Proposed date:

26-28 April 2000

Place:

Mexico City, Mexico

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$50,806)

Geographical coverage:

Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

10

(b)

Employers:

10

(c)

Workers:

10

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to promote the commitment of member States to respect the principles contained in fundamental labour Conventions;

(ii)

to familiarize ILO's tripartite constituents with the eight fundamental Conventions which are referred to in the Declaration;

(iii)

to promote the development and gender dimensions through the follow-up of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29); Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100); Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); Equal Remuneration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 90); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Recommendation, 1958 (No. 111)

Working language:

Spanish

Proposed date:

21-23 November 2000

Place:

Kathmandu, Nepal

Financing:

Government of Japan (US$200,000)

Geographical coverage:

Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

25

(b)

Employers:

25

(c)

Workers:

25

Observers:

Asian Development Bank

International Monetary Fund

United Nations Children’s Fund

United Nations Development Fund for Women

United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

World Bank

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to familiarize participants with the follow-up to the Declaration (annual report, global reports, available ILO assistance and promotional activities);

(ii)

to explain the ILO InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration;

(iii)

to promote the first plan of action on freedom of association under the Declaration;

(iv)

to achieve better understanding of the rights and obligations under the ILO Constitution and the Declaration;

(v)

to review progress made on ratifications and implementation of the core Conventions; and

(vi)

to promote the development and gender dimensions through the follow-up of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29); Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100); Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

23-24 May 2000

Place:

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Financing:

IPEC (US$23,379); and Government of Argentina (US$10,000)

Geographical coverage:

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay

Observers:

One parliamentarian each from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay

Defensa de los Niños Internacional (Argentina)

Fundación DEQUENI (Paraguay)

Luna Nueva (Paraguay)

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to disseminate information on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182);

(ii)

to facilitate the adjustment of national legislation and practice to the requirements of Convention No. 182;

(iii)

to strengthen the control mechanisms and the application of Convention No. 182;

(iv)

to examine all aspects necessary for a subregional programme of action, including gender issues.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Working language:

Spanish

Former date:

1-3 March 2000

New date:

8-10 March 2000

Place:

Jakarta, Indonesia

Former budget:

Government of Japan (US$124,178)

New budget:

Government of Japan (US$133,338)

Former geographical coverage:

Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam

New geographical coverage:

The above countries and Malaysia

Former resource persons:

3 consultants responsible for national studies;

1 representative of the donor (Government of Japan)

New resource persons:

4 national (independent) consultants presenting case studies on:

• child labour monitoring in factories;
• combating the trafficking in children for economic gain;
• Addressing the worst forms of child labour;
• ratification and implementation of Conventions Nos. 138 and 182.

Former purpose of meeting:

To follow up and bring a regional perspective to the findings of the Meeting of Experts on Labour Inspection and Child Labour (Geneva, 27 September-1 October 1999):

• to strengthen the role of labour inspection in combating child labour;
• to exchange information on best practices of integrating child labour issues in labour inspection systems; and
• to strenghten the role of tripartite partners in monitoring child labour free zones.

New purpose of meeting

The following objectives would be added to the abovementioned points:

(i)

to bring together vice-ministers, senior secretaries and other senior officials of ministries of labour as well as senior representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations to review and promote the ratification and application of Conventions Nos. 138 and 182;

(ii)

to examine the various aspects of the worst forms of child labour and to design measures for their elimination;

(iii)

to observe, in the course of a field visit, the implementation of measures to combat child labour; and

(iv)

to strenghten the role of the tripartite constituents in addressing child labour issues.

Relevance to international
labour standards remain
as approved by the Officers
of the Governing Body:

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 [and Protocol, 1995] (No. 81); Labour Inspectorates (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 85); Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129); Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Labour Inspection (Seafarers) Convention, 1996 (No. 178); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81); Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146); Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

August 2000

Place:

To be determined

Financing:

Government of Japan (US$163,248)

Geographical coverage:

Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People’ Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

16 ministers or vice-ministers

(b)

Employers:

16

(c)

Workers:

16

Resource persons:

1 resource person to prepare the paper

Observers:

Asian Development Bank

Association of South-east Asian Nations

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

United Nations Economic and Social commission for
Asia and the Pacific

United Nations Children’s Fund

World Bank

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to promote a high-level commitment to combat child labour;

(ii)

to increase the knowledge on methods to deal with the problem;

(iii)

to promote the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its follow-up;

(iv)

to discuss the child labour aspects specific to boys and girls and various forms of interventions.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

8 June 2000, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Place:

Geneva, Switzerland

Financing:

The meeting will take place during the International Labour Conference and entails no extra costs

Geographical coverage:

