| GB.267/17
267th Session Geneva, November 1996 |
SEVENTEENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Composition and agenda of standing
bodies and meetings
Contents
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Future ILO Activities in the Field of Migration
Meeting of Experts on Workers' Health Surveillance
Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics
Appointment of Governing Body representatives
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations
New appointment
1. In order to fill the seat left vacant by Mr. Kéba Mbaye who has terminated his appointment as member of the Committee, the Officers of the Governing Body recommend to the Governing Body that it appoint the following person as a member of the Committee for a period of three years:
- Mr. Amadou Sô (Senegal): born 1932. Judge of the Constitutional Council of Senegal, former President of the Social Section of the Supreme Court of Senegal, former President of the Social Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Senegal, former President of the Labour Tribunal of Dakar.
2. The Governing Body will no doubt wish to ask the Director-General to convey to Judge Mbaye its deep gratitude for the services he has rendered to the ILO.
Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Future ILO Activities
in the Field of Migration
3. The Programme and Budget for 1996-97 (paragraph 60.52) includes provision for the above Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Future ILO Activities in the Field of Migration. The provision is for a meeting lasting five calendar days and involving 40 participants. It is planned to hold the meeting in April 1997. The purposes of the meeting were considered by the Committee on Employment and Social Policy at the 265th Session of the Governing Body (March-April 1996), as a result of which the meeting is intended to examine three sets of guidelines. The first two relate to temporary migration schemes and private recruitment agents, respectively, and are to be formulated for the benefit of governments and employers' and workers' organizations in migrant receiving and migrant-sending countries, and to provide guidance to ILO experts called upon to advise government authorities and non-governmental organizations. The third set of guidelines relate to possible on-the-spot studies by the Office of the exploitation of migrant workers that may be requested by ILO constituents and which do not fall under existing procedures such as those under articles 24 and 26 of the Constitution. These latter guidelines are of an internal procedural nature.
Agenda
4. The Director-General proposes the following agenda for the meeting:
- Guidelines on the protection of workers engaged under temporary migration schemes.
- Guidelines on the protection of workers from one country recruited by private agents for employment in another country.
- Pattern or practice studies of the exploitation of migrant workers not falling under Convention-based procedures.
5. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body approve the above agenda.
Composition
6. It is proposed that the meeting be attended by 20 participants nominated after consultations with governments, ten after consultations with the Employers' group, and ten after consultations with the Workers' group of the Governing Body.
7. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body approve the above composition formula.
8. Taking account of the need for geographical distribution and to include participants from both migrant-receiving and migrant-sending countries, in order to obtain the government nominations the Director-General intends to approach the following countries: Argentina, Costa Rica, Gabon, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Lesotho, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States and Venezuela. Should any of those governments prove unable to nominate a participant, the Director-General would approach the Governments of Mozambique, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka or Ukraine.
Invitation of intergovernmental organizations
9. The Director-General intends to invite the following intergovernmental organizations to be represented at the meeting:
- United Nations
- International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Commission of the European Union
- Council of Europe
- Arab Labour Organisation (ALO)
- Organization of African Unity (OAU).
Invitation of non-governmental international
organizations
10. The Director-General proposes to invite the following non-governmental international organizations to be represented by observers at the meeting. All of them have been invited to attend ILO meetings in the past.
- International Catholic Migration Commission
- World Council of Churches
- International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees
- Media and Entertainment International
- International Confederation of Temporary Work Businesses
- International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association
- Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
- World Federation of Agriculture and Food Workers.
11. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body authorize the Director-General to invite the above organizations to be represented by observers at the meeting.
Meeting of Experts on Workers' Health Surveillance
12. The Programme and Budget for 1996-97 (paragraph 90.27) includes provision for a Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Workers' Health Surveillance lasting eight calendar days and involving 18 participants nominated by the Governing Body. The purpose of the meeting is to review the manner in which health surveillance is conducted and trends, in particular the increased emphasis on epidemiological approaches, new tools of investigation, health promotion and the protection of working capacity, with due consideration for ethical aspects. It is expected that participants will be experts in the subject area.
13. The expected output of the meeting is guidance on the organization of health surveillance, its content, its evaluation and the conditions governing its performance. This guidance will be formulated as conclusions and recommendations and, to the extent possible, as guidelines based on the consensus which will be reached on the technical and ethical aspects of workers' health surveillance.
14. In the approved programme of meetings, it is planned to hold the meeting in Geneva from 2 to 9 September 1997.
Agenda
15. The Director-General proposes the following agenda for the meeting:
- Current practice and the role of health surveillance in the protection and promotion of workers' health.
- Preparation of guidelines on the technical and ethical aspects of workers' health surveillance.
16. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body approve the above agenda.
Composition
17. The Director-General proposes that the meeting should be attended by six experts nominated after consultations with governments, six after consultations with the Employers' group, and six after consultations with the Workers' group of the Governing Body.
18. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body approve the above composition formula.
19. In order to obtain the government nominations, the Director-General intends to approach the Governments of the following countries: Argentina, China, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Tunisia. Should any of those Governments prove unable to nominate a participant, the Director-General would approach the Governments of Chile, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, or the United States.
Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics
20. The Programme and Budget for 1996-97 (paragraph 120.7) includes provision for a meeting of experts on the measurement of income from employment. However, as the meeting of experts on the concept and measurement of underemployment foreseen in 1995 was postponed by the Governing Body at its 263rd Session, it has been decided to combine the two meetings into one. The provision is for a meeting lasting ten calendar days and involving 26 experts. In the programme of meetings approved by the Officers of the Governing Body, it is intended to hold the meeting from 14 to 23 October 1997. The aim of the meeting is to produce guidelines for a resolution on each of the agenda items to be submitted to the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians, which will probably be held in 1998.
Agenda
21. The Director-General proposes the following agenda for the meeting:
- Underemployment: Concept and measurement.
- Income from employment: Concept and measurement.
22. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body approve the above agenda.
Composition
23. The Director-General proposes that, as stated in the programme and budget, the meeting should be attended by 14 experts nominated after consultations with governments, six after consultations with the Employers' group, and six after consultations with the Workers' group of the Governing Body. The experts nominated should be well acquainted with the items on the agenda.
24. The Officers of the Governing Body recommend that the Governing Body approve the above composition formula.
25. In order to obtain the government nominations, the Director-General intends to approach the Governments of Canada, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Hungary, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Spain and Sweden. Should any of those Governments fail to nominate a participant, then the Director-General intends to approach the Governments of Botswana, Colombia, Indonesia, Netherlands, United States or the Palestinian Authority.
Invitation of intergovernmental organizations
26. The Director-General intends to invite the following organizations to be represented at the meeting:
- United Nations Statistical Division
- United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
- United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
- United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
- Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- Statistical Office for the European Communities (EUROSTAT)
- Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS).
Appointment of Governing Body representatives
27. At its 264th Session (November 1995), the Governing Body adopted a new set of Standing Orders for sectoral meetings, which provide that the Governing Body should be represented at such meetings by a single representative who shall be chosen in turn from each of the three groups.(1) The most recent such appointment was that of Mr. Anand (Employer member), who was appointed at the Governing Body's 266th Session (June 1996) to represent it at the Tripartite Meeting on the Globalization of the Footwear, Textiles and Clothing Industries: Effects on Employment and Working Conditions (Geneva, 28 October- 1 November 1996).
28. The appointment of members to represent the Governing Body at the following two meetings should hence be made respectively from among the members of the Workers' group and the Government group:
- Symposium on Multimedia Convergence (Geneva, 27-29 January 1997 -- Worker member, who will also chair the meeting);
- Tripartite Meeting on the Effects of New Technologies on Employment and Working Conditions in the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Sector (Geneva, 12-16 May 1997 -- Government member, who will also chair the meeting).
29. The Governing Body may wish to make the above appointments.
Geneva, 20 November 1996.
Points for decision:
Paragraph 1;
Paragraph 2;
Paragraph 5;
Paragraph 7;
Paragraph 11;
Paragraph 16;
Paragraph 18;
Paragraph 22;
Paragraph 24;
Paragraph 29.