containing the detailed account of the proceedings of the Conference. In addition I shall submit to them my proposals regarding the action to be taken on the various measures adopted by the Conference. In the meantime I append the following brief notes on some of the principal subjects discussed.
Finance
at
15. The Conference adopted the expenditure Budget for 1950 $5,983,526 as compared with $5,185,539 in 1949. The figure for 1950 is not high compared with the essential work which has to be done, particularly when rising prices and automatic salary increases are taken into account, and it should be noted that the discussions in the Governing Body resulted, mainly on proposals made by the British Government representatives, in reductions of approximately $650,000 on the estimate presented by the Director-General. After allowing for the balances available from previous years, the amount to be provided by contri- butions from member States in 1950 is $5,725,697, of which the United Kingdom share is $719,241. The I.L.O. has not yet adopted a permanent post-war scale of contributions. The general inclination of most members is in favour of the adoption of the United Nations scale when that is finally established, although there is a strong feeling in some quarters against a per capita adjustment based on population. The United States are resisting the early adoption of the United Nations scale since they will not in any circumstances agree to pay to the Specialised Agencies on the same scale as they pay to the United Nations (39.89 per cent.). It will indeed be difficult to persuade them to go above 25 per cent., and there are at present ceilings fixed by Congress on the amounts which may be contributed to the I.L.O., the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agricultural Organisation, which in the case of the I.L.O. would not permit them even to approach 25 per cent. In the meantime some relief will be afforded to other members of the I.L.O. in 1950 by the decision to raise the United States contribution from approximately 18 per cent. to 22 per cent., but even this latter percentage will bring the United States contribution substantially above the existing ceiling fixed by Congress, which the latter are being asked
to remove.
Industrial Relations
16. In supplementation of the Convention on Freedom of Association adopted at San Francisco last year, the Conference adopted a Convention or the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively. This is a short but important convention. It is designed to pro- tect workers against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employ- ment and provides other guarantees designed to protect the right to organise into trade unions and employers' organisations. Further, it provides, amongst other things, for encouraging and promoting the full development and utilisa- tion of machinery for voluntary negotiation. The Convention was agreed only after long, hard and patient negotiations. There were some votes cast against it, including that of the British employers' delegate. It represents a further important advance on the international plane towards the aim of freedom of associatione 52 Brovisions are acceptable to the British Government and, sub- ject to examination of details, I think we shall be able to ratify it with the inclusion of Northern Ireland.
Wages
5
17. Builtägg 503heffondations laid last year, the Coffagen503 of 662 (1) adopted a Convention and a Recommendation on labour clauses in public contracts. The provisions of the Convention are broadly on the lines of our fair wages clause and we should be able to ratify the Conven- tion. The Recommendation is unacceptable because it provides that actual rates of wages and details of other conditions of employment shall in certain circumstances be written into the contract: (2) adopted a Convention and a Recommendation on the protection of wages. These instruments contain a series of safeguards relating to the payment of wages which are based, to a considerable extent, on the provisions of the Truck Acts. The British Government delegates were able to vote for both the Convention and the Recommendation.
Migration for Employment
18. Following upon much preparatory work carried out by the International Labour Office and by the Permanent Migration Committee of the Governing Body, the Conference revised the 1939 Convention on this subject, which had been ratified by no single State. The main purpose of this Convention is the protection of the migrant, a matter of particular importance at the present time in view of the contribution which migration can make to the redistribution of the world's manpower and to a proper development of the economic resources of different countries, especially those which are under-developed. The 1939 Convention failed to attract ratifications largely because it went into too great detail, much of which was unacceptable to one or more of the receiving countries. The revised Convention also goes into detail, but the body of the Convention is largely confined to general principles, the detailed measures being relegated to three Annexes, and it is provided that any State can ratify the Convention with or without all or any of the Annexes. This is a novel feature of I.L.O. Conventions and, like the question of Fee Charging Employment Agencies referred to above, is an example of the Conference's new and more realistic approach to the difficult problem of drawing up international instruments which will help rather than hinder progress in the social field. The Conference also adopted a Recommendation, to which was annexed a draft Model Agreement on temporary and permanent migration for employment, including migration of refugees and displaced workers. The subject of migration, incidentally, is an outstanding example of co-operation between the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies; agreement has been reached as to their respective responsibilities in regard to this question and, under this agreement, the I.L.O. takes the lead over a considerable area of the field.