Participating countries in the Sarajevo Conference: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States

Composition of participants:

(a) Governments:

28

(b) Employers:

28

(c) Workers:

28

Resource persons:

Mr. B. Hombach, Coordinator, Stability Pact

Mr. C. Bildt, UN Coordinator

Mr. E. Ferro Rodrigues, Minister of Labour and Solidarity, Portugal, EU Presidency

Observers:

Economic Commission for Europe

European Trade Union Confederation

International Monetary Fund

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe

United Nations Development Programme

World Bank

World Confederation of Labour

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to discuss, in a tripartite framework, during the International Labour Conference, the progress achieved since the Sofia Declaration;

(ii)

to promote one of the major goals of the reconstruction process, namely to provide decent work for men and women.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29); Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100); Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Working languages:

English, French, German (passive interpretation from Portuguese), Russian and Spanish

Proposed date:

24-28 July 2000

Place:

Jamaica

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$23,607); and participating governments and organizations (US$22,896)

Geographical coverage:

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

13

(b)

Employers:

6

(c)

Workers:

6

Resource persons:

2 subregional resource persons

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to improve and enrich the skill-base of public employment service managers thereby enhancing their effectiveness in the management and operations of these services;

(ii)

to exchange information and views on the organization and operations of the various national services;

(iii)

to contribute to an in-depth study of the situation of employment services in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago

(iv)

to promote employment services which give effect to the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in international labour Conventions.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88); Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122); Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142); Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150); Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (No. 158); Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160)

Working language:

English

Former date:

April or May 2000

New date:

Second half of 2000

Former place:

To be determined

New place:

Panama

Proposed date:

24-26 May 2000

Place:

Bonn, Germany

Financing:

Ford Foundation (US$75,000); German Marshall Fund (US$25,000); and Deutsche Ausgleichsbank (contribution in kind) (US$8,000)

Geographical coverage:

Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

7

(b)

Employers:

7

(c)

Workers:

7

Resource persons:

Researchers from Centre Walras, Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung and practitioners from Deutsche Ausgleichsbank

Observers:

European Commission

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to exchange findings on public sector support to micro-finance programme for the self-employed coming out of unemployment;

(ii)

to identify suitable institutional frameworks to ensure sustainable service delivery;

(iii)

to identify information needs with regard to the cost-effectiveness of such programmes;

(iv)

to consider the problems of women entrepreneurs’ access to financing.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Recommendation, 1988 (No. 176); Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

23-26 May 2000

Place:

Saint Lucia

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$21,778) and participating governments and organizations (US$21,600)

Geographical coverage:

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

26

(b)

Employers:

10

(c)

Workers:

10

Resource persons:

3 from among the participating ministers of cooperatives and employers’ and workers’ organizations

Observers:

Caribbean Community Secretariat

Caribbean Congress of Labour

Caribbean Employers’ Confederation

World Council of Credit Unions

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to discuss with the Ministers of Cooperatives the relevance of cooperative entrepreneurship in the subregion;

(ii)

to discuss the specific needs of women’s cooperatives.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Co-operatives (Developing Countries) Recommendation, 1966 (No. 127)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

22-24 June 2000

Place:

Budapest, Hungary

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$20,000); the Government of Portugal (US$30,000); and the Government of Hungary (US$10,000)

Geographical coverage:

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal (as holder of the Presidency of the European Union), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey

Composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

28

(b)

Employers:

14

(c)

Workers:

14

Resource persons:

1 expert of the International Migration Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

1 expert of the European Commission

Observers:

Representatives of the relevant government offices in Austria, Finland, France, Germany and Italy as well as the European Commission

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to examine those aspects of migration laws and regulations which would need to be modified in the course of the accession negotiations;

(ii)

to assist the governments of accession countries in their efforts to adjust their national legislation and practice with regard to free movement of labour to the requirements of the European Union

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143)

Working languages:

English, French, German, Hungarian and Russian

Former date:

22-24 February 2000

New date:

3-5 May 2000

Place:

Gaborone, Botswana

Former composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

9

(b)

Employers:

9

(c)

Workers:

9

New composition of participants:

(a)

Governments:

18

(b)

Employers:

18

(c)

Workers:

18

Former date:

7-9 March 2000

New date:

Postponed until further notice but not before September 2000

Place:

Beirut, Lebanon

Proposed date:

12-13 April 2000

Place:

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$10,132)

Geographical coverage:

Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Composition of participants:

Employers:

18

Purpose of meeting:

The workshop is to address current industrial relations issues and challenges in the subregion.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143); Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

3-4 May 2000

Place:

Tunis, Tunisia

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$48,000)

Geographical coverage:

Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Composition of participants:

Employers:

11

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to find a common vision of the role of employers’ organizations in view of the socio-economic transformations;

(ii)

to promote through the enterprises the harmonization of economic efficiency and social responsibility.

