LABOUR: SOCIAL CLAUSE DEBATE MARKS TIME AT ILO

8:43 AM Nov 20, 1996

LABOUR: SOCIAL CLAUSE DEBATE MARKS TIME AT ILO
Geneva 20 Nov (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- The social clause and labour standards issue appears to have been put on hold by the workers group at the International Labour Organization, as they mobilise themselves to give a push to the trade-social clause issue at the Singapore Ministerial Conference of the WTO.

As a result, the Governing Body of the ILO, which has been discussing the issue at two of its bodies, and is due to conclude its current 267th session Thursday, has been unable to take any decisions on the way forward.

"The doors have not been closed, but for the moment there will be further studies and discussions at future meetings," an ILO official commented.

Discussions at the Governing Body (and its committees and working) groups took place around two issues: a discussion over the strengthening of the ILO's supervisory system with respect to fundamental labour standards and the discussions in a working party on the Social Dimensions of International Trade Liberalization.

The ILO's Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards (LILS) has been mandated to study and come up with recommendations for the strengthening of the ILO's supervisory system with respect to fundamental labour standards. A working party of the LILS is continuing to examine the revision of international labour standards.

At the Governing Body discussions, the debate was mainly between the workers and employers, with most of the governments keeping quiet.

The employers have been arguing that the way forward towards strengthening of the supervisory system for observance of the fundamental or core labour standards is best achieved through changes in the ILO constitution, and perhaps adding to the Philadelphia Declaration of the ILO.

The workers' group on the other hand insisted that the legal basis should by the ILO Conventions and the various ILO mechanisms for assuring workers freedom of association and other such standards.

As a result of this stand, the International Labour Office has been asked to undertake further studies on the ILO constitution and the expansion of the powers of the ILO to ensure application of the fundamental conventions.

In the discussions in the working party on the social dimensions of liberalisation of international trade, the various items on the agenda were merged into a single agenda -- with many delegations focusing on the recent OECD report that the labour standards did not seem to have much effect on trade (either way).

Among the government representatives, while most remained silent on the social standards issue, India and Malaysia said the ILO should focus more in terms of technical cooperation to enable countries to give application of the ILO standards. The two did not support any new initiative.

An observer at the meeting said, that the workers' group has adopted a tactical position at the Governing Body with an eye on Singapore.

"They have staked much on providing high visibility to this issue at Singapore Ministerial Conference of the WTO, and they do not want to open any new doors at the ILO which might appear to be 'alternative routes' to pursue the social clause issue," the observer said.

The United States is pushing for inclusion of the labour standards issue in a political declaration of Ministers at the WTO's Singapore Meeting. While much less than its original stands at Punta del Este, and subsequently at Marrakesh, for a WTO process on the links between international trade and labour standards, if the US succeeds in atleast getting some recognition for the issue in a Ministerial Declaration, it will have slightly opened a door at the WTO -- where most members are determined to keep it shut.

France and one two other EU countries are also supporting the social clause issue at the WTO -- where the EC Commission negotiates on behalf of the EU member-states, and there is division within the EU members.

The workers position at the Governing Body, in not agreeing to any compromise for further work on strengthening of ILO's supervisory mechanism over observance of the core labour standards, is seen to be related to the US push at the WTO.

But whether the alternative routes at the ILO would remain open, if the workers make a big push at Singapore and fail is not clear.

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has planned a seminar or meeting at Singapore to focus on this question -- and it will take place at a golf club (for Singapore workers).

And like all non-official events at Singapore around the SMC, this too will be subject to the Singapore "rules of the game" and the prohibition of demonstrations and other public protests that the Singapore police authorities have already announced.