Other Instruments
19. (1) The Conference, with a view to removing obstacles in the way of ratification, revised three of the Maritime Conventions adopted at Seattle in 1946, dealing respectively with holidays with pay, crew accommodation and wages and hours of work.
(2) The Conference adopted a detailed Recommendation on Vocational Guidance.
(3) Reference has already been made in paragraph 6 above to the revision of the Fee Charging Employment Agencies Convention.
Technical Assistance for Under-Developed Countries
20. This matter was discussed at length both in the Governing Body and in the Conference, and a resolution was adopted by the Conference authorising the Governing Body to make, as necessary, interim arrangements to initiate an expanded technical assistance programme as part of the co-operative pro- gramme contemplated by the Economic and Social Council, pending the submission of more detailed proposals to the 1950 Session of the Conference.
Resolutions
21. A number of other resolutions were brought before the Conference, which adopted two of them, One of these requested the Governing Body to consider giving instructions for the preparation of a comprehensive report on
238
6
the problem of unemployment and to consider the desirability of placing the question of unemployment on the agenda of an early session of the Conference; the other gequested 2 Governing Body to instrugeth04feational Labour Office to prepare reports on the law and practice of States Members governing annual holidays with pay and on physical and cultural recreational facilities for
workers.
Relations with Germany
22. In paragraph 5 above I mentioned the attempt made by the British Government member of the Governing Body to have Germany invited to the Conference in the rôle of observers and to the fact that against the reluctance of some Western European countries (amounting in the case of Belgium to opposition) this proposal was not pursued. The desirability of associating Germany as soon as possible with the work of the I.L.O. was, however, admitted and as the result of considerable discussion the following resolution was found to be generally acceptable and was passed by the Governing Body on 1st July against the opposition of the Czechoslovak Government and with the abstention of the Australian and Chinese Governments :-
"The Governing Body-
(i) takes account of the steps already taken by the Office with a view to establishing regular contact and exchange of information with Germany;
(ii) emphasises the desirability of bringing German representatives into
closer association with the work of the Organisation;
(iii) instructs the Director-General, in consultation with the officers of the Governing Body, to take all appropriate steps, consistent with the constitution and practice of the I.L.O., to associate representatives from Germany, including representatives of employers and workers, with those meetings and activities of the Organisation in 1949–50 which are of interest and concern to Germany.'
It is expected that, following on the resolution, tripartite delegations from Germany will be present as observers at many I.L.O. meetings during the coming
year.
Ministry of Labour and National Service, S.W. 1.,
24th August, 1949.
G. A. I.
ANNEX
SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND NATIONAL SERVICE TO THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, JUNE 1949
When I had the pleasure of addressing the Conference last year, I referred to two events which I felt made that year one of particular significance in the history of the International Labour Organisation. The revised Constitution had come into force, and the new Director-General had been elected by the Governing Body.
While it is early yet to attempt to gauge the full effects of the new Constitu- tion, it is clear that, in his first year of office, the new Director-General has left his characteristic imprint upon the Organisation's work.
The Report which is before you presents a most illuminating picture of the world in which we live to-day. It is a picture of a world still striving to overcome the material and moral effects of nearly six years of a devastating world war. It is a record of determination and of considerable achievement; it reveals, nonetheless, many underlying dislocations and tensions and numerous problems which vary in their nature, in their impact and in their urgency between the different countries and the different regions of the world.
In the introduction to his Report, the Director-General shows that he has given close thought to the place of the Organisation in this highly complicated
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