Working languages:

English and French

Proposed date:

4-5 May 2000

Place:

Albena, Bulgaria

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$7,580); Government of Denmark (US$3,680); and Government of the Netherlands (US$39,018)

Geographical coverage:

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia

Composition of participants:

Employers:

22

Resource persons:

2 experts from academic institutions

1 expert from Bulgarian Industrial Association

Observers:

Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe

One representative of the Business Support Programme

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to familiarize the participants with direct marketing techniques for attracting new members;

(ii)

to acquaint them with EU programmes accessible for employers’ organizations.

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

4-5 May 2000

Place:

Managua, Nicaragua

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$11,979)

Geographical coverage:

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama

Composition of participants:

Employers:

7

Purpose of meeting:

To promote the coordination of activities of employers’ organizations concerning technical support to small and medium-sized enterprises, alternative methods of conflict resolution and strategies concerning the social responsibility of enterprises

Working language:

Spanish

Proposed date:

25-28 July 2000

Place:

Cotonou, Benin

Financing:

Government of Denmark (US$36,000)

Geographical coverage:

Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo

Composition of participants:

Employers:

9

Purpose of meeting:

To provide employers’ organizations with information and tools which permit the diversification of the provision of financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises

Working language:

French

Proposed date:

July 2000

Place:

Seychelles

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$49,000)

Geographical coverage:

Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles

Composition of participants:

Employers:

10

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to strengthen, through social dialogue, the capacity of employers’ organizations to participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of economic and social policy;

(ii)

to sensitize employers’ organizations to the need for ensuring that social dialogue would take into consideration the socio-economic impact of globalization

Working language:

French

Proposed date:

9-10 October 2000

Place:

Singapore

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$53,814) and NIKKEIREN (US$48,000)

Geographical coverage:

Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam

Composition of participants:

Employers:

38

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to discuss emerging issues of importance to employers in the region, as well as opportunities for cooperation;

(ii)

to examine the possibility of forging stronger partnerships with governments and workers’ organizations

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144)

Working language:

English

Former date:

March or April 2000

New date:

2-15 April 2000

Place:

Tel Aviv, Israel

New geographical coverage:

After consultations the geographical coverage has been adjusted to cover the following countries:

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Uzbekistan

Former date:

23-25 February 2000

New date:

10-12 April 2000

Place:

Dakar, Senegal

Former date:

May 2000

New date:

August 2000

Place:

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Former date:

First quarter of 2000

Former place:

Yalta, Ukraine

Cancellation:

This conference has been cancelled and replaced by national support for Belorussian and Russian employers’ organizations, a national training workshop for Ukrainian employers’ organizations and consultations with the Moldovan employers’ organization.

Proposed date:

3-6 April 2000

Place:

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Financing:

RENGO (US$60,000)

Geographical coverage:

Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

Composition of participants:

Workers:

Twenty trade union leaders; one representative each of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity, the ORAF-CISL and the ODESTA-CMT

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to analyse the role of workers and their organizations in the improvement of productivity;

(ii)

to study various ways of increasing productivity and sharing the benefits;

(iii)

to exchange experiences on the participatory methods of productivity and the role of trade unions in this respect;

(iv)

to study the correlation between industrial relations, productivity and the processes of negotiation.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122); Minimum Wage Fixing Recommendation, 1970 (No. 135)

Working languages:

English and French

Proposed date:

September 2000

Place:

Prague, Czech Republic

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$20,000) and the Government of the Netherlands (US$20,000)

Geographical coverage:

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova,  Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine

Composition of participants:

Workers:

45

Observers:

Confederation of Christian Trade Unions in the Netherlands

European Trade Union Confederation

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

Netherlands Trade Union Confederation

World Confederation of Labour

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to strengthen the capacity of trade unions to design and implement social protection schemes in the course of the continuing transition to market economy;

(ii)

to identify measures with a view to improving existing social protection mechanisms and addressing the needs of so far neglected categories of workers;

(iii)

to elaborate trade union strategy and policy for workers in the informal sector;

(iv)

to examine the particularly negative impact on women of the changes in social protection and the consequent increase of the number of women workers in the informal sector;

(v)

to discuss the problems of child labour and to promote the ratification of Convention No.182

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29); Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100); Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102); Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118); Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122); Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Part-Time Work Convention, 1994 (No. 175); Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177); Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.  182)

Working languages:

Czech, English, French, Russian and Serbo-Croat

Former date:

20-23 March 2000

New date:

8-11 May 2000

Place:

