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SEVENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Report of the Sixteenth International
Conference of Labour Statisticians
(Geneva, 6-15 October 1998)

1. The Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians was held in Geneva from 6 to 15 October 1998. The report on its proceedings is appended.⁽¹⁾

2. The agenda of the Conference was as follows:

1. Measurement of underemployment.
2. Measurement of income from employment.
3. Statistics of occupational injuries.
4. General discussion on a number of other topics, including the past and future work of the ILO Bureau of Statistics.

3. The Conference elected Dr. Tim Holt (United Kingdom) as Chairperson, Ms. Emilia Eugenia Roca (Argentina) as Vice-Chairperson and Ms. Päivi Kaarina Keinänen (Finland) as Rapporteur of the Conference.

4. The Conference set up three committees to deal with the substantive topics which were the subject of draft resolutions for consideration by the Conference. Mr. Ian Macredie (Canada) was elected as Chairperson of the Committee on the Measurement of Underemployment. Mr. Oladejo Ajayi (Nigeria) was elected as Chairperson of the Committee on the Measurement of Income from Employment. Mr. Erkki Yrjänheikki (Finland) was elected as Chairperson of the Committee on Statistics of Occupational Injuries. Unexpectedly, and due to personal reasons, Mr. Macredie was compelled to return to Canada on 9 October 1998. The Conference elected Mr. Jean-Louis Faure (France) to replace Mr. Macredie as Chairperson of the Committee on the Measurement of Underemployment. In addition, in the course of its work, the Conference established a Working Group on extended absences from work: Treatment in employment and unemployment statistics, and elected Mr. M.D. Asthana (India) as its Chairperson.

5. The Conference adopted three resolutions as follows:

Resolution I: Resolution concerning the measurement of underemployment and inadequate employment situations.
Resolution II: Resolution concerning the measurement of employment-related income.
Resolution III: Resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries resulting from occupational accidents.

The text of the resolutions are presented in Appendix I to the report of the Conference.

6. In addition, the Conference endorsed two sets of guidelines concerning the following topics:

• Treatment in employment and unemployment statistics of persons on extended absences from work.
• Dissemination practices for labour statistics.

The text of the first set of guidelines is presented as conclusions of the Working Group on extended absences from work in the report of the Conference (paragraph 1.4.19). The text of the second set of guidelines is presented in the report of the Conference (paragraph 1.5.8).

7. The Governing Body may wish to take note of the report of the Conference and authorize the Director-General to distribute it:

1. to the governments of member States and, through them, to the national employers' and workers' organizations concerned, drawing particular attention to the three resolutions appended to the report and to the two sets of guidelines referred to in the preceding paragraph; and
2. to the United Nations and the other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations represented at the Conference.

Geneva, 28 October 1998.

Point for decision: Paragraph 7.

1. ICLS/16/1998/V.