Jamaica

Former date:

23-25 February 2000

New date:

17-19 May 2000

Former place:

Montevideo, Uruguay

New place:

Sao Paolo, Brazil

Former date:

2000

New date:

28-30 August 2000

Former place:

India or Nepal

New place:

Kathmandu, Nepal

Proposed date:

23-26 May 2000

Place:

Bangkok, Thailand

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$35,000); Universal Postal Union (US$30,000); and Union Network International (US$6,000)

Geographical coverage:

Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand

Composition of participants:

(a) Governments

10

(b) Employers:

2

(c) Workers:

10

Resource persons:

3 from the Universal Postal Union

3 from Union Network International

Observers:

Asian Development Bank

Asian-Pacific Postal Union

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

World Bank

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to examine the impact of structural and legal reforms in the postal sector of Asian and Pacific countries, including a specific reference to women, and to create or enhance awareness about the need for social dialogue in the context of these reforms;

(ii)

to analyse the role of the social partners in the processes of restructuring and globalization;

(iii)

to discuss current problems and challenges for human resources management and strategies to ensure effective social dialogue;

(iv)

to examine the most recent international forms of consensus-building and a framework for action based on the conclusions adopted by the ILO Tripartite Meeting on the Human Resources Dimension of Structural and Regulatory Changes and Globalization in Postal and Telecommunications Services, April 1998, Geneva. Account would be taken of the latest ILO and UPU policy and strategic orientations and guidelines.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135); Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144); Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151); Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154); Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171); Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181)

Working language:

English

Proposed date:

22-24 May 2000

Place:

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$20,000);

Geographical coverage:

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Composition of participants:

(a) Governments:

10 (one representative of the Ministry of Labour and one of the Ministry of Health from each of the participating countries)

(b) Employers:

2

(c) Workers:

2

Resource persons:

1 from the European Union

1 from a transition economy

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to assist Central Asian countries in the process of reforming and restructuring their inherited labour protection systems;

(ii)

to present and promote the ratification of relevant ILO instruments (Conventions Nos. 81, 129 and 155) with a view to develop prevention strategies in line with these instruments and to reform policies, legislation and structures in the fields of labour protection and labour inspection;

(iii)

to discuss gender issues, such as maternity protection as part of the labour inspection supervision.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (and Protocol, 1995) (No. 81): Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129); Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150); Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155)

Working languages:

English and Russian

Proposed date:

5-7 July 2000

Place:

Antigua, Guatemala

Financing:

Government of Spain (US$85,000)

Geographical coverage:

Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama

Composition of participants:

(a) Governments:

16

(b) Employers:

16

(c) Workers:

16

Resource persons:

One government official

One representative of an academic institution

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to sensitize the participants about the importance of the participation of the social partners in the systems of labour administration;

(ii)

to inform them about the different modalities of participation and their results.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150); Labour Administration Recommendation, 1978 (No. 158)

Working language:

Spanish

Proposed date:

21-25 May 2000

Place:

Yalta, Ukraine

Financing:

IPEC/SIMPOC ^[17] (US$41,500)

Geographical coverage:

Belarus, Georgia, Hungary, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine

Composition of participants:

(a) Governments:

52 (36 from Ukraine and 16 from other countries)

(b) Employers:

4 (including one local)

(c) Workers:

4 (including one local)

(d) Representatives of
academic institutions:

5

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to present and discuss the results of the Ukrainian modular Child Labour Survey conducted in 1999-2000 within the framework of an IPEC/SIMPOC project with a view to promote the ratification by the participating countries of Convention No.182;

(ii)

to present and discuss the major technical aspects of modular survey methodologies;

(iii)

to promote the availability of gender-specific statistics and a better understanding of the situation of girls and boys engaged in economic activity.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Working language:

English and Russian

Proposed date:

To be determined

Place:

Trinidad and Tobago

Financing:

ILO regular budget (US$19,402); and participating governments (US$29,862)

Geographical coverage:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands and Trinidad and Tobago

Composition of participants:

(a) Governments:

21 governmental statisticians

(b) Employers:

3 (including one local)

(c) Workers:

3 (including one local)

Purpose of meeting:

(i)

to provide a short modular training programme covering sampling techniques, data processing, including specialized software, to supervisory staff of Caribbean statistical institutions involved in the production of labour statistics;

(ii)

to enhance the quality and timeliness of the labour force surveys and other sources of labour market data;

(iii)

to promote the availability of gender-specific statistics.

Relevance to international
labour standards:

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122); Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160); Labour Statistics Recommendation, 1985 (No. 170)

Working language:

English

Former date:

May 2000

New date:

9-11 May 2000

Place:

Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic