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8International Labour Conference

Provisional RecordNinety-first Session, Geneva, 2003

Fourth sittingTuesday, 10 June 2003, 10.15 a.m.

Presidents: Mr. Wamalwa and Mr. Wojcik

The PRESIDENT – Before resuming our discussionof the Reports of the Chairperson of the GoverningBody and the Director-General, I shall give the floor tothe Clerk of the Conference.

RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONVENTIONS

Original French: The CLERK OF THE CONFER-ENCE – It is a pleasure for me to announce to theConference that on the 6 June 2003 the Director-General noted the ratification by Bolivia of the WorstForms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182);the ratification by Guinea of the Minimum AgeConvention, 1973 (No. 138) (the minimum age being16 years), and the Worst Forms of Child LabourConvention, 1999 (No. 182). With these last two ratifi-cations, Guinea has now ratified the eight coreConventions. Finally, on 9 June 2003, the Director-General registered the ratification by New Zealandof the Right to Organise and Collective BargainingConvention, 1949 (No. 98).

REPORTS OF THE CHAIRPERSON

OF THE GOVERNING BODY

AND THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL:DISCUSSION (cont.)

The PRESIDENT — We shall now resume thediscussion on the Reports of the Chairperson of theGoverning Body and of the Director-General.

Original Spanish: Mr. RAY GUEVARA (Secretaryof State for Labour, Dominican Republic) – The spe-cial focus of this 91st Session of the Conference of theInternational Labour Conference Organization, thetheme, Working out of poverty, stems from a growingawareness on the part of the social partners andgovernments coming together within the ILO that,as stated in the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia,“poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperityeverywhere”.

For the Government of President Hipólito Mejía, thefight against poverty necessarily signifies the creation ofdecent, dignified work by strengthening vocationaltraining for productive work, encouraging the develop-ment of MSMEs and supporting the cooperative sector.It should be pointed out that, in our country, there hasbeen a revival of cooperativism. At present, the sectorcomprises 625 groups and cooperatives, from whichmore than 400,000 Dominicans benefit directly andwhich generate 15,750 direct and 45,000 indirect jobs, ora total of 60,750.

In our opinion the essential tools for promoting jobpolicies are consultation and social dialogue. The aim

of economic globalization must be the creation ofjobs, not simply the maintenance of a macroeconomicbalance based on restrictive social policies.

We in the Department of Labour are pleased to berunning a programme to update and improve youngpeople’s skills, “Youth and Employment” that isfunded and supervised by the Inter-American Devel-opment Bank. Initially 600 young people out of a totalof 37,500 emerging from an endless tunnel of povertyhave been trained for productive work with place-ments in companies. Another programme of theDepartment of Labour, “First jobs for Young People”has helped more than 1,000 young people. More thana dozen polytechnics are being set up and the Domini-can armed forces’ vocational schools have been savedfrom closure.

The creation of decent work is blighted if there isnot a relentless fight against child labour. We are inthe vanguard of the eradication of the worst forms ofchild labour.

In something over a year we have saved 2,036young children working in the windy coffee planta-tions in Ocoa and, in the last eight months, 790 chil-dren in the tomato industry in Azua. Over a seven-month period we prevented 250 cases of childlabour in Constanza by running ten out of a total of15 modern pre-school establishments. Last March,together with the United States Department of Laborand Department of Education, we signed into exist-ence a programme aimed at improving the qualityof education and the educational infrastructure forchildren who have been freed from the yoke of childlabour.

Lastly in September, we are going to launch athree-year time-bound programme tackling urbanlabour, commercial sexual exploitation and agricul-tural labouring in the rice sector.

On the first day of this month, a red-letter day inthe Dominican Republic, we launched a universalpension system which, together with coverage forhealth and occupational risks, forms the basis of theDominican social security system which is the mainsocial achievement of the Government of PresidentMejía. One of the main assets of the Dominican Re-public in the world of work is social and labour peace.To preserve it, it is more essential than ever before torespect workers’ rights and pay particular heed tocompanies so as to ensure that they are not affectedby excessive taxation or social charges, which couldendanger the creation of jobs or reduce the number ofnew jobs. Ingenuity, creativity, realism and solidarityshould be the watchwords today for maintainingsocial cohesion and arriving at a fairer, more humanand more caring society.

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We would like to express our happiness on there-election of the Director-General and thank the ILOfor the support it gives us, especially through the sub-regional office in Costa Rica. Similarly, we would liketo express our gratitude to those governments andinternational organizations which twin bilateral orinternational cooperation into a tool for security,equality and justice between States.

Mr. SARWAR (Secretary, Government delegate,Pakistan) — I congratulate the President on his elec-tion to preside over the 91st Session of the Interna-tional Labour Conference. I am very confident thatunder his dynamic guidance the Conference willreach a positive outcome on all the important issuesunder consideration.

I also congratulate the Director-General, JuanSomavia, for his excellent Report to the Conferenceon the work of the Organization, entitled Working outof poverty.

Globalization is defining the reality of our times.Although it has been propelled by technologicaladvancement, the shape it assumes is a product of anincreasingly liberal financial and economic environ-ment at the global level. Consequently, while it isbeing viewed as an elevator to prosperity, so far “itsbenefits are very unevenly shared and costs areunevenly distributed”.

For developing countries like Pakistan, the mostfundamental challenge is to evolve a policy frame-work which would cope effectively with the changingglobal economic and social realities. This task canonly be fulfilled provided measures at the nationallevel are supplemented by international actionstowards an equitable international economic environ-ment.

At the national level, the Government of Pakistanhas been working assiduously with the social partnersto create a viable framework that is responsive to theneeds and requirements of our times.

Today, I am happy to announce that following anextensive tripartite dialogue conducted over manymonths, the Government of Pakistan introduced anew labour policy in September last year that seeksto synchronize the national environment with theglobalizing world.

Our new labour policy aims to bring the labourlaws and the labour administration of the countryinto conformity with the national objectives andthe international standards, as laid down in the ILOConventions ratified by Pakistan.

The new labour policy attempts to strike a balancebetween the interests of both labour and employers.Fundamentally, the fifth labour policy reduces therole of the Government to that of a facilitator ratherthan an overseeing authority.

In this context, we look forward to ILO support inlaunching the time-bound programme to eliminatethe worst forms of child labour through, among otherthings, the replication of the IPEC programme in thisarea. In addition, Pakistan also wishes to request theILO to help develop a nationwide labour marketinformation system based on scientific surveys.

Poverty is a rot that is eating away the potential ofone in every five individuals of the world’s populationto become a productive factor in nation building.Two-thirds of these are women and they live in abjectpoverty in a world where material well-beingabounds. Consequently, the major thrust of our

economic framework is to move towards self-sus-tained economic growth, to reduce poverty, ensuregood governance, generate employment and raise thequality of social services such as health and education,including skills development.

In the recent budget, introduced just two daysago, the Government has increased the public sectordevelopment allocation to 30 per cent.

In this context, Pakistan is extremely pleased tonote the Director-General’s Report, Working out ofpoverty. We note with a deep sense of satisfaction thatdecent work is not merely a political slogan; it israpidly being converted into an operational toolof the Organization and it acts as a defining feature ofthe four strategic objectives of the Organization. ThisReport is about real issues and proposes practicalsolutions, both at the national and at the internationallevels.

There is no denying the fact that purely nationalstrategies for sustainable and pro-poor growth areunlikely to succeed in the world in which economiesare rapidly integrating. Pakistan believes that the ILOcan help us in the future. We hope for a positiveoutcome on these issues at the relevant forums.

Mr. KAIRELIS (State Secretary, Ministry of SocialSecurity and Labour, Lithuania) – May I begin by con-gratulating the President on his election to steer thedeliberations of this year’s session of the InternationalLabour Conference, and by extending my bestregards to the Vice-Presidents.

At the same time, I would like to take the opportu-nity, and on behalf of my delegation, to congratulateMr. Juan Somavia on his re-election for the next fiveyears to a very important and honourable post, theDirector-General of the ILO.

We very much appreciate much the efficient way inwhich Mr. Somavia headed the Organization and wishhim every success in the further implementation ofthe ILO’s policy agenda and planned activities duringthe next mandate. Also, I would like to thank theDirector-General and the Office for an informativeand comprehensive Report, and to stress my country’sdeep concern about the problem raised this year.

Lithuania fully supports the ILO’s commitmentto the eradication of poverty. We welcome the viewsexpressed in the Director-General’s Report, as theyprovide essential guidance for the future actions ofthe ILO.

The ILO has always based its work on the dignity ofthe individual and has seen that this implies special con-cern for the world’s more vulnerable members of soci-ety, who often need both protection and assistance withsocial integration. The ILO remains a proper venue toreflect upon the social problems that confront us today.

The Director-General’s Report concentrates on theissue of poverty eradication and is a consistent con-tinuation of the ILO’s policy to strive for social justiceand stability in the world. The Report clearly identi-fies the major issues surrounding the problem.Moreover, it proposes policies and targeted action toachieve the objectives.

We welcome the consistent efforts of the ILO toimprove the life of working people. A significant partof the ILO’s activities are devoted to improving condi-tions in the world of work. This year’s topic covers notonly the world of work, but also all people living inpoverty. We recognize that despite great progressmade in many areas of life throughout the world, pov-

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erty alleviation is on the agenda of many countries,including rather prosperous ones.

Such a situation raised the need for internationallycoordinated initiatives and actions, and at the UnitedNations Millennium Assembly (New York, 2000)more than 150 States of the world, including ourcountry, confirmed their determination “to create anenvironment [...] which is conducive to developmentand to the elimination of poverty”.

Therefore, the topic chosen by the Director-Gen-eral for this session of the Conference is very urgentand provides the ILO’s constituents an opportunity toredefine their primary tasks and set their objectivesto achieve them. We assume these obligations to takepart in poverty reduction actions initiated and coordi-nated at the international level. Our poverty reduc-tion strategy and its implementation programme movein four major directions: activating the participation ofsociety; ensuring sustainable development of theeconomy; development of the social services sector; andimprovement of income guarantees.

We would also like to highlight some aspects of theReport that are also of particular importance to ourcountry. Economic and social development, includingemployment, access to social services, social integra-tion, social regulation and social dialogue, make uppart of the Lithuanian Government’s efforts towardspoverty reduction. Most of our poverty reductionmeasures require considerable resources. High eco-nomic growth generates such resources. A successfulfiscal policy is also a precondition for preventingthe spread of poverty, and for the implementation ofmeasures to fight poverty.

On the other hand, the experience of differentcountries demonstrates that continuing overallprogress does not solve the poverty problem by itself.First of all, this requires the determination of politicalauthorities and sustained efforts by governments, civilsociety and even international organizations.

Everyone agrees that employment and job creationare of utmost importance in combating poverty. With-out jobs there cannot be decent work, and withoutdecent work there cannot be adequate wages andsufficient family incomes. Access to work is the surestway out of poverty, and there are no workers’ rightswithout work. Lithuania agrees with the consolidationof the ILO’s efforts in promoting decent work. TheDirector-General’s Report stresses the importanceof a continuous integrated approach to poverty reduc-tion, centred on decent work.

The Director-General, in his speech to the 2000 ses-sion of the Conference, called for a global coalitionfor decent work. We think that this call could berepeated this year by adding, “for the eradication ofpoverty”. We all have a responsibility to take part inthe fight against poverty. We are convinced that theinternational community will further provide anadequate response to these questions.

In conclusion, I would like to say that we find theReport of the Director-General to be informative,comprehensive and stimulating. It also clearly definesthe challenges faced by the ILO in the 21st century,and provides a wide range of initiatives.

Lastly, I would like to stress that the Governmentof Lithuania fully supports the Director-General andthe Office in the challenging tasks ahead.

Original Greek: Mr. REPPAS (Minister of Labourand Social Security, Greece) — It is a great honour for

me to attend the 91st Session of the InternationalLabour Conference in my capacity as Minister ofLabour as well as the presiding Minister of Labourand Social Affairs of the European Union.

Let me, at the outset, underline that the Reports ofthe Director-General constitute documents of highimportance regarding decent work and the eradica-tion of poverty and discrimination.

This Conference is taking place at a very criticalmoment for the world as a whole as well as Europe inparticular. Issues such as social and environmental re-sponsibility of all social partners; cooperation toachieve the eradication of poverty in the Third Worldand especially in Africa; the management of water,which constitutes the most valuable natural resourceof the 21st century; and the expansion of socialdialogue constitute major items on the internationalpolitical agenda.

International cooperation for development is a keyfactor for maintaining peace and security in ourworld. The development model promoted today atthe international level is not always compatible withthe principles of sustainable development. This be-comes apparent through the widening of the gapbetween the rich and the poor, and the depletion ofnatural resources on a global scale. Developed coun-tries, and among them the European Union, can playan important role in tackling these international chal-lenges. In the European Union awareness is increasingof the need to promote policies for stable andsustainable development. These policies, on which weall — governments, economic entities and socialpartners — should focus our attention on theexchange of experiences and good practices at theinternational level.

The Hellenic Presidency of the European Unionhas set from the start as its principle goal and prioritythe support and promotion of the European socialmodel. This model constitutes not only the crowningachievement of the social struggles in Europe sincethe beginning of the industrial revolution, as a resultof European humanism, but also a comparativeadvantage and a substantial production factor ofthe European economy in the present phase of global-ization. Furthermore, this model makes Europe auniversal point of reference for avoiding socialdumping.

At this point I would like to refer to four basic toolsfor the achievement of full employment and socialprotection. One of the essential tools is legislationwith a view to defining the minimum standards onemployment and social prosperity. The elimination ofdiscrimination, grounds. of race, ethnic background,religious and other beliefs, age or disability, thequestion of the protection of wages, and thelegislative regulation of child labour, constitutecrucial issues for which the role of the InternationalLabour Organization and that of the European Unionare vital.

Another tool of major importance is the openmethod of coordination of national policies with aview to promoting the comparative evaluation andthe exchange of experiences and good practicesamong countries.

A third tool which is of great importance to theInternational Labour Organization is social dialogue,which is of particular importance for the Europeansocial model and constitutes one of the most impor-tant means for securing democracy and justice.

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Finally, another equally important tool is corporatesocial responsibility. It is an approach on the basis ofwhich businesses decide to apply innovative policieswhich improve their competitiveness.

I am aware of the fact that I speak from the rostrumof an International Organization which has played akey role in strengthening workers’ rights and enhanc-ing tripartite cooperation. The culture of labour rela-tions which was built during the previous century,would have been completely different without theactive and catalytic presence of the InternationalLabour Organization.

I would like to express my belief to this distin-guished forum that during this century the role andthe significance of the International Labour Organi-zation must be further reinforced. We consider thatthe establishment of the World Commission on theSocial Dimension of Globalization constitutes a rightstep in this direction and we believe that the stan-dards’ supervisory mechanism of the ILO should bestrengthened.

There are three reasons that justify this belief.Firstly, in a world which experiences the continuouslowering of national economic borders, the Interna-tional Labour Organization can and must become amoderating force in addressing the impact of this eco-nomic process on labour and enterprises. Secondly, inthe post-industrial era, the adaptation of labour to thechanging and continuously developing productiveforces must not undermine the labour standardswhich have been established throughout the demo-cratic world. The adjustment of labour to the newrealities is essential, however, this adjustment mustrespect the labour standards that have resulted fromthe tripartite cooperation during the last century.Thirdly, the developed world must not and should notforget that in this new era of open horizons, it isnot permissible to close our eyes to realities of humanexploitation.

The International Labour Organization, ever sinceits establishment, has played a decisive role in pro-moting a world that thinks and lives in a more justmanner. This role should continue to constitute a bea-con of hope in the international quest for the buildingof a new society, of a knowledge-based society, whichwould also be more democratic and more humane.

Original Russian: Mr. POCHINOK (Minister ofLabour and Social Development, Russian Federation)— The ILO’s concept of decent work, which is beingdeveloped by the international community, has con-siderably advanced our chances of achieving an inte-grated approach to general development policy andsignificantly influenced our choice of options in solv-ing social problems. This year’s session of the Confer-ence is explaining the Director-General’s Report,Working out of poverty. Poverty can take many differ-ent forms and is a consequence of many different fac-tors. As well as economic, social and demographicfactors, we have to bear in mind the “feminization” ofpoverty, as well as political and geographical factors.The Report focuses on factors contributing toeconomic poverty, meaning the condition of thosecapable of work who can for various reasons nolonger maintain a satisfactory standard of living. Inthe case of the Russian Federation, two main factorscome into play. First, the lack of a labour market indepressed regions where the whole economy isdefined by one or two companies in stagnating indus-

tries. Second, wage levels which reflect the currentstate of the economy and prevent workers fromobtaining decent remuneration. Despite relativeimprovement in economic indicators in the RussianFederation, the recent emergence of the category of“working poor” remains a major concern for us. Weattribute this, first of all, to the poor competitivenessof our domestic industry, which developed in condi-tions of isolation from the world market. Anotherfactor has been the slow integration of Russia into theworld economy and world markets. Many Russiancompanies are still losing out to international compe-tition. Russian poverty ,I think, can be best describedas “economic” or “market” poverty — poverty associ-ated with the position of a certain category of those ofworking age in the labour market. There are two maingroups of low paid workers — those workers employedin public sector organizations, and uncompetitive in-dustries particularly agriculture and forestry and lightindustry. The Government is taking urgent measuresto restructure the economy, boost employment, andactively implement an incomes policy. Unfortunately,the inexorable increase of our own consumer prices tomatch world prices has left millions of Russians livingaround the poverty threshold. Tackling this situationis one of the Government’s priorities. Our view of theproblem of poverty and the different forms it can takeis important when we try to understand the processesoccurring in transition economies.

We were also pleased to note the basic ideas set outin the Global Report, Time for equality at work, andwe support the Report’s position regarding the needto eliminate all forms of discrimination at work assoon as possible. The forms of discrimination whichoccur in the labour market are becoming increasinglyintolerable. They lead to a discriminatory attitudeagainst people on the basis of race, sex, age, religiousbelief, and so on. Neglecting these phenomena, as theReport says, “Will have a disastrous effect on nationalsocial cohesion, political stability, and hence, growth”.Discrimination at work also leads to social alienationand problems of poverty and hardship. We wouldparticularly like to emphasize that we support theprinciple of equal pay for equal work, as will be clearfrom our application of the Equal RemunerationConvention, 1951 (No. 100), and the Discrimination(Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958(No. 111). The provisions of these two Conventions,and indeed many others, were affirmed in the newLabour Code of the Russian Federation of 2002which, one year on, is still being refined.

I would also like particularly to underline thetopicality of the Report’s pronouncements on indirectdiscrimination, particularly unjustified languagerequirements directed at indigenous peoples for thepurpose of hiring.

Elimination of discrimination requires a planned,targeted and consistent effort, and political collabora-tion between the social partners. The role of interna-tional organizations in this is extremely important,including that of the ILO, which can exert a directinfluence on solving these problems. We by and large,endorse the three key areas identified in the Reportwhere the ILO can help: knowledge (equality indica-tors); (education) and information; and assistance inthe drafting of national legislation.

Original Japanese: Mr. KAMOSHITA (SeniorVice-Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan) —

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On behalf of the Japanese Government, please allowme to present my total support for the ILO’s goal of“decent work for all” contained in the Director-General’s Report, Working out of poverty. At thesame time, also allow me to express my appreciationfor the efforts of the ILO, the member countries andtheir workers and employers, towards the eliminationof poverty and social exclusion. I often hear the ex-pression “poverty newly arisen from globalization”.While globalization of the economy fosters economicactivity and leads to the creation of more wealth, itcan also broaden the gap between the rich and thepoor, increasing the number of people living inpoverty. Thus, a fair distribution of the benefits ofglobalization is crucial. Indeed, fair globalization isthe challenge that has been imposed upon us.

There is a mass email that has been circulating onthe Internet that I am sure many of you have seen: “Ifthe world were a village of 100 people”, it says, “if youhave food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, aroof over your head and a place to sleep, you arericher than 75 per cent of the world”. In the face ofsuch a harsh reality, as the Director-General’s Reportpoints out, sustainable development is indispensablefor people to work out of poverty and social exclu-sion. I am convinced that the most important elementfor establishing the independence and self-relianceof individuals, societies and countries is human re-sources development. Human resources constitutethe foundation of the development of a country. TheILO is a vital international organization in addressingthe issue of human resources development. I hopethat the human resources development strategy willbe promoted in the fight to end poverty and socialexclusion.

Respect for the “ownership” of self-reliant countriesand lending a helping hand as an equal partner — thatis the assistance philosophy of my Government.Under this philosophy, we have been supportinghuman resources development in developing countriesby contributing to programmes such as the Asian andPacific Skill Development Programme (APSDEP),which aims at improving job skills in the Asia-Pacificregion, through various projects involving the ILO,such as the ILO/Japan intercountry project on strate-gic approaches towards employment promotion inChina, and through financial and technical coopera-tion with human resources development facilities allover the world.

Support alone, however, cannot resolve the prob-lem. What is also essential is sufficient communica-tion and cooperation among the tripartite bodies, allthe stakeholders, and of course the ILO, which hasvast experience in this field.

In order to overcome this difficult challenge, weexpect the ILO to demonstrate its leadership evenmore than before, and we ourselves will fully supportits activities through projects which enhance socialdialogue and promote the concept of tripartism.

Japan upholds the ILO’s strategic objectives thataim at achieving decent work. To this end, the utiliza-tion of resources, including those contributions thatwere paid in spite of the severe financial situations ofgovernments, must be made as effective and efficientas possible.

I believe that the ILO has to strive to reduce per-sonnel costs by reviewing the personnel structure, andmust also make every effort to economize through theregular scrutiny of costs. We strongly stand by the

ongoing effort of decentralization to the regional of-fices. However, this effort should be one that leads tobetter and effective use of resources. We are lookingforward to further efforts by the Office in this area.

Concerning public service reform in Japan, it isimportant that the Government and interested partiesfirst hold earnest consultations. Prime MinisterKoizumi and President Sasamori of the RENGO, theJapanese Trade Union Confederation, held a meetingon 27 May and confirmed that the Government andworkers would continue their consultations.

We would like to provide further information tothe ILO, but we ask for the ILO’s understanding andpatience as the reform process unfolds.

As globalization of the economy marches forward,the role of international organizations such as theILO will become more and more essential.

So that the ILO can keep its eye on the realizationof social justice and give full scope to its abilities,the Government of Japan intends to support theILO’s various activities through closer cooperationand tighter communication with the Office and theMembers.

Original Portuguese: Mr. PAIS ANTUNES (Secre-tary of State for Labour, Portugal) – On behalf of thePortuguese Government, I would first of all like tocongratulate the President and the Vice-Presidentson their election to preside over this important discus-sion. I am sure that they will all contribute to thesuccess of this year’s session of the InternationalLabour Conference.

Lord Brett, in his capacity as Chairperson of theGoverning Body, presented a report which clearlyshows the importance of the activities which theGoverning Body and the ILO have carried out overthe last 12 months with a view to attaining the globalobjective of creating opportunities to obtain decentwork for all men and women.

Mr. Juan Somavia, whose re-election to the posi-tion of Director-General of the ILO was supported byPortugal, also merits congratulation. He has submit-ted a Report prompting us to renew our commitmentto pool our efforts in order to eliminate poverty on allcontinents through work.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to say that weare near to attaining the goals which we have set our-selves. Undoubtedly today in the world we have moredemocracy, but economic growth over recent decadeshas not brought social justice with it. On the contrary,the increase in production has been accompanied byan increase in inequality as regards income distribu-tion. To fight against the suffering of billions of peoplewho do not have enough food, who do not haveschools, basic health care, jobs or social protection —all this is a basic challenge for humankind.

More democracy, more development and moresocial justice are the basic weapons in this fight:more democracy because without democracy wecannot have social justice; more development becausewithout development we do not have wealth, andwithout wealth it is not possible to fight inequalitieseffectively; more social justice because without socialjustice democracy will always be incomplete anddevelopment will not be sustainable.

Poverty keeps producing new generations of poorpeople and therefore it is urgent to break this cycle.The Portuguese Government therefore supports theglobal campaign to overcome poverty through work.

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It is important to ensure that children and youngpeople go to school before they go into the labourmarket. It is essential to improve the qualifications ofworkers and employers so that their work can be moreproductive, and so that they can be better prepared todeal with changes in the system of production.

It is essential that legislation and, above all, prac-tice recognize the fundamental rights at work as setout in the Freedom of Association and Protection ofthe Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), andthe Right to Organise and Collective BargainingConvention, 1949 (No. 98), which should be ensuredfor employers and workers in the informal economy.

We need to do away with discrimination in all areasas regards access to school, to work and to vocationaltraining.

Lastly, it is essential to promote effective socialdialogue based on respect for the irreplaceable rolewhich workers’ organizations and employers’ organi-zations have in defending the rights and interests ofthe persons they represent. Governments must alsobe involved, as they are directly responsible for thepreparation and implementation of public policies.

The Portuguese Government supports, and willcontinue to support, the policy of partnership be-tween the ILO and other international organizationsto provide technical assistance to less developedcountries and regions. We would like to say that weare very happy about the recent opening of an ILOoffice in Lisbon, which will increase the participationof our authorities and social partners in the activitiesof the ILO, and will strengthen tripartite collabora-tion, promoting our special relationship with thePortuguese-speaking countries of Africa as well aswith East Timor.

Original Chinese: Mr. LI (Vice-Minister for Labourand Social Security, China) — I would like to con-gratulate the President and the Vice-Presidents of thissession of the Conference on their elections. I amconfident that under their guidance this session of theConference will be successful.

The world is undergoing profound changes. Peaceand development are the major issues of our time.However, natural disasters, diseases, terrorism andregional conflicts pose huge threats to the world. Theglobal economic recovery lacks vitality and mankindis still faced with challenges which it cannot ignore.

As early as the beginning of the last century, thefounders of the ILO adopted the ideal of eradicatingpoverty, realizing social justice and establishing uni-versal and lasting peace. However, poverty still lingersin many places, even today. The United Nations, in itsMillennium Development Goals, has set itself thetask of halving global poverty by 2015. The currentsituation is not very encouraging. The accumulationof wealth and progress in science and technology havenot benefited all countries, and the gap between theNorth and the South is increasing. We are acutelyaware of the serious problems, and believe that theeradication of poverty is crucial to further humandevelopment.

The ILO has a unique strength in creating decentwork and promoting poverty reduction. It is playing astrategic role in advancing social justice and maintain-ing global sustainable development by mainstreamingdecent work in its effort to combat poverty.

China is the largest developing country. For de-cades the Government has made unswerving efforts

to combat poverty which has been a remarkable con-tribution to the global fight against poverty. The num-ber of people living below the poverty line hasdeclined from 250 million in 1978 to 30 million today.However, China is a developing country with 1.3 bil-lion people, most of whom are farmers. The excessiveoverall labour force, often unskilled, structuralanomalies, unemployment and underemployment areall very serious problems.

The Government is facing up to reality by makingevery effort to link economic and social development,making employment a top priority and placing socialsecurity high on its agenda. The newly electedGovernment has further set itself the objective ofbuilding a better, well-balanced, prosperous society.We are fully confident of achieving this.

Recently, China and some other countries andregions have experienced outbreaks of “Severe acuterespiratory syndrome” (SARS). This has not onlythreatened the health and life of people but alsoposed new challenges to employment and social secu-rity. The Chinese Government has taken, and willcontinue to take, resolute measures to contain the epi-demic. In the meantime, we will always keep in mindthe importance of economic development, employ-ment and the workers’ rights. At present, the SARSsituation has been stabilized, and we are continuing totake effective measures to promote employment andsafeguard the rights of workers. We firmly believethat we will eventually overcome SARS and bringpeople’s work and life back to normal.

Poverty reduction is a pressing task for the world,especially for the developing countries.

It is our belief that, firstly, countries around theworld must look beyond traditional values, keepabreast of the times and strengthen exchanges andcooperation, so as to promote economic and socialdevelopment in all countries, and work hard to reducethe incidence of poverty around the world. Secondly,we must attach strategic importance to poverty reduc-tion and promote the establishment of a new interna-tional economic order that is fair, rational and in linewith the levels of development and the needs of everycountry in order to guarantee the right of all coun-tries, especially the developing ones, to develop.Thirdly, the developed countries must assume greaterresponsibility by honouring their commitmentsand increasing development assistance to help thedeveloping countries develop faster.

Our goals are clear and the road is just in frontof us. Let us join hands and work together to promotedecent work, reduce poverty and realize universaland sustained development everywhere in theworld.

Original English: Mr. PARK (Vice-Minister ofLabour, Republic of Korea) — I would like to con-gratulate the President on his appointment to chairthe 91st International Labour Conference. I wouldalso like to extend my gratitude to the staff of theInternational Labour Office for their hard work inpreparing this Conference. I also wish to express mycongratulations to the Director-General, Mr. JuanSomavia, for his re-election this March.

The Government of the Republic of Korea isfully supportive of the various projects and activitieswhich have been carried out under the banner ofdecent work, proposed by Mr. Somavia as the futuredirection and vision of the ILO.

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If the past five years have been a period of estab-lishing an institutional framework for decent workand its promotion, I hope and expect the next fiveyears will be an historic period in which decent worktakes root and will be reflected in the projects andactivities of the ILO. I would like to reiterate thatthe Korean Government will closely cooperate withother member States to achieve this grand goal.

The Director-General’s Report, Working out ofpoverty suggests effectively how the ILO should focusits efforts on working out of poverty. Poverty is apart of a vicious cycle that consists of varioussocial problems, such as child labour and forcedlabour; however, we have to remember that it isalso the fundamental cause for which such a circle isformed.

Poverty is such a complex, prevalent and seriousproblem that it will not be easy to create a “silverbullet” solution to it. But, as the Report points out,job creation through training and skills developmentis an effective alternative and the ILO will have toconcentrate its efforts on creating new jobs throughthe improvement of workers’ employability. To thisend, the ILO should carry out employment-friendlyactivities within its dynamic structure.

First, the ILO should strengthen the activities ofits regional offices, offer technical assistance for jobcreation tailored to each member State and establishemployment security infrastructure.

Second, member States should take training andeducation as priority policy tools for reducing pov-erty. For developing countries, although investmentin vocational training would seem a difficult policydecision in the short term, in the long term it will, I amsure, return the biggest dividends.

The new Government, which took office this Feb-ruary, set out three labour policy directions, namelyindustrial relations for social cohesion, vibrant labourmarkets and quality of working life. The new Govern-ment is willing to improve labour laws and standards,taking fully into account both international standardsand domestic realities. For instance, legislation isbeing promoted to ensure that public officials enjoybasic labour rights equivalent to those of teachers. Inthis vein, the Committee for Advanced IndustrialRelations was established, comprising members ofcivil society, to prepare detailed plans for educationalreform. The legislation will be drafted through a pro-cess of consultation with various interested parties.The Korean Government has a firm belief that it willresolve all the issues through social dialogue,compromise and the application of the fundamentalprinciples of the ILO.

I ask the ILO and its member States to support theKorean Government’s reform plans, so that they canbe realized.

Original French: Mr. BILTGEN (Minister ofLabour and Employment, Secretary for Communica-tions, Minister of Churches, Minister for Relationswith the National Parliament, Luxembourg) — Letme start by passing on my congratulations to thePresident on his election. I have no doubt that hiscompetence and experience will ensure a successfuloutcome to this session of the Conference.

I welcome the excellent Reports prepared by theDirector-General, namely Working out of poverty andthe Global Report under the follow-up to the ILODeclaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at

Work, Time for equality at work. I would like to thankand congratulate the Director-General.

According to the ILO Constitution, its mission is topromote social justice and, beyond that, universal andlasting peace. The Philadelphia Declaration statesthat one of the major obstacles to social justice andpeace is poverty. “Poverty anywhere constitutes adanger to prosperity everywhere”, it states.

In a period of economic globalization , to which weneed to respond with social globalization , we mustalso recognize the existence of a globalization ofpoverty. In 1960, the income of the richest fifthof the world’s population was 30 times that of thepoorest fifth. In 1999, that relationship was 74 to one.

Doing away with poverty is not just a social andhuman necessity, but it can also be a factor of eco-nomic growth. Faced with the globalization of poverty,we need to implement a coherent and comprehensiveplan of action, of which I would like to describe fourmain components:

Firstly, the redistribution of wealth. I talked aboutthe unequal distribution of income throughout theworld. Wealth has to be shared more equally. That isthe whole point of development aid. My country,Luxembourg, is very proud of living up to its commit-ments and, since 1995, its development aid budget,which had risen to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2000, hasnow reached 0.84 per cent in the current year, andwill reach 1 per cent by 2005. I can assure you thatmy country will continue to support ILO projects infuture.

Secondly, the rule of law. Human dignity alsoimplies the enjoyment of rights. It is difficult to fightagainst poverty in situations of autocracy, dominationand intimidation. We need to establish a world orderbased on respect for the rule of law and for basic hu-man rights. At the very least, and I mean at the veryleast, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principlesand Rights at Work, 1998, should be implementedthroughout the world.

Third, tripartite cooperation. We will not succeedin eradicating poverty without decisive tripartitecommitment. Work is the best way of getting out ofpoverty. To provide work, we need to create jobs, butnot just any jobs. The quality of jobs is just as impor-tant. The European Community has understood thateconomic and structural policy, employment policyand social policy are three parts of one triangle, andhave to support each other.

Fourth, the institutionalization of a world social or-der. Every year, at this meeting, I underline the linksand relationships between the various institutions atthe global level. Now, there is no doubt that some ofthese links have been strengthened, for example,between the World Bank and the ILO, or throughthe World Commission on the Social Dimension ofGlobalization. Should we not think of moving into anew stage in the process, moving towards a greaterinstitutionalisation within the United Nations system,or even beyond it, with a view to bringing closertogether both economic and social aspects? MyGovernment would very much like to see, for ex-ample, at least a Memorandum of Understanding be-tween the ILO and the OECD. The OECD has clearsocial responsibilities, even if the ILO remains theguiding power. What is at stake is very significant .Ifglobalization takes the form of relocating businessesfrom developed countries to low-salary countries andeconomic migration towards developed countries,

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where the worst kind of social dumping occurs, wewill not see the reduction of poverty in developingcountries, but might well see increasing poverty in thedeveloped world.

Poverty is a global phenomenon. One of the mainsources of the emergence of poverty in developedcountries is discrimination, including discriminationin the workplace. Work is the best way of combatingdiscrimination, but the availability of work is notenough to avoid discrimination. I would pick out fourexamples.

Firstly, equality of pay between men and women.We can see that poverty is becoming more and moreof a phenomenon that affects women. We still do nothave equal pay, despite the fact that we have fairlystrong legislation in many parts of the world. Moregender equality in the representative bodies of thesocial partners and in political structures could help toremedy this situation.

Secondly, atypical kinds of work. Not all atypicalkinds of work are necessarily a bad thing, particularlyif they can create or lead to work. For instance, itmay consist of fixed-term contracts, temporary work,part time work or tele-working. And we know thattele-working can make it easier to reconcile work andfamily commitments. However, we must see thecreation of rules and regulations if we are to supportthis kind of work, and avoid the potential problemswith regard to salaries and working conditions.

I would particularly like to see ILO standardsconcerning the employment relationship. There aremore and more employment relationships whose truenature is deliberately hidden by the employer, such asthe occurrence of fake self-employed contracts. Icompletely agree that the ILO should issue standardsin this regard with a view to establishing universalcriteria to avoid such discrepancies.

Thirdly, wages. I was very glad to read in Time forequality at work report that “The adoption of a mini-mum wage policy, the primary goal of which is to set afloor for the wage structure in order to protect lowwage earners, is designed to improve the earnings ofthose disproportionately represented at the bottom ofthe occupational hierarchy, i.e. women, migrants andother groups that may be discriminated against on thegrounds of ethnicity, national origin, age, disability orhealth, among others.” This policy also has the advan-tage of setting out a reference point for self-employedpeople, particularly those who are not really self-employed and for workers in the informal economy.

Fourth, a culture of safety. We welcome the factthat the ILO has chosen to declare 28 April a WorldDay for Safety and Health at Work, and we will giveour full support to that initiative. A joint programmefocussing on preventive measures is also needed.

In conclusion, I would say that we need to placegreater emphasis on the ethical values in social andeconomic relationships. I want to quote Mr. KlausSchwab, founding Chairman of the Davos Forum,who stated on 23 January 2003 to the newspaper,Le Monde, “we have to get back to basic values:the chiefs of businesses have to understand that weare entering a period of modesty, and that humilityis gaining currency as a value”. Why not start byattracting the interest of business in the specificimplementation of their social responsibility? In thebest case scenario, that would make it possible to havefewer or low regulations of the kind that businessappears to be so afraid of.

Original French: Mr. NKILI (Minister of Employ-ment, Labour and Social Welfare, Cameroon) – It is anhonour and a pleasure for Cameroon to take the floor,through me, before this august assembly to give youour impressions of the Director-General’s Report,Working out of poverty. Allow me, however, first ofall, to congratulate the President and the Officerselected for this session and to wish them every successin guiding our work.

Ever since its accession to national and internationalsovereignty, Cameroon has adhered to the constitu-tional aims and objectives of the ILO. It therefore goeswithout saying that the main points of this year’s GlobalReport under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration onFundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Time forequality at work, will receive the support of my country,in particular the fight against discrimination at workwhatever form it may take; recognition of the link be-tween discrimination and the phenomena of povertyand the decent work deficit; the promotion of socialdialogue and social protection of workers as a means ofcombating discrimination; and intensification of inter-national cooperation against discrimination under theaegis of the ILO.

Our concurrence with these points is evidenced inthe fact that Cameroon a long ago ratified the EqualRemuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), andthe Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)Convention, 1958 (No. 111), which provide the frame-work for protection against the various forms ofdiscrimination. National legislation implementingthese instruments also lays down safeguards againstthe various forms of discrimination at work.

The declaration of a poverty alleviation strategyand the various sectoral plans which have been drawnup and are being implemented seek to eliminateall forms of discrimination. Furthermore, theinterministerial meeting organized each year by ourGovernment, which has been extended to includethe private sector, discusses, among other things,the question of non-discrimination at work. Consider-ation is also being given to the future of the informaleconomy with regard to this question.

Cameroon thus supports unreservedly the activitiesproposed by the Director-General of the Interna-tional Labour Office in the Report.

We are particularly interested in the successful out-come of the social dialogue in which our Governmentis now engaged, as an essential prerequisite for apeaceful social climate, which guarantees peace anddevelopment.

The major challenges facing us now are combatingpoverty, unemployment and the promotion of workfor all.

At a time when poverty is more than ever a realityof life, and when developing countries are strugglingfor their very existence, Cameroon reiterates itscommitment to work with the ILO to meet all thesechallenges, which are the main focus of the policydefined by His Excellency Paul Biya, President of theRepublic and Head of State of Cameroon.

A country of peace and dialogue, a stable country,open to the world, Cameroon reaffirms its determinationto uphold the ideals of the ILO and its determination towork towards the success of the Director-General of theILO, Mr. Juan Somavia.

Mr. KANÍK (Minister for Labour, Social Affairsand Family, Slovakia) – First of all, allow me to

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congratulate the President on his election to chair the91st Session of the International Labour Conferenceand to wish him and the elected Vice-Presidents asuccessful conference.

The Government of the Slovak Republic advocatesthe importance of the decent work strategy that wasformulated largely in the Declaration on Fundamen-tal Principles and Rights at Work, adopted by theConference in 1998.

In accordance with its policy statement, theGovernment of Slovakia actively participates inthe work of international organizations including theILO, and is carrying out reforms, inter alia, in the areaof industrial relations and social insurance.

The Report of the Director-General, Working outof poverty, deals, among other things, with issues oflabour law reform, labour code modernization andcollective bargaining support. The Government of theSlovak Republic, in cooperation with social partners,drafted an amendment to the Labour Code, whichwas approved by Parliament on 21 May 2003. Thereare 208 amendments to the Labour Code that willcome into effect on 1 July 2003. The aim of the LabourCode reform was to achieve greater flexibility and theliberalization of industrial relations as well to elimi-nate any discrepancies in the text. The new legisla-tion, inter alia, accords employees and employers anequal status and strengthens collective bargainingwith a view to negotiating more favourable workingconditions for employees in collective agreements.

Thanks to the legislative and other measuresadopted by the Government during the last sixmonths, the unemployment rate has decreased from19 to 15 per cent.

The Government of the Slovak Republic wishes toexpress its gratitude to the multidisciplinary team ofthe ILO subregional office in Budapest and to theOffice itself for its technical cooperation in amendingthe Labour Code. Many of the comments made byILO staff with regard to the amendment of theLabour Code were incorporated directly into the text.

The Director-General’s Report attaches great im-portance to guaranteeing revenues for social security.Currently, the top priority of the Government ofSlovakia is the reform of the pension system. The aimis to create a safe and just pension system based onthree pillars that would be universal for all economi-cally active persons.

The Government is preparing the legislative and fi-nancial conditions necessary for creating a mandatorypillar of the pension system. Individual savingsaccounts will allow people in the future to decide onthe time of their own retirement.

The revision of the Human Resources Develop-ment Recommendation, 1975 (No. 150), is linked toeducation and vocational training in a knowledge-based society that is understood to be a consequenceof globalization and the related development of theeconomy, the labour market and the world of work.

The Government of the Slovak Republic pays specialattention to the reform of the education system atall levels and is aware that investing into the educationof the young generation is the best investment. An envi-ronment is being created in which all citizens wouldhave access to educational opportunities and lifelongvocational training opportunities.

The last item on the Conference agenda is theimproved security of seafarers’ identification as aresponse to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

The Government of Slovakia supports the adoptionby the Conference of the relevant ILO standard.

(Mr. Wojcik takes the Chair.)

Original Spanish: Mr. NIETO MENÉNDEZ (Min-ister of Labour and Social Welfare, El Salvador) —First of all I wish to congratulate the President on hiselection to the head of the 91st International LabourConference. Likewise, I wish to congratulate the Di-rector-General, Mr. Juan Somavia for his re-electionto the head of the International Labour Organization.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of ElSalvador, I wish to state that since the beginning ofPresident Flores’ Administration, a priority issue hasbeen that of labour and the creation of jobs, as this isan enormous challenge facing the government inorder to reduce poverty and to improve the livingconditions of our population. Therefore, since we areconvinced that decent work is the best way of guaran-teeing human dignity, I would like to say that mycountry’s government, through the Ministry ofLabour and Social Welfare, is carrying out, in the con-text of our national legal system, initiatives and strate-gies designed to foster micro and small enterprises, aswell as strengthening the initiative for adopting poli-cies, laws and regulations on equal opportunities forthe disabled. The purpose of this action is none otherthan to provide conditions which will facilitate the in-creased integration of this group of people into theproductive life of the country, thereby encouragingand permitting them to improve their condition.

This law has enabled us to give shape to vocationalrehabilitation and recognise the potential of thisgroup of people. We have given broad publicity totraining possibilities and vocational retraining andalso created joint mechanisms to include the privatesector and the governmental organizations. The regu-lations oblige enterprises to employ one disabled per-son for every 25 workers. In the area of non-discrimi-nation on account of age, we now have a law andregulations on comprehensive attention for olderpeople and we have set up the National Council forComprehensive Attention. This council is composedof governmental and non-governmental institutions.This law is designed to develop action to prevent anderadicate discriminatory practices on grounds of agein the labour market.

In order to improve the system of employment cen-tres, we have proposed a new organizational structurefor the National Employment Department in the lightof current requirements in the labour market. Wehave now opened a labour exchange in Puerto de laUnión, including 11 town councils and we have localemployment councils which sponsor the creation ofjobs and employment in that particular region.

I would like to refer to an important achievementwe have managed to attain, where, through social dia-logue, and in the forum of solidarity for employment,we have established an important tool for the countrywhich I think it important to mention at this meeting.Through this solidarity forum for employment, wehave prepared proposals and recommendationswhich foster preparations of programmes for job cre-ation where we have listened to 37 organizations fromall walks of life: the trade union sector, the guilds andcivil society. With this, we are trying to bring aboutreal social dialogue and not just pay lip service to it.We believe that with the solidarity forum, we are

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establishing a landmark for the international commu-nity and we would like to restate that in our countrythe word democracy is not simply an abstract concept,but that social dialogue and consultation are a realityinvolving everybody.

Mr. SAMARSINGHE (Minister of Employmentand Labour, Sri Lanka) — I wish to congratulate thePresident and the Vice-Presidents on their election.May I also felicitate the Director-General, Mr. JuanSomavia, on his election for a second term, which Iview as a fitting tribute to him by the member States,for among other things, gearing the ILO towards thevision of decent work and for the excellent resultsachieved through its follow-up mechanism.

The Director-General’s Report this year focuses ona number of crucial issues of major concern to all de-veloping countries. The interrelationship between theabsence of decent work opportunities and poverty hasbeen analysed with a focus on policy. Coincidentally,reduction and eventually eradication of poverty is thecentral thrust of the development strategy currentlyadopted by Sri Lanka and it may be opportune toshare some of our experiences in this forum.

Our Government, under the leadership of PrimeMinister Ranil Wickramasinghe, has now entered intoa new phase of economic development by steadfastlypursuing an all-important negotiated settlement tothe two-decade-old armed conflict, with the unprec-edented goodwill and support of the internationalcommunity.

To reap the benefits of peace, a comprehensivepoverty reduction strategy entitled: “Regaining SriLanka: Vision and Strategy for Accelerated Develop-ment” has been developed. The peace dividendembodied in this strategy will no doubt sustain thepeople-driven peace process that has been launchedin our country.

The principle elements of the Government’s pov-erty reduction strategy include securing lasting peace,strengthening a supportive macro-economic environ-ment, reducing conflict-related poverty, investing inpeople, empowering the poor and strengtheninggovernance, and implementing an effective evaluationand monitoring system. Under the poverty reductionstrategy the Government intends to halve the numberof poor people by 2015, and in the medium term toreduce the national head-count poverty index from 25to 20 per cent and the rural head-count poverty indexfrom 27 to 22 per cent by 2005.

To complement the poverty reduction strategy andthe Decent Work Agenda of the ILO, we have alsoembarked on diverse policy initiatives for the benefitof the welfare of workers. With a view to creating aglobally employable competitive workforce, a na-tional employment policy has been formulated by myMinistry and implemented. As part of this strategy,we have put in place an employment sourcing and de-livery system, referred to as Jobs Net. Almost all dis-tricts in Sri Lanka now have a Jobs Net Office that canbe accessed by prospective job seekers as well as bypotential employers and that functions on a 100 percent meritocracy-based principle. This on line service-centre-based employment services delivery networkis a model to act as a user friendly interface betweenpeople seeking employment opportunities, and/orincome generating activities, information on employ-ment, or any other services, and for potential employersor information and service providers. What is unique

in this experience is that we have put in place bothprivate sector and public sector partnership us byoutsourcing the Jobs Net Offices.

Given the increasingly globalized competitive envi-ronment, in order to alleviate poverty and to improveliving standards for all our people, steady improve-ment of productivity is considered a primary goal. Forthis purpose, a National Productivity Policy with twodistinct components addressing the specific character-istics of private and public sectors has been formu-lated by my Ministry, and the National ProductivitySecretariat of the Labour Ministry will spearhead theproductivity drive with the assistance and participa-tion of our social partners.

We are convinced that providing shelter for home-less workers is imperative to raise their quality of lifeand to provide them with social stability and protec-tion. This can also be linked to our productivity drive.Accordingly, our Ministry has embarked on the for-mulation of a National Workers’ Housing Policy withthe objective of providing affordable houses for work-ers who are in need. The policy is being formulatedprimarily for three target groups comprising workersin plantations and export processing zones and mi-grant workers. Action has already been initiated withregard to the housing of migrant workers; in relationto the plantation and free-trade-zone workers, moreconsultations are underway to finalize this policy. Iwant to place on record our gratitude to the ILO forassisting us in developing a Workers’ Housing Policyfor Sri Lankans.

Globalization, as you are aware, has posed manychallenges to many of our economies. Both Govern-ment and the private sector are confronted with issuessuch as competition, need for higher productivity,efficiency and new criteria in the form of governance,accountability and transparency. Hence the need forimplementation of national laws and the modificationof such laws where necessary to fall in line with inter-national standards. We have embarked on a series oflabour reforms in the last 16 months, which we believewill enable us to face up to a globalized competitiveeconomic environment whilst not compromising onthe job security and welfare of the working popula-tion of Sri Lanka. These new legislative measures willincrease our competitiveness as a nation and enhancethe safeguarding of those who are in employment,and indeed, put in place a conducive environment tocreate new and more employment opportunities.

Sri Lankan migrant workers who are employedoverseas play a significant role in our economy. Thenumber of migrant workers currently overseas isequivalent to around one-sixth of the labour force ofthe country. Around 70 per cent of them are women,while around 80 per cent hail from the low incomestrata of our society. The Government has undertakenextensive measures in providing protection and wel-fare for these workers.

In conclusion, once again, I would like to place onrecord my deep appreciation for the many forms ofthe ILO assistance extended to my country.

Original Spanish: Ms. ROSAS PÉREZ (Govern-ment delegate, Panama) — The Government of theRepublic of Panama, led by President MireyaMoscoso, would like, through me, to congratulate thePresident and the Vice-President on their election toguide the work of this session of the InternationalLabour Conference.

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I am pleased to start by welcoming the Report ofthe Director-General, Working out of poverty, whichaddresses the sensitive issue of poverty.

The Director-General’s Report is based on ananalysis of various strategies to combat the scourge ofpoverty through work, which is the most importanttool in the fight against poverty.

The Government of the Republic of Panama is wellaware of the situation of poverty which affects all ofus. In this context, we have implemented activitiesaimed at employment generation and full protectionof minors at the work place, with particular emphasison actions which will help us to eradicate child labourcompletely.

In particular we attach great importance to the con-tribution of the ILO through technical cooperationprogrammes, including that provided to our country,as these programmes contribute to the main objectivewhich is set out in the Director-General’s Report,namely Working out of poverty.

The Government of Panama would like to thankthe ILO for its technical cooperation programmes,including those on information systems and labouranalysis (SIAL), modernizing the labour administra-tions of Central America (MATAC), trade unionfreedom, collective bargaining and labour relations inCentral America (RELACENTRO), tripartism andsocial dialogue in Central America (PRODIAC),analysis and review of employment policy (ARPE)and IPEC.

The latter two merit special emphasis projects. TheARPE project was assisted by the multi-disciplinaryteam based in Costa Rica, with the participation ofthe national social partners.

As a result of this effort, 12 reports were drawn upand examined in two tripartite bodies, reflectingprogress in certain basic areas of consensus with aview to proposing policies which will promote em-ployment, and to ensure that this is one of the centralobjectives of economic policy.

Accordingly, the results of this project have beenpresented for analysis in a forum for dialogue tofurther the economic revival of our country.

Other projects to reduce poverty in our country areaimed at the eradication of child labour under theMinimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), andthe Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999(No. 182).

Through the Committee for the Eradication ofChild Labour attached to the Ministry of Labour,the Government of Panama, under the leadership ofthe National Labour Inspectorate, has been imple-menting four projects at a regional level, and one atnational level.

Firstly, under the project for Statistical Informationand Monitoring Programme Child Labour (SIMPOC)a survey was carried out in 2000, which collectedinformation according to a qualitative and quantitativesystem to provide a better view of the situation withregard to child labour in Panama, and the informationwas put into an updated database.

As part of this project we now periodically carry out asurvey of child labour to ensure that comparable dataare collected on a regular basis to show the impact ofpolicies and programmes to eradicate child labour.

Secondly, under a programme on child labour inthe coffee industry, research results will be used to setup action plans which will contribute to the definitiveelimination of child labour.

Thirdly, a project for the prevention and elimina-tion of worst forms of child labour is being carried outin two phases. In the first phase, research was carriedout on the situation with regard to domestic childlabour in our country and diagnosis published byILO-IPEC. In the second phase awareness raisingactivities so that people are made ware of the dangersof this kind of work and we can remove our childrenfrom it.

It is worth emphasizing here that the Ministry ofLabour and Social Development is working to set upa helpline to receive complaints from child labourersso that the Child Labour Unit of the Labour Inspec-torate can attend to them directly.

Fourthly, a project to contribute to the preventionand elimination of commercial sexual exploitation ofchildren and adolescents has been carried out, theresults of which will show the nature of the problemand be used to set up a database and an annual actionplan.

Finally, our country is programmed to combat theworst forms of child labour is being carried out withthe main objective of removing our children from theworst forms of child labour and getting them back toschool.

To conclude, I guarantee the support of my Gov-ernment to the efforts carried out by the ILO toimplement policies and actions that will help ourcountries reduce poverty, and we are confident thatthe work of this 91st Conference will produce theresults that we all desire.

Original Spanish: Mr. SOLARI SAAVEDRA(Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Chile) — Firstof all allow me to welcome the President and con-gratulate him on his election. I also wish to congratu-late the Director-General of the International LabourOffice, Mr. Juan Somavia, for his re-election for a sec-ond mandate of five years. This is a source of pride,not only for my country, but for the whole of America.

In the context of globalization which embraces alland does not exclude the poorest, we are participatingwith the ILO in developing a strategy to reducepoverty through promoting decent work. Accordingto the Report of the Director-General, work is thebest means of escaping poverty and in this taskgovernments, workers and employers must participateto bring about a tripartite commitment which willhelp overcome poverty worldwide.

Therefore, it is necessary to have economic growthand ensure political and civil freedoms and compli-ance with the fundamental rights of workers. Therebywe can make sure that men and women have the sameopportunities of accessing work, exercising the rightto association and enjoying social protection.

Today, challenges as far as human resources, labourlegislation, worker migration and social security areconcerned are at the heart of the agendas of multilat-eral agencies. Nevertheless, we need to highlight theimportance of labour standards and social security inthe processes of trade integration and strengtheningcooperation in all areas contributing to the improve-ment of human resources in each country.

Chile has adhered enthusiastically to the promo-tion of labour standards which will harmonize betterprotection of the worker and modernization of labourrelations, and to a process of labour reforms ensuringthe full effectiveness of fundamental rights sponsoredby the ILO, such as trade union freedom and collec-

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tive bargaining. We are adding a series of develop-ments to our social welfare system to protect workerswhen they lose their jobs and give greater transpar-ency and opportunity for action to members in theprivate pension system.

The improvement of labour standards facilitatedthe integration of Chile into the world economy, sub-scribing to important treaties. I would like to mentionthe agreement of association with the EuropeanUnion and the recent conclusion of the free tradeagreement with the United States, including an im-portant labour chapter which respects the sovereigntyof both countries over their own labour legislations,but which provides ample room for the promotionand development of human capital and for addressingissues of security and the environment.

In this context, Chile is in a position to give newimpetus to improving the competitiveness of its enter-prises and opportunities for progress for its workers.We are modernizing labour justice to streamline thedispute settlement process and guarantee fundamentalrights at work.

The prosperity of countries is no longer based ontheir natural resources or their level of industrializa-tion, but is more associated with the capacity of theirworkers. Therefore, we have set ourselves the targetof coordinating efforts to improve the human capitalof our country, through education, training and certi-fication of labour competence. Our goal is to giveChilean workers the know-how and skills, which thenew world requires, increasing their employability.To this end, we are working with the private sector toensure at least 20 per cent of the workforce areretrained annually, with particular emphasis on com-puter literacy.

Today, enterprises are competing with their coun-terparts in other countries for the know-how that theyare capable of generating to innovate and improve thequality of their products. For this reason, we needmore participatory management models, which canharness the creative input of all those participating inthe enterprise and offer healthy and safe workingenvironments. In this connection, we are very happyas a nation at the fall in accident rates and also ofthe handling of occupational illnesses. Nevertheless,we need more tripartite dialogue, including workers,employers and government. All the above issuesshould be addressed in this way.

Concepts such as competence, labour mobility,flexibility and others provoke rejection in various sec-tors of society, because they are perceived as beingsynonymous with unemployment and the loss of pastconquests. In particular, those workers with lowerskills assimilate these as being risks to their conditionsof work and pay. Such perception of threat has coex-isted in recent years with a high level of unemploy-ment – in other words, uncertainty has been seen aspart of globalization without taking into account that,at the same time, there are numerous opportunitiesfor employment and improving quality of life formany workers, through the spread of informationtechnology.

This consolidation of threats, along with misguidedperceptions of the opportunities being created, hasto be dealt with by proactive social dialogue, whichwill offer the necessary confidence for this complexprocess, so that it be seen as an immense opportunity,especially with the aspirations of progress and socialjustice. And we are sure that with ILO’s support this

will become a reality, not only at national level butworldwide, allowing these aspirations of progress andsocial justice to become a reality very soon.

Mr. DIMOVSKI (Minister for Labour, Family andSocial Affairs, Slovenia) — It is a great honour toaddress this 91st session of the International LabourConference on behalf of the Slovenian Government.Allow me first of all to compliment the Director-General on the excellent Report focusing on thecomplex process of eradicating poverty.

I firmly believe that sharing our experiences, viewsand concerns on the topic at hand will profoundlycontribute to the future formulation and implementa-tion of poverty reduction strategies within the ILO aswell as at the national level. The complex nature ofpoverty calls for each country to propose its ownnational poverty-reduction target, and the eradicationof poverty as a global objective must take into accountas many of these targets as possible.

Poverty has always been present as a global issue,but has been pushed somewhat to the margins of ourwider social awareness. The modern world is increas-ingly witness to the greater prosperity of the haves,which is regrettably accompanied by the silentpoverty of growing numbers of have-nots. Researchconfirms that poverty, unemployment and socialdisintegration often lead to isolation, marginalizationand violence. Moreover, poverty has been found to bea significant factor in the human rights infringementsaround the globe.

In this respect, I would like to point out the hugerelevance of international initiatives such as theCopenhagen Declaration; the United Nations Millen-nium Development Goals; and especially the ILO’sDecent Work Agenda, a vital foundation for abroader development agenda aimed at ensuring socialjustice in a richer and globalizing world.

Slovenia actively cooperates in the EuropeanUnion’s efforts to combat poverty and social exclusion.The biggest challenges for Slovenia as an EU acces-sion country are our participation in the EU ActionProgramme to combat social exclusion, and the draft-ing of the Joint Inclusion Memorandum, which we seeprimarily as a challenge to apply the open method ofcoordination established by the European Union topursue the common goals adopted at the Nice Summitin December 2000.

As regards the issue of poverty at the national level,I would like to mention that since February 2000when the Slovenian Government adopted theProgramme on the Fight against Poverty and SocialExclusion, this fight has been a prioritized policyfor our Government. The main purpose of theProgramme was to introduce coordinated measuresthat would help to reduce the number of people livingin poverty, and to provide appropriate assistance forthose living in poverty and those in danger of fallingbelow the critical poverty line. Since the effects ofprevious measures to combat poverty were oftenlimited because they were introduced by a rangeof different institutions, Slovenia decided to adoptthe multidisciplinary approach, the result of whichwas this very Programme. A central tenet of theProgramme is that poverty is a multi-dimensionalissue which has to be tackled from several angles andthrough a variety of alliances.

So what are our challenges for the future? Despitethe fact that the last two years have seen the adoption

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of a large number of measures which have contrib-uted significantly to reducing inequalities and pro-moting social cohesion, we are aware that, in order tohave a longer-term effect in the fight against poverty,we also need to do more to eliminate the actual causesof poverty. For this reason our future policies areaimed primarily at: (1) increasing employment; (2) in-creasing investments in education and promoting life-long learning; (3) improving access to accommoda-tion, health and social services; and (4) ensuring closecooperation between government, social partners,local authorities and NGOs. Many detailed measuresfor achieving these goals are included in the 2002-03“Employment Action Plan” and in the “Social Agree-ment for the period 2003-05”, recently adopted bySlovenia’s tripartite Economic and Social Council,which brings together the country’s social partners.In preparing these two documents, Slovenia hassucceeded in applying an integrated approach inorder to attain its general goal – sustainable economicand social development.

Before concluding I wish to draw your attention tothe importance of tripartite commitment, which isessential in resolving the problem of poverty in anycountry. While responsibility for preparing effectiveprogrammes and appropriate systematic frameworksundoubtedly rests with the State, it is the employersand workers who know best how these programmeswill impact enterprises and workplaces. I would there-fore like to state my belief in the importance of theILO’s role in eliminating poverty in member States,not only through its policy proposals and advice,but through the establishment of ground rules andinternational standards.

I would like to close by saying that Slovenia canmake a significant contribution to solving the prob-lem of poverty in other member States, owing to itsexperiences in incorporating the ILO’s four strategicobjectives into a range of national documents thatserve as tools to for combating poverty.

Mr. MARONI (Minister of Labour, Italy) — I wouldlike to reiterate the appreciation and full support of theItalian Government for the activities of the ILO in theareas of the promotion and respect of fundamentalrights at work.

Italy fully shares the ILO strategy to fight povertyall over the world. It recognizes and appreciates theefforts that the Organization is making to promotecore labour standards in the less-developed countries.Skills development, the promotion of social dialogueand entrepreneurship, enhancing the struggle againstdiscrimination and against the elimination of childlabour, and ensuring basic social security for allworkers, are the instruments that will achieve povertyalleviation.

Italy, being aware of these strategies, has recentlyindicated such objectives in the White Papers on thelabour market (October 2001) and on the welfarestate (February 2003), which include programmesdesigned to promote an active society and qualityemployment, to improve equal opportunities andsocial inclusion, and to fight against the exploitationof child labour.

In the strategy against poverty, decent work foreverybody represents a key element. Italy intends tosupport all ILO actions aimed at reaching this goal.Hence, we deem as fundamental the activities beingundertaken during this session of the International

Labour Conference, by the Committees on HumanResources, Occupational Safety and Health, and theEmployment Relationship.

We share the ILO’s assumption that the high qualityof and easy access to education and occupational train-ing is one of the most important poverty reductionstrategies, capable of fostering better employability,social inclusion and a more stable and equal society.

The Global Report under the follow-up to the ILODeclaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights atWork is dedicated this year to the theme of equalityat work.

We welcome the report, which provides an in-depthanalysis of the issue of discrimination from differentangles. Within the framework set by the ILO stan-dards, as well as within the European Union regula-tions, Italy, in cooperation with the social partners, iscurrently fighting against discrimination. For thispurpose we are following an integrated approachwhich combines prohibitions with positive actions,such as affirmative measures for gender equality andinstruments for a better conciliation between workand family responsibilities.

The Italian Government reaffirms its strong interestin and support for the standards-related activities ofthe Office. To date, Italy has ratified 111 Conventions,92 of which are still in force.

I would like to stress that Italy attaches greatimportance to technical cooperation programmes asnecessary tools to implement the strategic objectivesof the Organization. As tangible proof of its supportof the Decent Work Strategy, Italy continues toprovide strong financial support for ILO activitiesand was the fourth donor to the ILO Technical Coop-eration Programme for the year 2002.

Italy continues proudly to support the Interna-tional Training Centre of the ILO based in Turin,Italy, both through its annual contribution to the regu-lar budget of the Centre and through co-financing andtraining activities. Such contributions for the year2002 totalled an amount equivalent to 13.3 millioneuros, which represents more than one-third of thetotal budget of the Centre. Italy strongly supports thefull integration of the Turin Centre into the elabora-tion of the ILO training policies for the implementa-tion of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, and encourageseffective action by the Director-General as well asby the Director of the Turin Centre to reach this goal.In our view, each ILO programme should take fulladvantage of this training structure which is unique inthe entire United Nations system.

Original Russian: Mr. EREMEEV (Employers’delegate, Russian Federation) — First of all I would liketo congratulate the Director-General of the ILOon his successful Report, Working out of poverty,prepared for this Conference. This is a searching andinteresting document, which once again, forces us toconsider the root causes and particularly the ways ofovercoming the scourge of abject poverty, which stillafflicts virtually half of humanity. As it says in theReport, no state in the world is exempt from poverty.Unfortunately, Russia is no exception. And this is whywe have studied the Director-General’s Report fromthe angle of the Russian socio-economic situation,agreeing with some of its conclusions, and not, ofcourse, with others.

The phenomenon of poverty is too multi-faceted toallow for the possibility of unanimous conclusions and

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standard recommendations to solve the problem.However, I believe that we would all agree that theworrying tendency noted in the Report of poverty andinequality to spread in the world, can only be haltedand reversed by providing people with the possibility ofhaving a decent job in an economically productive post.

We, the Russian employers, are convinced that wemust tackle poverty through a two-pronged approach:on the one hand, the basis of any governments soundeconomic policy must be the stimulation of economicgrowth, the release from serfdom of productive forcesand that will lead to an increase in the aggregate na-tional wealth, the creation of new jobs and an increasein the standard of living. Thus, over the last threeyears, the GDP of the Russian Federation has goneup 20 per cent, thanks to which, the number of unem-ployed dropped by about 4 million people and duringthe same period we saw a one-third increase in percapita consumption. We also marked a decrease in thefrequency of strikes. In his recent annual address tothe Federal Assembly, the President of the RussianFederation, Vladimir Putin, directly linked the successof the country with the success of Russian business-men, pointing out that the driving force of economicgrowth is private enterprise. In particular, a majoruntapped reserve, which will allow us to increase thestandard of living of the population and create newjobs in the Russian Federation is still the developmentof small businesses. According to estimates, smallbusinesses only account for about 11 per cent of ourGDP which, of course, is very unsatisfactory for theformation of a competitive market.

At the same time, while focusing on economicgrowth as a policy, we must not lose sight of the needfor responsible social policy, that we feel must includeenhancing the social role of taxes and the further de-velopment of instruments of welfare insurance. Giventhe lack of sustainable growth in our country and thefact that our economy is still very dependent on theevolution of commodity markets, an important aspectof social policy must be the support and social protec-tion of energetic and enterprising people, business-people and wage earners, rather than cultivatinga dependency mentality among people. A wellthought-out social policy will stimulate businessmento invest in new projects, to venture to introduce tech-nological innovation, to corner new markets and cre-ate new jobs. For wage earners this will open up thepossibility of mastering much needed skills, increas-ing their geographic mobility and maybe even leadingthem to set up their own business eventually. At thesame time, of course, we must not forget certaincategories of people who objectively will remainuncompetitive in the labour market — the disabled,refugees, single mothers, for example.

Poverty has many causes and aspects to it — eco-nomic, political, social, humanitarian, educational,geographic and climatic — and among the interna-tional organizations of the United Nations systemthere is no organization which has not taken up thisfight against poverty. It is clear that the strategies forgetting out of poverty have to be complex in natureand will have to involve close coordination betweenthe competent organizations. As an Organization setup to address labour issues, the ILO must increaseits practical contribution to eradicating poverty byimproving the real results it gets from its projectsand programmes devised under the four strategicobjectives of the Organization.

Original Spanish: Mr. CORRIES (representative,World Confederation of Teachers) — I would like tothank the Director-General, on behalf of the WorldConfederation of Teachers, affiliated to the WorldConfederation of Labour, and its organizationsworldwide, for the Report submitted to the Confer-ence on eliminating poverty and fighting all forms ofdiscrimination as a necessary condition to achievingdecent work. Education is undoubtedly the areawhere the personality of young people and children isdeveloped with a view to integrating them into ahigher market and enabling them to have access toknowledge. We are concerned at how the market isseeking to take over the management of educationon the basis of economic theory. This process ofglobalization emphasizes how important it is to defineclearly the role of the State in the areas of education,health, justice, social security, among others, so thatthey are not replaced by mercantile considerations,particularly as there is a conflict of interests betweenthe people and business concerns when it comes to thecommon good.

To leave education in the hands of the State alone ispromoting a war which will always be lost by the poor,where special interests will overcome the generalwelfare of the population. This does not mean thatwe reject private management of education, but thismanagement should be regulated as a public serviceby the State, which defines and defends the generalinterest over and above the individual interest.

As in other aspects of society, the private sectorcannot oppose the public sector. Market andState should be complementary to ensure qualityeducation.

Education workers appreciate that the ILO hasalso decided at this session of the Conference and atthe next to look at the training of workers in moredetail. This is an excellent area of interest and wewill see how the various objectives are presented.Frequently, the market seeks to promote skills acqui-sition but without encouraging development andenhancing people’s capacity to have not only a goodjob but also a better standard of living.

This is where the State needs to be present. Wehope that the discussions this year and next will leadto the production of a more useful instrument so thatmen and women may have better access to educationand training.

We are living in a knowledge society. How can wedevelop a concept of this magnitude when millions ofmen, women and children do not even have access tobasic education to learn how to read and write?

Education, therefore, is basic for citizens to haveaccess to communication. This is not possible inthe current conditions that we have in the world ofeducation.

Shocking discrimination is found amongst millionsof teachers across the world – miserly salaries, lack ofaccess to training, discrimination against teachers thatis contrary to human dignity and the values of respectfor their employment. It is difficult to educate fordignity when teachers do not even have the means todefend themselves. In spite of this, millions of teacherscontinue to heed the call to work to overcome theseproblems and to ensure decent recognition for thismost decent of tasks – teaching.

Our Confederation is the legitimate representativeof workers in the world of education. And freedomof association is the legitimate way of fighting the

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divisive strategies that employers encourage in orderto undermine the strength of the union movement.

We welcome the encouragement and support of theILO for freedom of association to prevent employersobstructing the organization of workers. We, theworkers, are the people who should design our owntools with which to fight.

Without teachers there is no education. Withoutdignity there is no work. With discrimination theworld will take the way of weapons and warfare,which leads only to death and destruction.

Original French: Ms. QUINTIN (representative,European Union) — First of all, I would like tocongratulate Mr. Wamalwa on his election as Presi-dent of the Conference, and to thank Mr. Somavia forhis Report, Working out of poverty. This Report is animportant landmark. It deals with basic stakes of aglobalization which brings benefits and opportunitiesfor development but also exacerbates inequalitiesbetween countries and within societies.

Therefore, we have to build together a controlledglobalization and rise to the challenge of coexistenceon a planet with unequalled capacity to produce enor-mous wealth and poverty. We must do this becausethe confidence of our fellow citizens in globalizationdepends on our collective ability to reduce these glar-ing inequalities, which are a major cause of regionaland global insecurity, and our will to offer the Southpaths to sustainable development.

This is why the European Commission supports theapproach of the Report submitted by the Director-General, which has many points of convergence withthe strategy of the European Union.

The first point of convergence is the need to definea political agenda, an agenda that is global and inte-grated encompassing economic, social and employ-ment policies. This is what the Union has been doingsince the launch, in 2000, of the Lisbon strategy, whichhas recently been confirmed by the European Counciland which is the basis of the European social model.

First of all, we have to set a clear objective, that ofmaximum participation in economic life. As theReport says, and as is envisaged in the EuropeanSocial Agenda, employment alone is not enough toreduce poverty. Discrimination must be foughtbecause it prevents certain groups from participatingin society. Extreme poverty must be eradicatedthrough provisions for social protection because itprevents sustainable development.

Such an Agenda therefore must mobilize in acomplimentary fashion all available instruments,from the most classical ones, such as financial supportand legislation, to the most novel ones, such as thecoordination of national employment policies andsocial protection, and coordinate all these aroundcommon objectives, which should be as precise aspossible so that they can galvanize people to action.

Then we must promote quality and strengthendecent work. This means, first of all, to promote thefundamental rights and dignity of the individual atwork. The Union has constantly stressed the im-portance of this. This means seeking new balancesbetween flexibility and security, for example inpromoting global well-being at work or investingin life-long training which improves the structuralcompetitiveness of the economy.

Faced with unavoidable ageing of the population,Europe today is deepening the structural reforms that

have been launched since the Lisbon Summit in 2000,beginning with those that foster the employment ofolder workers by finding a quality of employment,which would lead to enhanced productivity. The adap-tation and reform of retirement systems plays a deci-sive role here, because the key to success resides inincreasing employment rates, a central objective ofthe new European Employment Strategy which wasadopted last week.

All these reforms in the service of employmentand social inclusion are based on the involvement ofall actors and social dialogue, civil society and therepresentatives of public authorities. It is thanks todialogue and partnership that we can really defineintegrated strategies for fighting against exclusionand implement them effectively on the ground.

Social dialogue, bipartite and tripartite, is a livingtradition in Europe and last year received a newimpetus with the adoption of an ambitious workprogramme by the social partners and the renewal ofhigh level tripartite consultation, but the develop-ment of integrated strategies for job creation andcombating exclusion implies other actors, such asorganizations of civil society or enterprises, throughtheir initiatives for social responsibility.

It is in this context that the Commission organized,in February, a high-level seminar on the social dimen-sion of globalization with the World Commission andthe main stakeholders. It led to fruitful discussions onthese subjects that are of interest to the entire worldcommunity, because an inclusive labour market, thepromotion of quality of work and decent work,and dialogue are the pillars of the building of a morebalanced and fairer world order.

Original Arabic: Mr. KHATIB (Minister of Labour,Palestine) — In my name and on behalf of the Palestin-ian delegation, I would like to start by congratulatingthe President of the Conference on having won theconfidence of the entire Conference and all the Mem-bers. We wish him every success in the conduct of ourwork.

I would like also to congratulate Mr. Somavia, forhis re-election as Director-General of the Organiza-tion, and I would like to thank him and all his staff forthe efforts they have made to prepare the documentsand reports for us.

There is no doubt that poverty, one of the majorsubjects being discussed at this Conference, is the ma-jor concern of the majority of people and govern-ments on this planet, and we cannot talk about pov-erty without linking it to globalization, which is thecharacteristic of our time and the source of itsstrength but also of its weakness. Developments incommunications technology and the informationrevolution have driven the global economy to a newobjective phase. While those developments have suc-ceeded in bringing about an increase in economicgrowth they have failed to distribute incomes fairly,which has widened the gap between the rich and pooron social and geographical grounds.

The increase in poverty and oppression and thecontinuing disregard by the system built on globaliza-tion of vast areas of the world which are beset bypoverty, ignorance and oppression create a fertilebreeding ground for social and ethnic exclusion andkindle violent conflicts and wars, of all kinds,entrenching enmity and hatred at the national, socialand religious levels.

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We fully agree with the diagnosis of the Director-General, which is that we cannot eliminate povertywithout creating new jobs and consequently ensuringsustainable sources of income. We affirm that thisgeneral diagnosis is accurately reflected in the situa-tion in Palestine. Studies and statistics have in factdemonstrated the very close link between increasedunemployment, which affects one-third to one-halfof the total manpower in Palestine, and povertywhich affects 67 per cent of the Palestinian population,according to a report by the representative of theSecretary-General of the United Nations.

We fully agree with what the Director-General saidin his speech yesterday, namely that the road mapformulated by the quadripartite Commission is anopportunity that must be seized, and we reaffirm thatthe Palestinian Authority and people are prepared togive the road map a chance. We also reaffirm that theroad map is an opportunity to achieve peace and is anopportunity to put an end to Israeli occupation of thePalestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories, to estab-lish an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalemas its capital, and to solve the refugee problem on thebasis of the United Nations General Assembly Reso-lution No. 194. Furthermore, the stability of the re-gion requires — according to international legitimacy —that the present occupation of Iraq also be ended.

Meanwhile, until political progress is achieved onthe Israeli-Palestinian question, in order to solve theproblems that concern our workers and those ofunemployment, I would like to mention the successof the ILO’s efforts, at the request of the Arab LabourOrganization, in cooperation with the parties con-cerned in Palestine, with a view to establishing a fundfor employment and social protection in Palestine.We have been able to set up the legal structure of thatinitiative, by virtue of a decree by President YasserArafat, the President of the Palestinian NationalAuthority, establishing the Fund as a public Palestinianorganization, with a tripartite board of directors onthe basis of tripartite participation in Palestine. I takethis opportunity to call on all of you to contributeto financing the programmes of this fund which willbe the main instrument to address the problem ofunemployment in Palestine.

Thus your political support of our efforts to putan end to the Israeli occupation, and your economicsupport through contributing to financing theemployment fund would be a real participation inthe fight against unemployment in our country.

Original Spanish: Mr. TOMADA (Minister ofLabour, Employment and Social Security, Argentina)— I congratulate the Director-General on his Reportfor the 91st Session of the Conference which reaffirmsthe objectives of this Organization, particularly thecommitment to seek a concerted effort for workingout of poverty through vocational training, invest-ment and social protection.

I would also like to extend my congratulations tothe Chairperson of the Governing Body for his signifi-cant contributions.

I must say that our Government is well aware thatthe recent support given by the ILO to Argentina,which we very much appreciate, is guided by aphilosophy and labour policies aimed at giving theworld a social dimension of globalization underthe guidelines of the ILO Declaration on FundamentalPrinciples and Rights at Work.

The ILO has worked for many years, sometimesalone, to ensure that social and labour policiesform part of sustainable economic developmentpolicies. This effort is now bearing fruit. The cata-strophic results of orthodox economic measuresare now starting to be recognized by the IMF and theWorld Bank.

In the past year, multilateral credit organizationshave started to recognize that social and labour poli-cies are substantial components of economic growthwith social inclusion.

Around one year ago, my country was goingthrough the worst crisis in its history. In additionto that, our traditionally exported products wereaffected by unequal treatment with customs barriersand subsidies which are still preventing these prod-ucts from entering industrialized countries.

The social cost of these economic policies, whichare based on the primacy of financial elements, was afurther deterioration of our labour markets manipu-lating itself in increased precariousness, high levels ofunemployment and increased employment in theinformal sector, thereby resulting in increased socialconflict. This is how our tradition of social cohesionwas broken in Argentina.

In this context, our people and its Governmenthave been making great efforts to overcome this crisisand enter into a new era.

The transition scenario of 2002 and the policiesimplemented to address the worst social conse-quences have enabled us to look at the present and tothe future with more serenity.

We are now faced with a situation in which there isa combination of institutional transformation withinthe framework of a strengthened democracy and aneconomic situation which, without blowing our owntrumpet, will enable us to put our country once againon the road to economic growth aimed at productionand employment.

For this reason, the recently elected Governmentwill continue to help the more than 2 million headsof households — both male and female — (representing14 per cent of the economically active population)who received universal assistance payments when thecrisis began. However, a central objective of the newGovernment is to re-establish the culture of work;therefore such assistance will be increasingly targetedtowards employment and production.

Therefore, a programme of public works andhousing will be implemented to boost the internalmarket and employment. This will be flanked by aprogramme on occupational health and safety whichwill receive technical cooperation from the ILO.

It is worth reminding ourselves of the words of theDirector-General in his Report for this year: “Povertyis not just a problem for the poor. It is a challenge forall defenders of social justice and all seekers ofsustainable growth.” This is the challenge we arefacing up to.

The new President of Argentina said during his in-augural address that the economy cannot be a burdenwhich ends up supporting all activities, nor can it beallowed to grind them down with permanent adjust-ment policies aimed at those who have the least. Hesaid that the basic objective of our economic policywill be to provide for stable growth, which makes itpossible to expand activity and decent work. He alsosuggested that we work to improve income distribu-tion so as to strengthen our middle classes and get

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Argentinian men and women out of a situation ofextreme poverty.

We are moving into a new era, an era in which wewill construct an Argentina with growth and upwardsocial mobility. For this, it is absolutely essential thatwe continue and deepen social dialogue as a way ofcreating social and labour policies. With a view to this,we are promoting collective bargaining since we be-lieve that this is the appropriate tool for implementingup-to-date labour regulations and for strengtheningall workers’ and employers’ organizations. We willcall on them, appealing to their sense of social respon-sibility, their prudence and their acquaintance withunfair occupational and remuneration structures,which we must shake up.

In conclusion, structural unemployment leads tomarginalization and poverty, and this is unacceptablein a society which, up until the mid-seventies, wasbased on justice and equality.

We therefore see work as a basic mechanismfor social inclusion and human dignity. This will be atthe heart of the public policies that we are currentlyworking on.

We know that on this path we are taking we havegreat support from our people and the traditionalbacking and support that the ILO has given our country.

Mr. CHO (Employers’ delegate, Republic of Korea)— On behalf of Korean employers I would like toextend our sincere congratulations to Mr. Wamalwaon his election as President of this Conference.

I also congratulate Mr. Juan Somavìa who was over-whelmingly re-elected to a second term as Director-General at the last Governing Body meeting.

In his first term, the Director-General can be givencredit for his forceful attempts to restructure themanagement of the Office. I hope more efforts willbe made during his next term to reappraise the ILO’sstandard-setting activities and supervisory mecha-nisms in order to make them more relevant andcredible and to restructure the Governing Body meet-ings and the Conference so as to make them moreefficient.

The Director-General has stated that we must worktogether for a new social contract based on decentwork for all, emphasizing that “decent work is thequality road to poverty reduction”.

When discussing decent work, we are faced withsome very fundamental questions: how can jobs becreated? How can we reduce poverty and how can weimprove the quality of working life?

The answer to those questions is clearly simple. It isenterprise development. Everybody knows that with-out it, nothing can be realized in terms of job creation,reduction of poverty or enhancing the quality ofworking life.

However, many people here are reluctant toacknowledge that fact and reluctant to take theappropriate action. Even worse, some people ascribethe decent work deficit to the lack of labour rights andpropose increased labour rights as a panacea to socialproblems.

But pains in one’s foot caused by diabetes cannotbe remedied by physical therapy on the foot alone.

The new Government of the Republic of Koreahas launched several industrial relations reformprogrammes. We employers hope that the reformswill be based on universally accepted global stan-dards, but if the reforms are to prove successful, we

have to take precautions against any adverse impactthey might have on the economy. A new policy shouldnot restrict labour market flexibility. We have experi-enced an enlargement of the informal economy, dueto the rigid labour market in the formal economy.

The new policy should not go beyond its legitimatetask of giving appropriate protection to workers, oth-erwise it might become an obstacle to job creation.

No new policy should hamper the spirit oftripartism that has been the foundation of the ILO.Autonomous and representative social partners area prerequisite for effective tripartism and social dia-logue. NGOs are without doubt autonomous organi-zations, but not representative ones. EncouragingNGOs’ participation in labour policy-making mightentail the danger of populism.

A new policy should be based on the balance ofpower among social partners. If the spirit of tripartismis to be realized in practice, there needs to be acommitment by the Government to work moreclosely with national employers’ organizations and tostrengthen their capacity.

Finally, we are expecting that the final report of theWorld Commission on Social Dimension of Global-ization will be released by the end of this year.

I believe that the World Commission shouldemphasize the vital role of enterprise in promotingemployment and decent work. Its conclusions mustclearly state that it is important to create a businessenvironment that is conducive to sustained enterprisecompetitiveness.

Recognizing the crucial role of enterprises foreconomic and social development in general, andfor job generation in particular, the future activities ofthe ILO should be redirected along this path.

Original Portuguese: Mr. MEIRELES VIEIRADE CASTRO (Employers’ delegate, Portugal) — Firstof all, on behalf of the Portuguese Employers’ delega-tion, we would like to congratulate the President onhis election and wish him every success.

This year, the agenda of the International LabourConference contains some very important issues, and,as I have just a short time available, I will only be able toaddress two of the important points raised in the Direc-tor-General’s Report, Working out of poverty. They areskills development and promoting entrepreneurship.

As the Director-General’s Report indicates,vocational training plays a critical role in improvingproductivity, increasing income and ensuring that allpersons enjoy equal access jobs, particularly in viewof the fact that, as mentioned in the report, poorpeople’s main or only asset is their labour. There isno doubt, therefore, that human resources are a keyconsideration for states and companies.

The need to invest in human resources and skillsdevelopment is a problem experienced by all coun-tries, irrespective of their geographical situation ortheir level of social economic and development,because there is clearly a link between the level ofeducation and skills of human resources in a countryand its level of development. It is therefore essential,if not vital, for countries to adopt well defined policieswhich will improve the level of skills in the popula-tion. The adoption of these policies, particularly thoserelating to education and vocational training, is theresponsibility of States and specifically of Govern-ments, which must also play the major role in theimplementing of the main areas of these policies.

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However, it is obvious that the development ofpolicies and their implementation should be carriedout in close cooperation with the social partners,given that education and training are vitally impor-tant within tripartite dialogue because social partnershave a close and up-to-date knowledge of the needs interms of initial and continuing skills development inthe practical sense of supply and demand.

The fact that the views of the social partners are notsufficiently taken into consideration, leads, as a rule,to the adoption of policies that do not meet the socialand economic needs and consequently to the alloca-tion of scarce resources applied to measures which donot attain the desired goals.

Enterprises also need to play an important role inworkers’ skills development, because a skilledworkforce is essential for increasing productivity.Workers must also be aware of the importance oftheir training, particularly lifelong education training.

At the present time, it does not make sense to con-tinue talking about jobs for life. The constant changestaking place in society and the economic restructuringcall for flexibility and acquirement of new skills, be-cause otherwise companies will not be able to survivein the short or medium terms. In order to meet thenecessary conditions, it is essential that everyone, andgovernments first and foremost, makes an effort toprovide training and skills for the population.

The second point I would like to mention ispromoting entrepreneurship. The creation of wealthis a prerequisite for the fight against poverty andmarginalization; it is here that enterprises have a vitalrole to play. Governments must create the necessaryconditions so that companies can be created and candevelop on the market. Special support is required formicro and small enterprises, because although theyare frequently structurally fragile, they provide thegreatest number of jobs. The conditions that areneeded are varied and can differ widely in nature. Themain points are: the reduction in red tape and the sim-plification of regulations; the removal of all pointlessregulations that prose an obstacle to entrepreneurialactivity and which can, in some cases lead to corrup-tion; the reduction of the tax burden and thereduction of social contributions by the workforce.

Support for the creation of companies is one of themost important factors in the reduction of poverty,and the promotion of conditions that will allow com-panies to develop in a satisfactory way should bepriority strategy. The existence of such conditions isalso important for reducing the informal economyand informal work, which is a source of unfair compe-tition and leads to huge losses in terms of taxation andthe social security system.

Lastly, I would like to underscore the idea ex-pressed by the Director-General in his Reportwith regard to importance if activities developedwithin the ILO to promote tripartism in the develop-ment of an integrated strategy which will reducepoverty-related problems and promote the creationof enterprises, improve skills development and leadto the creation of jobs. The importance of socialconsultation and social dialogue on these issues atnational and international levels should also beunderscored.

Original Spanish: Mr. MARTÍNEZ MOLINA(Workers’ delegate, Chile) — I convey warm greetingsfrom the workers of my country.

In his Report, the Director-General urges us to getour teeth into the subjects of decent work, povertyalleviation and development, issues that are relevantfor the Latin American continent. In Chile themarked shortage of decent work, the constant spreadof job insecurity and the lack of the basis for a decentlife jars with the accumulation of wealth by largefirms, holding companies and trading and exportbusinesses.

The privatization of welfare systems has furtherincreased the impoverishment of the labour force, instark contrast to the disproportionate accumulationof wealth by a handful of Chileans. In Chile the richest10 per cent receives 40 per cent of income, whereasthe poorer 10 per cent shares 1 per cent.

The flexibilization of the labour market, which hasallowed seasonal work, work paid by the hour andpart-time work, has led to a significant drop in wages.The definition of decent work with contracts, decentpay, respect for labour rights, and adequate pensions,is ignored in practice by firms that are only interestedin production and short-term profits and that considerthe worker to be an input.

When the cost of social security, health, pensionsand even unemployment benefits, are borne by theworkers, this leads to a drop in their income and theystop buying basic consumer goods. When pensionsdepend on workers’ savings, the result is a miserablepension because of their low pay, and that in turnmeans an old age spent in poverty and indigence.When the processes of collective bargaining areundermined and workers do not have access to them,the distribution of income works in favour of thehigher income groups. Chile is an example of thisbecause, in the private sector, less than 8 per cent ofthe labour force can exercise this right.

The State of Chile ratified Labour Relations(Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) for itsworkers, but the way it goes about things confinesnegotiations to mere consultations, disregardingthereby the philosophy and spirit of this Convention.This Chilean approach is a mean interpretation of thescope of the right to collective bargaining.

The processes involved in the globalization of capi-tal and the trade in goods, have not comprised a socialdimension, but rather have exacerbated inequalitybetween rich and poor countries. The transnationalcorporations which set up factories in our countries,do not grant the working conditions of their countriesof origin but seize the comparative advantages of-fered by our social underdevelopment and, in doingso, impose conditions of subjugation and generate astate of dependence and domination.

There is a strong link between decent work andpoverty alleviation. But this is also being deliberatelyweakened and when, in practice, there is no freedomof association, it becomes more difficult to attainthis objective. But as for economic development, wecan say that there has been sustained growth in Chile,but our country is still the one in which the fruits ofdevelopment are worst distributed.

Countries are not measured solely in terms of theirgrowth, their capacity to compete, or their macro-economic management, countries are also measuredby their social and cultural situation and the way inwhich they handle their labour relations. If we want toalleviate poverty, if we want to speak of progress, weneed a more social, a more humane approach to oureconomy. And this implies appropriate policies en-

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suring universal access to health, education, socialsecurity and decent work.

Mr. EASTMOND (Minister of Labour and SocialSecurity, Barbados) – I am grateful for this opportunityto once again address this assembly of distinguisheddelegates at this the 91st Session of the InternationalLabour Conference. The Barbados delegation bringsgreetings to the President and the Director-General.On behalf of the Government of Barbados, I alsocongratulate the President and the Vice-Presidentson their election and wish them every success as theyperform their duties.

Having last year called for the appointment of aCaribbean person to head the subregional office atTrinidad and Tobago, we express our appreciation tothe Director-General for having appointed Ms. GraceStrachan.

I welcome the Director-General’s Report and ampleased to participate in this debate. The concept ofWorking out of poverty is a comprehensive one withan innovative and laudable approach to the reductionof poverty. It is recognized that this is a wide-rangingissue which requires a multifaceted approach to effec-tively bring about the positive change envisaged bythe International Labour Organization. I also endorsethe point made in the Report that work is the best wayout of poverty.

The title of the Report Working out of poverty ap-pears to be in conformity with the requirements of theILO Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122).Article 1 of this Convention calls on members Statesto develop an employment policy that ensures there isproductive work for all who are available and seekingwork.

Recognizing that there is a difference between“work” and “decent work”, the Director-General haschosen to focus on the working poor and the poor whoare excluded from work.

He submits that decent work unites the interna-tional drive to wipe out poverty and identifies the fourstrategic objectives of the ILO’s Decent WorkAgenda as the ideal tools to help in the processof poverty elimination. As we all know, these areemployment creation, fundamental rights, socialprotection and social dialogue.

On page 21 of the Report, it is noted that the focusof the international community is on extreme or abso-lute poverty and the conditions for survival. Whilethis may be so, I would like to support the view thatpoverty must be seen as relative and that whereverinequalities exist in a society, strategies should beapplied to address these inequalities.

It is for this reason that I am pleased to use thisopportunity to draw attention to the challenges andconcerns of the Government of Barbados.

As the Report rightly states, in spite of historicaland cultural differences, people everywhere desire towork in safety, to have access to social protection,equality of treatment and all other work-relatedbenefits.

In this respect, Barbados is no different. Barbadosis a small developing island state with a fragileeconomy which is vulnerable to external economicshock. Notwithstanding this, however, successivegovernments have sought to ensure that decent condi-tions of work and adequate labour standards areapplied. In spite of external pressure, the Governmentof Barbados is desirous of continuing the promotion

of a Decent Work Agenda. With the help of our socialpartners, much work has been done to stabilize oureconomy. The presence of a growing informal sector,coupled with the approximately 26,000 personsemployed in elementary occupations, suggests thatmore has to be done to create decent work.

Some of the strategies suggested include promo-tion of the Decent Work Agenda at the national level.I believe now is as good a time as ever to remind theDirector-General of the needs of Barbados for ILOsupport, as identified at our regional meeting in Lima,Peru, last year.

Barbados welcomes ILO assistance in the designand implementation of a national decent workprogramme aimed at: creating more decent workopportunities; addressing the decent work deficit inthe informal sector; enhancing the occupationalsafety and health management system; and support-ing the human resource development initiatives.

As you are aware, Barbados has ratified the WorstForms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).I would like, therefore, to include a request for technicalassistance to measure the extent to which there ischild labour, especially in the light of a recent report.It is with great anticipation that my delegation looksforward to taking part in discussions on the Director-General’s Report and I am hopeful that our delibera-tions will have considerable influence and bring aboutpositive change for the working poor of the world,whose conditions can only be improved by “workingout of poverty”.

Original Spanish: Mr. MARÍ OLANO (Govern-ment delegate, Spain) — Let me start by congratulatingMr. Michael Wamalwa, Vice-President and Ministerof National Reconstruction of Kenya, on his electionas President of this 91st Session of the InternationalLabour Conference. I would also like to congratulateMr. Somavia on his re-election as Director-General ofthe International Labour Office, and thank him forhis Report, which sets out significant ideas concerningthe importance of work as a means to combat poverty.

The Spanish delegation endorses the DraftProgramme and budget proposals for 2004-05, and, onbehalf of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Iwould like to indicate the willingness of my govern-ment to continue supporting the work of the Interna-tional Labour Organization to the best of our ability.

In addition to our regular contributions to the ILObudget, where we are the eighth biggest provider offunds, we will continue our endeavours to improveour extra-budgetary contributions and technicalcooperation, particularly in relation to the projectswe support in Latin America.

Very briefly, I will now refer to reforms to Spanishlabour laws we have implemented since the lastSession of the Conference in June 2002. Thesereforms have been addressed within the context ofsocial dialogue and following the recommendationsof the European Employment Strategy. I would liketo draw your attention to the new legislative measuresdesigned to introduce a system of gradual and flexibleretirement. Our objective has been to promote theactive involvement of elderly persons, encouragingthem to continue to work for as long as they wish to doso. To that end, we have made it possible to receivea pension and continue to work, while providing anexception to workers over 65 years of age from thepayment of social security contributions.

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We have also reformed the unemployment benefitsystem with a view to creating more incentives to lookfor work. When the 90th Session of the Conferencetook place in 2002 , this initiative was still being dis-cussed by trade union organizations and I am pleasedto say that an agreement has now been reached. It isimportant to note that, in the context of a worldwideeconomic recession in 2002, of the half a million jobscreated in the European Union, 256,000, or 51 percent of them were created in Spain. The official unem-ployment rate currently stands at 8.6 per cent, havingfallen to 7 per cent since 1996.

Also in the area of social dialogue, we haveaddressed a matter of deep concern, namely safety inthe workplace. Last December, a significant agree-ment was reached with the social partners which,among other things, provides for the implementationof a system of social security contributions whichrewards a reduction in the number of accidents inthe workplace. This year, which the Council of theEuropean Union has declared as the Year of Peoplewith Disabilities, we are focussing on measures toenhance equality of opportunities for the disabled.

Also last December, we signed an agreement withrepresentatives of people with disabilities in Spain toset in place an ambitious employment plan. In linewith the government’s proposal to eliminate differ-ences between men and women in the labour market,we have recently approved the Fourth Equal Oppor-tunities Plan. The employment rate for women hasrisen steeply in the last few years, from 33.4 per cent in1996, to 45.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.But we have to continue to make progress and, conse-quently, the new plan provides for measures intendedto get women into the labour market and to keepthem there, as well as to eliminate wage discrepancies.

We would also like to point out that we will leave nostone unturned in our efforts to attain full employment.This is an objective which the member States of theEuropean Union have set for 2010 and which, withthe participation of social organizations, we hope toachieve a spirit of dialogue and cooperation.

Original Spanish: Mr. DAER (Workers’ delegate,Argentina) — In referring to the Report of the Director-General, I would like to underscore the fairness andclarity with which it deals with the theme of the merci-less scourge of poverty and the creation of decent jobsas the indispensable tool to overcome it. We agree, asthe Report states, that the ILO’s constituents haveimportant roles to play in the creation of decent work.

We also agree with the importance that the Director-General attaches to the creation of sound mechanismsof social dialogue as a key element in building a fairerand more egalitarian society.

We reaffirm our unswerving commitment to buildinga tripartite consensus to overcome poverty, unem-ployment and social exclusion, in accordance with themandate of the Millennium Summit. In this new cen-tury, the success of societies will have to be measuredby different parameters and new paradigms. Socialinclusion, human development, the eradication of theworst forms of child labour, the elimination of alltypes of discrimination, the fight against unemploymentand the eradication of poverty – these are the newvalues that we must fight for. Turning the page of his-tory, overcoming the past, is necessary in all societies,and in this process my country may be a useful mirror

in which other developing countries may see them-selves, in the interests of avoiding serious socialconsequences.

Neo-liberal policies applied with unprecedentedharshness in Argentina. The State minimized, naturalresources, public services and social security systemswere privatized, and employment contracts becamemore precarious, all for the sake of macroeconomicequilibrium. The edifice of neo-liberal orthodoxy wascomplete, and we waited in vain for the spread ofwealth which was supposed to end poverty and socialexclusion.

The collapse of the model based on indebtednesswithout growth, artificial parity of exchange rates, theindiscriminate opening up of the economy and, lastly,the seizure of the savings of our citizens, caused asocial and institutional crisis whose heart-rendingimages were beamed around the world. We were onthe brink of disintegration as a nation.

A year ago, in this same forum, we made animpassioned plea for mature and responsible socialdialogue, as an essential tool to overcome so muchinequality. Showing tremendous civil responsibility,the Government convened workers and employers.

Social dialogue and consultation were carried outwithout pettiness or sectarianism. The crisis began tobe brought under control and specific problems weresolved. The recovery of workers’ income levels andthe introduction of social programmes to help unem-ployed heads of households reduced poverty, boostedgrowth and led to modest but sustained economicrecovery. Nevertheless, much remains to be done.

Just as the social partners took up the challengeof working for the recovery of the country, all ourcitizens on the 27th April 2003, in a massive show ofdemocracy, went to the polls. We decided collectivelyto opt for change, for turning away from the past.Argentinian workers do not shirk their responsibilitiesand accept the challenge of the times, to be a part ofthis new phase, and act as an extra guarantor ofgovernability. Governability is sustained with strongand representative social partners committed todemocracy and national development. Democraticgovernability must focus on social inclusion andequality, thereby ensuring the full exercise of demo-cratic rights by all. The creation of decent jobs andthe establishment of principles of fairness are sourcesof social legitimacy, and the social, economic andpolitical partners must be committed to the search forthese objectives.

It is essential to develop a national strategy for eco-nomic development which improves the distributionof income and creates decent work to ensure socialinclusion and the recovery of social cohesion inArgentina. We need to rehabilitate the concept ofconsultation and institutionalize social dialogue as therightful means of developing a fair society, in which itwill be possible to eradicate poverty quickly. TheGovernment and social partners must build bridges,create a new consensus, which can be recognised bysociety as a whole, and will improve the quality of lifeof all Argentinians. We, the workers of Argentinaput our faith in the future. We have to learn fromour mistakes and act accordingly. We are sure thatthe country we deserve exists; the challenge is to findit.

(The Conference adjourned at 1.15 p.m.)

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8International Labour Conference

Provisional RecordNinety-first Session, Geneva, 2003

Fifth sittingTuesday, 10 June 2003, 3 p.m.

Presidents: Mr. Noakes, Mr. Muhaisin

DISCUSSION OF THE REPORTS

OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE GOVERNING BODY

AND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL (cont.)

The PRESIDENT (Mr. NOAKES) — We shall nowreturn to the discussion on the Reports of the Chairpersonof the Governing Body and of the Director-General.

Original French: Mr. DOUTOUM (representative,African Union) — It is a pleasant duty and a greatprivilege for me to take the floor before your augustassembly on the occasion of this 91st Session of theInternational Labour Conference.

First of all, I would like to congratulate the Presi-dent and all Officers on their election. It is an honourfor our African continent and for the African Unionto see someone from our continent presiding over thisimportant session of the ILO.

I would also like to congratulate our great friendand brother, Mr. Juan Somavia, on his brilliant re-election to the position of Director-General of theILO. This trust placed in him illustrates the interestand esteem that the whole world, and particularly theAfrican continent, has for him. The African continentappreciates greatly the efforts that he is making tohelp Africa on the road to development.

Apart from the Director-General, we would like tothank the whole of the ILO for the technical and fi-nancial assistance that they provide to our continent,Africa, in implementing and carrying out programmes.

As you will know, the launching of the AfricanUnion took place in July 2002 at Durban, SouthAfrica. This resulted in the transformation of theOrganization of African Unity, after 39 years of exist-ence, into the African Union, which will now be in aninterim period until July 2003, in accordance with thedecisions taken at the Summit of Heads of State andGovernment at Durban.

This will enable the African Union to put in placeits bodies and structures. Some bodies are alreadyoperational, such as the Assembly of Heads of Stateand Government, the Executive Council and theCommittee of Permanent Representatives.

The African Union was created with the aim ofpromoting sustainable development of African popu-lations in order to improve their living standards, tointegrate African economies and to redefine a clearvision of the future and consolidate the unity of thecontinent.

This cannot be achieved without the elimination ofpoverty on our continent. We are therefore verypleased to note that the ILO has undertaken to com-bat poverty by working actively to create decent jobs,especially in the developing countries.

The building of the African Union through integra-tion is a long-term task, which will have to be pursuedmethodically, patiently, with faith, determinationand the resolute and lucid vision of the leaders of theAfrican peoples.

I would also like to remind you that in economicterms the former Organization of African Unity,which is now called the African Union, has alwaysendeavoured to combat poverty and underdevelop-ment. In this respect, a number of strategies havebeen adopted, in particular the Lagos Action Plan, theFinal Act of Lagos and the Abuja Treaty, establishingthe African Economic Community — the pillars ofwhich are the Regional Economic Communities; theseCommunities are constantly reinforcing themselvesand acting as an engine in the process of integration.

The adoption of a New Partnership for Africa’sDevelopment by the OAU Summit held in Lusaka in2001 has contributed not only to repositioning thecontinent in the context of a globalized world, but hasalso helped to privilege the partnership in the effortsinitiated by Africa itself to reduce poverty and toimprove the quality of life of all African peoples.

In social and cultural terms, Africa has been able toface up to the many challenges that were confrontingit — be it environmental protection, the fight againstdiseases (particularly malaria and HIV/AIDS), thefight against drugs or the promotion of jobs, or again,the protection of the most vulnerable groups insociety such as children, young people, women andthe elderly. Whatever the field, the African Unionoffers Africa an appropriate framework for collectiveaction. It is also helping to promote the role of youngpeople and women at all levels.

In parallel to these activities which are beingcarried out with the support of the memberStates, the Commission of the African Union hasundertaken actions in the economic, social andcultural field, and in that of human rights and thedemocratic process.

I would like to remind you that the example ofAfrica, the only region of the world where tripartismhas become an ideal framework for consultation anddialogue among all the social partners, has become abench-mark which honours our continent and ourLabour and Social Affairs Commission.

To this end I would like to remind you that the firstmeeting of the Labour and Social Affairs Commissionof the African Union was held at Grande Baie,Mauritius from 10 to 15 April 2003. This tripartitemeeting is a statutory meeting and it is held every yearin the month of April, like the International LabourConference which is also tripartite and which meetseach year in June.

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The place and the maintenance of the Labour andSocial Affairs Commission within the African Unionwere the subject of serious discussions at its 25th Ses-sion and at the summit of the heads of States andgovernment meeting in July 2002. It was decided tomaintain the Labour and Social Affairs Commissionin its current tripartite form and to strengthen it inorder to increase efficacy. The first session of theLabour and Social Affairs Commission of the AfricanUnion, which was held in Mauritius, reviewed severalpoints, the most important ones of which were thedraft rules of procedure of the Specialized TechnicalCommittee on Labour and Social Affairs and thedrafting of a framework for social policy in Africa.

As far as the first point is concerned, the meetinghad stressed the necessity of setting up a specializedtripartite technical committee on labour, employmentand social affairs in accordance with article 14 ofthe Founding Act of the African Union in order toguarantee observance of the principle of tripartism asdecided by the Durban Summit.

The second point constitutes implementation ofthe Durban decision which calls for the preparationof a political and social framework for Africa, in orderto address the socio-economic problems which arehindering the continent’s development.

In this respect I would like to thank the ILO for thetechnical and financial assistance they have grantedthe African Union, for the recruitment of consultantsin charge of drafting the document that will be exam-ined by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministers atthe next session of the Commission and which will beendorsed by a special summit which Burkina Fasoproposes to host in 2004.

Original Chinese: Mr. CHEN (Employers’ delegate,China) — Allow me, first of all, to express our warmcongratulations to the President on his election to thepresidency of this session of the International LabourConference. My congratulations also go to the Vice-Presidents. I am convinced that under their guidance,this session of the Conference will surely be crownedwith successes.

We are grateful to the Director-General for prepar-ing the Report Working out of poverty, which hasgiven us some new insights into the concept of decentwork and laid a foundation for our discussion and forthe formulation of ILO policy objectives to alleviatepoverty and secure employment and decent work forall people. In the next five years the ILO will followpast effective practice and successful experience andwill surely make great achievements in helping itsmember States to expand employment, alleviatepoverty and strengthen social production, in consider-ation of different social systems, development path-ways and values, while taking special account of thewishes and demands of the vast developing countries.

The China Enterprise Confederation and allemployers fully agree with and support the Director-General in confirming that “work is the best route outof poverty”. We believe that economic developmentand social progress are the prerequisites for povertyalleviation and realization of decent work. Economicglobalization, multi-polarization in politics, diversi-ties in cultures and the flow of information throughthe Internet have become the predominant featuresof our time. Enterprises, especially the big enterprisesand multinationals, are producing an ever greaterimpact on the world economy and society, while

entrepreneurs are playing a larger and more impor-tant role. It has become a necessary merit for entre-preneurs to be human and undertake their socialresponsibility in an honest way, in their efforts toincrease economic efficiency and international com-petitiveness. It is due to this that the China EnterpriseConfederation took the lead in responding to the Glo-bal Compact advocated by the United Nations Secre-tary General, Kofi Annan, and has actively encour-aged Chinese companies to attach importance to,support and participate in the initiative. This will helpChinese companies play an exemplary role inbusiness ethics, respect for human rights, the abolitionof employment discrimination, strengthening occupa-tional safety and health and protection of the ecologicalenvironment, in line with ILO standards and interna-tionally recognized norms. This will also help to showthat Chinese companies are taking part in an activeand responsible way in international economic coop-eration and competition to a greater extent and in amore in-depth way. To this end we have taken somepractical and effective measures to help enterprises inthe work of employment and re-employment. The ex-perience of successful enterprises in China is that, inthe face of acute market competition after China’sentry into the World Trade Organization and in thecourse of the streamlining and redirection of surpluslabour force due to restructuring and adoption of newtechnologies, enterprises do not just put redundantworkers into society, rather, they consider redundantworkers as valuable wealth for the enterprise, andtake measures to find employment for them, fullydemonstrating the sense of social responsibility ofentrepreneurs.

The China Enterprise Confederation will, as always,further strengthen exchanges and cooperation withthe ILO and employer organizations in other coun-tries so as to make joint efforts for world prosperityand development, for the alleviation of poverty and torealize the objective of full employment and decentwork for all.

Original Spanish: Mr. MOREIRA SANDOVAL(Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Guatemala) —The work of the State in labour relations in Guate-mala, represented institutionally by the Ministry ofLabour, is today experiencing great and varied chal-lenges. First of all, on an institutional level, our mainproblem lies in the structural organization of the Min-istry of Labour which dates back to the 1960s, a timewhen the basic idea of labour relations leads us to be-lieve that workers would be wage earning, unionized,permanent workers and employers would be industri-alized employers, mainly in urban centres. Today, re-ality is making a mockery of this vision. Most of oureconomically active population is rural, employed intemporary or seasonal work in the agricultural sector.Some seven out of ten new jobs in our country are, infact, in situations of extreme precariousness withinthe informal sector. The gap between the original de-sign of the Ministry for Labour and reality in whichwe have to work today constitutes the main explana-tion for the lack of attention to the requirements ofworkers and employers in our country.

On the legal level, we are struggling at a crossroadsbetween a legal system which was practically inoper-able during the decades of armed conflict, with itsslow and progressive modernization, and the need tomete out swift and effective justice in a standardized

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framework, in accordance with the most modernethical, political and social standards. Here the gapbetween reality and our needs has been bridged fairlywell, thanks, for the most part, to the technicalsupport and assistance of the International LabourOrganization. However, we still have a long and wind-ing road ahead of us in restructuring our justiceadministration to make it prompt and effective.

Economically, Guatemala is going through a transi-tion plagued with incertitude. Although the currentmodel for exporting basic commodities in the agricul-tural sector with little processing generates povertyand exclusion and is slowly being abandoned, we donot know yet whether the new order we aspire to,involving the complete liberalization of trade, willenable us to resolve the problems of inequality andpoverty which threaten the long-term viability of ourcountry as a State and as a society. Poverty and exclu-sion are not merely economic and social problems.Solving them, a priority ever higher on our securityagenda, is in addition to being an ethical responsibil-ity — an urgent necessity for the democraticgovernability of our country.

Finally, to return to economic problems, we do noteven know whether the new order, whatever name wegive it, will enable us successfully to complete thetransformation of our economy from one based onproducing our materials to one which produces com-petitive finished products. Furthermore, our economyis no longer based on the export of coffee, sugar,bananas and cardamom — rather, we are exportinghuman beings as economic migrants. Most of themare illegal workers and the money they send backhome in dollars more than doubles the country’sincome from all the traditional agricultural exports. Weare experiencing and trying to overcome the moderndilemmas of underdevelopment and the dichotomiesbetween poverty and decent work, and between un-derdevelopment and fair trade, especially with regardto the trade obstacles which lie before us and to agri-cultural subsidies in the industrialized world.

Nevertheless, in the midst of all of this uncertainty,which some believe is inherent and even beneficial, tochange in the area of labour, at least, we know whichpath we must follow to reach our desired goal. We areconvinced that for a country like Guatemala, it iscoherence between the actions of the State and itsinstitutions, together with the four main principlesand eight fundamental Conventions of the ILO,that will guarantee sustainability and democraticgovernability in labour relations in the long term.

That is why, those who have preceded me in recentyears have done and thank the ILO for its technicalassistance and cooperation in areas as important as childlabour, social dialogue and tripartism, but, at the sametime , not only request that their efforts be maintainedand strengthened, but also hope that they be extendedinto other areas, such as forced labour and discrimina-tion, particularly in the case of indigenous peoples.

At this session of the Conference, in conclusion, itis even more important and timely that I should referto these different issues because, as I have alreadysaid, the fight against poverty and discrimination arestrategic points of the Guatemalan agenda for devel-opment and democratic governability and, at thesame time, they are main themes in the Director-General’s Report, which we saw presented yesterday,and the Global Report which will be presented to uson Friday.

Original Arabic: Mr. MANSOURI (Minister ofEmployment, Social Affairs and Solidarity, Morocco)— In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassion-ate! It is a pleasure for me to congratulate the Presi-dent most sincerely on his election as President of thissession of the International Labour Conference andto wish him every success in his work. I would also liketo reiterate my congratulations to Mr. Juan Somaviaon his re-election to the position of Director-Generalof the International Labour Office for a second term,whilst thanking him for all the efforts he and theOffice have made in the past, particularly as regardsthe issues that are of concern to us all. Among theseissues, I would like to stress the elaboration of a strat-egy aimed at eliminating poverty while providingdecent jobs for all employees and all workers in need.In this respect, I would also like to stress that Moroccoconsiders that poverty is not irreversible. It is notinevitable. With a strong will and policy at the nationallevel to combat poverty and, thanks to internationalefforts, we believe it is possible to uproot poverty aspart of the democratic project which has beenlaunched under the wise leadership of our King.Morocco has endeavoured to step up its efforts toeliminate poverty and to pursue a democratic meth-odology in order to manage public affairs. It has alsotried to establish human rights while encouragingprivate initiative as a means of achieving sustainabledevelopment in our country. In opting for these stra-tegic choices, Morocco is endeavouring to adopt aparticipatory approach to poverty, which calls on theopen-mindedness of all social categories so that we alladopt local projects and plans and programmes inorder to include all workers who are in difficulty bygetting them to participate in society. I would like totake this opportunity to praise the achievements ofthe new project of assistance to small and micro-enterprises. This project is being implemented in co-operation with the International Labour Office, withthe assistance of the Italian Government. There isalso a programme aimed at eliminating poverty inurban and semi-urban environments, which is beingimplemented with the cooperation of the UNDP.

We believe that the elimination of poverty can onlybe achieved if we adopt a global approach which takesinto account balanced and equitable distribution ofnational resources among the different sectors inorder to create the greatest possible number of jobopportunities for everybody, and in order to meet themost urgent social requirements. I am convinced thatthis approach will be successful only if we succeed inintegrating and obtaining the participation of all thepartners. Morocco has chosen the method of dialogueand negotiation with all the social partners who are anessential instrument for achieving this task.

On 30 April last, we signed a tripartite agreementwhich was regarded as historic in our country. It willhelp to eliminate all the obstacles that we have runinto on some issues, such as the draft code of profes-sional conduct. After years of disagreement we havenow reached an agreement on all those issues. Wehave started to negotiate this agreement, and it isbeing submitted to Parliament for ratification. Wehave also adopted procedures for extending the scopeof social protection for all wage earners.

We have also opened up a new prospect for work-ers by supporting the basic rights of workers. We haveadopted a whole series of measures which are likely toprovide us with the conditions that we need in order

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to defend basic freedoms and freedom of associationin order to strengthen the involvement of tradeunions and participation by all workers in the execu-tion of all programmes which are aimed at providingdecent work and jobs needed by all the social catego-ries.

We would also like to stress that the efforts madeby all governments at the national level to overcomethe scourge of poverty, particularly in the developingcountries, must be supported at the internationallevel, particularly as poverty and marginalizationresult in most cases in fundamentalism and violence.

In this respect, we consider that the elimination ofpoverty, and the elimination of all the resultantscourges cannot be accomplished individually,however developed a country may be. All theseefforts must be joint and common efforts.

We agree with the Director-General of the Interna-tional Labour Office when he calls for the establish-ment of an international economy which wouldinvolve integration of all the social partners. We areconvinced that this can be achieved only if we seehow to solve the problems and the negative aspects ofglobalization. We also have to give top priority to allthe ways and means which are likely to achievesustainable development, encourage foreign invest-ment and promote international trade, and facilitatethe transfer of technology.

I would also like to stress that Morocco is eagerlylooking forward to the final report of the Interna-tional Commission which was established set up byour Organization in order to debate the social dimen-sions of globalization.

Likewise I would like to stress the joint initiativewhich has been launched by Morocco and Belgium.These two countries have jointly contributed tostrengthening the work of this Commission, settingthe example for bilateral relations between countriesin the North and those in the South.

This cooperation also highlights the role played bythe ministries of employment and labour in the neweconomic and social environment. Such an examplemight help us to solve all the problems that resultfrom poverty and associated scourges.

We would like to support the efforts of the minis-tries of employment and labour, and we hope thatthey will step up those efforts in order to meet thesocial and economic requirements imposed by thechallenges with which we are confronted, particularlyas regards the restructuring and resources of thoseministries.

Once again, I would like to reaffirm our desire thatthe ILO should be more capable of supporting thepositive values drawn up by this Committee, so thatthe ILO takes into account the social dimension ofglobalization in all the policies that it adopts.

We are pleased that this contribution is a sourceof interest on the part of all of you, and that it hasreceived a good response in the final report of theCommission.

In conclusion, I would like to thank you for all theefforts that you are exerting for the achievement ofthe objectives of our Organization. I would also liketo reiterate my words of thanks to you, Mr. President,for presiding over this session, and once again, wewish you every success.

Original French: Mr. YLIEFF (Deputy Prime Min-ister, Minister of Employment, Belgium) — I have the

honour to address this forum on behalf of the DeputyPrime Minister and Minister of Employment ofBelgium, Ms. Laurette Onkelinx, who has beendelayed in Brussels owing to negotiations for theestablishment of a new government following the leg-islative elections held in May. She has asked theBelgian delegation to convey our ongoing commit-ment to the important contribution made by ILO tothe social management of globalization.

In this regard, we are particularly concerned withsocial development, employment which allows peopleto work out of poverty, as the Director-Generalrightly highlights in his Report this year, and the needto promote international cooperation and partner-ships between social ministers and organizations ofemployers and workers. If these partnerships fail todevelop further, other alliances will jeopardize ourobjectives, of which we must remain vigilant.

I would like, on behalf of my delegation, to expresssome of our major concerns. With regard to the Gov-erning Body, we are concerned for the sound financialmanagement of the ILO. We do not feel that an ex-cessive dependence on voluntary contributions byMembers is a healthy development. The coreprogrammes and those which provide services toMembers need to have sufficient funding from thegeneral budget, while voluntary contributions shouldbe for enhancing the impact of these programmes inthe regions.

The Director-General rightly states that manysavings have already been made and that a criticalthreshold has now been reached. The Belgian delega-tion is looking forward with great interest to the finalreport of the World Commission on the SocialDimension of Globalization. I urge interesteddelegates to read the joint contribution of the Belgianand Moroccan delegates to the World Commission.This kind of joint action by a country from the northernhemisphere and one from the southern hemisphereshould, in our view, arouse interest and be givensupport during and after the Conference.

This contribution drew attention to the following:the need to support social ministers, given the currenteconomic situation, who must be able to provide acredible capacity for intervention, in view of theimmense social challenges they face; the strategicimportance of certain ILO programmes and the needto continue a systematic evaluation of their impact onwomen, and the importance of establishing an eco-nomic and social governance platform at global level,to allow the competent institutions to take actionwithout competing with each other’s mandates. Suchcompetition is all too frequently evident throughoutthe world, and in this field in particular we need tomake reconstruction or adjustment efforts. An impor-tant signal has been given in the recent World Bankreport, recognizing the contribution of collectivebargaining to social and economic development.

As regards employment and social protection, theILO needs to focus on quality and rapid interventioncapacity, and must be at the centre of cooperation andsynergies.

In the light of these objectives, Belgium proposesto support regional cooperation for implementationof the Global Employment Agenda in the countries ofsouth-eastern Europe. It was very interested in thelaunch of a Global Social Trust pilot scheme, designedto provide minimum social protection networks.We also continue also to support the STEP and

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PRODIAF programmes, developing realistic, pro-gressive methodologies.

With regard to labour standards, our position isbased on the following considerations: we need tocontinue the campaign for mandatory implementa-tion of international labour Conventions to establishsustainable social development. The JohannesburgSummit addressed this, and we supported the Officersof the Conference.

The unflagging support for the 1998 Declaration onFundamental Principles and Rights at Work and itsFollow-up should not distract us from wider activitiesrelated to standards, which should be pursued in aspirit of modernization and flexibility. We support theintegrated steps to reinforce the visibility, coherenceand efficiency of current standards which, this yearhave focused on health and safety at work, and willsoon focus on maritime transport. We need to re-examine labour relations, given the new forms oflabour organization developing in the moderneconomy. Nevertheless, this is a delicate issue becauseof the need to set boundaries between salary earnersand self-employed workers. We are not in favour of atotal overhaul of the Committee on the Applicationof Standards, which we feel offers the necessaryguarantees for choosing national situations of particu-lar concern.

I hereby conclude this overview of our position,which bears witness to our interest in the Conferenceand our ongoing faith in its Officers.

Original Italian: Mr. VENTURINI (Minister ofLabour and Cooperation, San Marino) — Allow mefirst of all to congratulate the President and Vice-Presidents on their election to preside over the delib-erations of the 91st Session of the InternationalLabour Conference.

On behalf of the Government of San Marino, andin my own name, I would like to express our satisfac-tion with the decision of the Governing Body to haveMr. Juan Somavìa continue in his functions as Direc-tor-General of our Organization. We recognize hiscompetence in this undertaking to the service of theILO and we are certain that under his guidance theOrganization will be able to fulfil take on its essentialrole, that is to say, the promotion of internationalstandards for the protection of workers, as well as theimplementation of social policies which are indispens-able in the world today.

It is our conviction that anyone physically andmentally able to work should have the opportunityto cover his needs through his own work, to be able toget a job and have access to an appropriate occupa-tion in keeping with his own physical and intellectualabilities and technical skills.

Moreover, we are making every effort to ensurethat this human experience, given the importance thatit has in the lives of each and every one of us, can offerus an opportunity to live well, to live ever better,which would appear to be the only appropriate pathto follow. In this respect we think that work shouldrepresent an access route towards a culture and anawareness as a citizen of the world, towards a cultureof sharing, of solidarity and of freedom for each andevery individual.

While we support this principle of the primacy ofthe human being defined as a series of initiativesaimed at placing the individual at the centre of thedevelopment of our societies and economies, and

therefore to assume the social role of labour, we mustalso ask questions about the way in which we are topromote the favourable development of labour policiesand about the ways and means of making a success ofglobal liberalism. We also have to take into accountthose policies that are aimed at protecting andenhancing the demands of workers taken individuallyor workers in the future.

The usual dialectic which is centred on the conceptsof flexibility and guarantees and which is oftenregarded as polarising different and irreconcilabledemands on the parts of the different components ofsociety, this dialectic cannot be confined to individualadaptation to the compromise measures taken bygovernments on the occasion of tripartite agreements,and to the practices of the entrepreneurial world.

Confrontation must, if necessary, be emancipated,and direct reflection towards a new social compactoffering the various parties the concrete possibility oftaking a step towards the achievement of a society inwhich the world of work has, as one of its objectives,the satisfaction of persons who contribute in variousrespects to its prosperity. Furthermore, it should en-able workers to enjoy the conditions which, from theirown point of view, enable them to feel that their workis a valuable opportunity to improve themselves andto improve the society in which we live.

What would therefore be the essential conditionsto fulfil and what would be the modalities for fulfillingthem? As is clear from the numerous positions thatare constantly being voiced in international agenciesit is reforms, investment and training that togetherconstitute the ways and means of achieving theseobjectives.

The Republic of San Marino has started to reflecton the new model of economic development that itwould like to see implemented over the next fewdecades and it is in the process of revising its ownlabour and training standards although it knows thatthis is an ongoing process, not an end in itself.

San Marino has thus adopted a framework lawwhich is brief and which contains the major principlescapable of directing our dynamic in this field overthe coming years. At the same time, this law willenable us to take new legislative and regulatorymeasures and to conclude tripartite agreements whichwill give rise to a periodic adaptation of market forcesand to functional adjustments, in accordance withcurrent requirements and dynamics.

The fundamental binomial enterprises/workers,which also extends in reality to those who do not actu-ally work but who might have to work in the nearfuture has been reinterpreted in a new light, that ofcreating a society in which one wants to live and work.

Investments are aimed at favouring research,improving infrastructure and making available toeveryone the information that they need and theresources that are necessary for their development.Investments are also aimed at enhancing the potentialof each individual so that they can make the most oftheir skills.

The Republic of San Marino will focus a lot of itsefforts on this route, the enrichment of personalpotential, at the same time as undertaking the reviewof its standards currently in progress. Occupationaltraining and guidance, based on a system of providingsupport to companies and on social regulation, willaim to promote the abilities that each and everyindividual possesses.

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Such a system of value enhancement will enableworkers to rise higher within a society which is raisingwith them and to develop in the context of the compa-nies in which they can express themselves profession-ally.

Original German: Mr. NORDMANN (Secretaryof State, Directorate of Labour, Federal Department ofEconomy, Switzerland) — I would like first to con-gratulate the President and the Vice-Presidents ontheir chairmanship of this year’s International LabourConference.

As this is the first International Labour Conferenceafter the re-election of the Director-General, I wouldlike to convey our best wishes to him. Our delegationis convinced that prestige and credibility of the ILOwill be further enhanced under his leadership.

Please allow me to express our satisfaction with theReport produced by the Director-General. ThisReport must be seen in close conjunction with hisproposals for a Programme and Budget for 2004-05,which clearly establish the political and strategicguidelines for ILO’s activities in the coming two years.The Swiss Government delegation supports theseproposals.

The Report highlights the real challenges facing uson account of the alarming figures. Switzerland sup-ports the historic mandate of the ILO, which makes itthe duty of our tripartite organization to combat pov-erty. The ILO has the decisive role to play in finding aconsensus in favour of the measures which need to beadopted. Its central strength lies in social dialogue.

The ILO is successfully pursuing an integratingapproach at a multilateral level and fosters close part-nerships among the public, the private and voluntarysectors which link them to partnerships with nationaland international agencies. We are pleased to notethat our Organization is also concentrating on clearcoordination with the international financial institu-tions and is aiming at establishing more sustainabledevelopment policies. In this way the ILO is succeed-ing in harmonizing its activities with the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. We are therefore, convincedthat our Organization will make a very importantcontribution to attaining the goal of halving povertyby the year 2015.

The Report of the Director-General suggests thatwe make decent work the driving force behind theproposed measures. The work of the tripartite mem-ber groups on the social dimension of globalization isthe only way to achieve greater acceptance for theprocess of globalization is our society. Switzerlandtherefore very much looks forward to the report ofthe World Commission set up by the Director-General and hopes that this will provide additionalfood for the discussions which will take place duringthe WTO Ministerial Conference.

As I mentioned at the beginning, in recent yearsthe credibility of the ILO has steadily increased on theinternational stage. Let me just give two examples:The ILO has launched the Decent Work Agenda,based on an integrating approach. An importantcomponent of this Agenda had been the drawing upof a worldwide employment strategy. The promotionof fundamental principles and rights at work, chieflythrough the successful transposition of the relevantDeclaration from 1998, has led to an unparalleledincrease in the signing of fundamental internationallabour standards.

I would like to congratulate the ILO on thesesuccesses. At the same time, they should serve as aspur to meeting further challenges in the future.Hence we consider the following areas to be still ofcentral importance and we are confident that the ILOwill be successful in these areas as well. First of all, thereforms of standards must be continued. It shouldfollow an integrated approach which permits morerational action and greater transparency and efficiencyin the process. Switzerland therefore welcomes theresultant examination of the ILO instrumentsconcerning health and safety at work during the Inter-national Labour Conference. This action will make itpossible to regroup all ILO instruments according tovarious pillars and this permits new synergies withinthe ILO.

Secondly, the ILO’s work on the social dimensionof globalization must be stepped up. Solutions mustfollow visions.

Thirdly, technical cooperation should be increased.The core concepts of this year’s Report, such as givingpeople and communities a say in social economic andpolitical decisions, a training policy geared to sustain-able results and providing developing countries witheasier access to export markets are also importantgoals of and pioneering measures forming part ofSwitzerland’s constantly growing commitment to theILO projects.

All these reforms are aimed at making the ILO astrong and lean institution and hence an internation-ally respected and a much sought after partner. Weassure you, that Switzerland will continue actively andstaunchly to support our Organization and its goals.

Original German: Mr. ANDRES (ParliamentarySecretary of State, Federal Ministry of Economics andLabour, Germany) — This being the second day ofthe plenary of the Conference I think it is not too lateto congratulate the Conference on the election of itsPresident and I am very happy to do that.

Working out of poverty is the title the Director-General’s Report and this a the statement or perhapseven a message, which is of great significance in thisday and age, throughout the world. In fact, howevernecessary measures may be to relieve the conse-quences of poverty once it has come into being,poverty can only be sustainably overcome by givingeveryone who is capable the opportunity to take up ajob and in this way to achieve a regular income forthemselves and their families. But one cannot say thatjust any job can be the way out of poverty, otherwiseone might think that even child labour — the elimina-tion of which is one of the most significant targets ofthe ILO — could even be considered as such.

In your first Report to the Conference, four yearsago, Director-General, you described what sort ofwork you were talking about — decent work. Thatmeans that the work and the person carrying out thejob must be suited to one another. That does not nec-essarily mean that work can be made to measure foreach person. No, the person must also be willing, ofcourse, to adapt to new developments in workthrough such possibilities as life-long learning. Itwould be utopian to believe that there is any kind ofjob which will provide joy and satisfaction all the time.

Just as work is a way out of poverty, of course long-term unemployment can often be the first step on theway into poverty. And that is not only true for devel-oping countries, which often have insufficient systems

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of social security, but it is increasingly true alsofor developed countries. There too — and this issomething we have experienced in my country — thepossibilities of the social security systems which areaimed at reducing the consequences of unemploy-ment, come up against their own limits. The mainthrust in the fight against poverty therefore must bethe effort to create new and long lasting jobs.

The ILO is organized in a tripartite fashion and Iam, therefore, happy to take advantage of this forumof the annual Conference to emphasize that, in theefforts to obtain a larger number of more secure jobs,governments, enterprise and trade unions bear jointresponsibility. In this connection I should like to referto the reforms introduced by the German federalGovernment with regard to the labour market. First,we replaced the a primarily reactive approach of thejob promotion law with a new, more preventiveapproach in order to reduce long-term unemployed orperhaps to be able to avoid it all together. Now we arenot pursuing this approach in transposing the propos-als from the Hartz Commission on new approaches inlabour market policy and in opening up new employ-ment possibilities for the unemployment in a consis-tent fashion. Now what we are trying to do is to opti-mize the structures for carrying out a job in line withthe requirements of a service provider on the labourmarket, and to eliminate ineffective dual structuresthrough the consolidation of unemployment andwelfare and to find a quick and appropriate adjustmentto the workplace.

Let me just cast a glance over the limits here. Direc-tor-General, your Report rightly mentions the needfor international solidarity. The conclusions bear thevery interesting heading “Mobilizing the communityof work to end poverty” and in the overview the tar-get of “fair globalization” is mentioned. What I didmiss rather in this connection was any reference to theactivity of the World Commission on the SocialDimension of Globalization. We expect this Commis-sion to indicate what the structural changes are whichoccur for the interweaving of the labour markets ofdeveloping and industrialized countries and that theywill set some guidelines for the operational approachwhich will include actors at all levels, nationally, inter-nationally and supranationally under the heading“The social dimension of globalization”.

In order to make it possible for all to make use ofthe opportunities of globalization and in order to fightpoverty effectively, we need to concentrate the discus-sion even more on labour markets and employmentpolicy aspects of globalization. To my mind here, thisis a clear signal of how the communications structurebetween international institutions can be expanded.The question of how we can succeed in adjusting theworking community in society in industrialized andthreshold countries to the requirements under global-ized conditions will be decisive for a fair division oflabour, internationally.

In Berlin, accompanying the work of the WorldCommission, we were able to present our expecta-tions to the World Commission and I am certainlylooking forward to the Report from the Director-General to next year’s Conference, which is to give alot of space to the work of this Commission. Ofcourse, they cannot come up with worldwide pana-ceas, but it will certainly be able to make importantsuggestions of what can be done together andGermany is willing to make its contribution to that end.

Mr. GEORGE (Government delegate, Trinidadand Tobago) — First of all, on behalf of the delegationof the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, I would liketo congratulate the President and the Vice-Presidentson their election to these esteemed positions, andon the impeccable manner in which they have beenconducting the affairs of the Conference during theseplenary sittings. We are also pleased that the Director-General is serving a second term at the helm of theILO, and we would like to place on record our appre-ciation of the good job he did during his first term ofoffice.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago remainsfirm in its support of the Decent Work Agenda thatthe Director-General so tirelessly promotes. Thisyear’s Report, in our view, further elucidates thedecent work concept and seeks to provide memberStates with practical guidelines for working outof poverty. We fully accept the view that the worldof work holds the key for solid, progressive and long-lasting eradication of poverty. But, we also accept thatone cannot legislate employment in and poverty out.It is, indeed, a long and complex process that requiresall elements of society to work together. Mindful ofthis, I am pleased to inform you that the Governmentof Trinidad and Tobago has embarked on preciselysuch a process of consultation within our country todetermine the best strategies and programmes ofaction for achieving a decent life for every citizen bythe year 2020.

Our process is inclusive, engaging not only the tri-partite partners but also all key stakeholders in civilsociety. We recognize the central role of employmentin any poverty eradication strategy, and our 2020 con-sultative process includes one group whose activitiesare dedicated solely to determining strategies foremployment and social security improvements in thecountry. I must point out that, alongside this longerterm strategic approach, the Government of Trinidadand Tobago continues to undertake other criticalactions for reducing the decent work deficit in thecountry. To this end, we have instituted a comprehen-sive programme of action to encourage the growth ofsmall and micro-enterprises which, by extension,would result in a real growth in jobs.

I am also pleased to announce that earlier this yearthe national minimum wage was increased. Moreover,in April, Trinidad and Tobago ratified the WorstForms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182);this is a clear indication of the country’s commitmentto the objectives of the ILO. We are already workingclosely with the ILO Port-of-Spain Office in activitiesaimed at the total eradication of the worst forms ofchild labour that exist in our country.

We must place on record our appreciation of thesterling work of the ILO Caribbean Office in provid-ing assistance to Trinidad and Tobago and other coun-tries in the region, particularly in the areas of childlabour, youth unemployment, labour-managementrelations, HIV/AIDS and labour market informationsystems. Much work remains be done in the region ifthe decent work deficit is to be eliminated. For in-stance, significant research is required to improveour understanding of the situation of workers in theinformal economy.

In a world of work that is fast becoming unrecog-nizable from the one that we traditionally had beenaccustomed to, we need to have a comprehensivepicture of the nature of employment relationships at

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the national level, as well as from a regional perspec-tive. In this regard, capacity building in the ministriesof labour in the Caribbean region and among thesocial partners is still a significant area of need. Wetherefore urge the Office to continue to consider ourconcerns in the region as expressed in various forums,including this Conference and the Governing Body.

We trust also that due consideration will be given tothe views, concerns and recommendations that wereaddressed at the regional consultation of the WorldCommission on the Social Dimension of Globaliza-tion held earlier this year in Barbados. Again, wewould like to commend the Director-General for hisforesight in the establishment of the World Commis-sion and for engaging the multilateral community inthis discourse. We look forward to the authoritativereport of the Commission that will provide, firmly andunambiguously, a framework for integrating a socialdimension into the globalization discourse.

Before concluding, I would like to express the fullsupport of the Government of Trinidad and Tobagofor the programme and budget for the next biennium,as detailed by the Director-General, and for theproposed use of surplus funds.

And, ending on a proud note, we acknowledge withpride that our esteemed Caribbean brother, Mr. RoyTrotman, leads the Workers’ group in the GoverningBody and that our Caribbean sister, Ms. GraceStrachan, now serves as the Director of the ILOCaribbean Office.

Mr. RYDER (representative, International Confed-eration of Free Trade Unions) — Our congratulationsgo to the President, on his election and to the Direc-tor-General on his re-election and for having targetedin his Report so crucial a challenge for the ILO andfor the international community as is the struggle toend world poverty.

Having welcomed the United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals and their anti-poverty focus asambitious but realistic, the International Confedera-tion of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has been stronglycritical of the failure of policy-makers to act effec-tively to realize them.

The most recent opportunity was lost by G8 leadersin Evian and the Report before us provides anotherchance to do better and to show that this Organizationand its tripartite constituency at least is not content toaccept that poverty and its consequences — so vividlyset out by the Director-General — are an inevitableor acceptable by-product of a global economy capableof generating spectacular wealth but also massivehuman misery.

The ICFTU has made the ending of poverty a keytheme of its campaign on globalization, which waslaunched on 1 May 2003 and is designed to bringrespect to workers everywhere. In this, we look to theILO, not just as a partner in the international system,but for leadership. The ILO cannot successfully fightpoverty on its own. But it can bring to the collectiveeffort its unique values, structures and standards. TheDecent Work Agenda does this and is recognitionthat what the ILO does must spring from what it is,namely tripartite and value-driven in the cause ofsocial justice.

Above all, the ILO’s essence is that it recognizeshuman beings as active subjects and not passiveobjects, and so it is with trade unions too. They areindispensable tools that allow working women and

men to participate in society and to get out and stayout of poverty. They change power relationships,challenge injustices and deepen democracy; that rolecan prove inconvenient for some and it has alwaysbeen contested. When unions first began and werehardly more fashionable in some quarters that theyare today, “opinion makers” were already preachingthe virtues of individual initiative and entrepreneur-ship, to the exclusion of collective action and regula-tion, claiming them to be sufficient to bring wealthand accomplishment to individuals and societies alike.

Today, the vast majority of the world’s workers aretrapped in the margins of society, without rights or theminimum for decent lives, in what we know as the “in-formal economy”. As the Director-General says, theyare not there by choice, but of necessity, the necessityimposed by the imperative of survival. He also argues,and we agree, that informality is a governance issueand this is crucial to our approach to ending poverty.

Governance is a threshold issue for progress. Nomatter how many social and economic ambulancesare dispatched to assist those in the grip of depriva-tion, they can never substitute the absence of gover-nance through a responsible and responsive state andeverything that that implies.

To work out of poverty, people need to be able toassert their rights and to exercise them, above all theright to organize. A form of governance that is void ofinformality presents formidable obstacles to this andalso make it easier for the more affluent to ignore,tolerate and finally forget the conditions in which somany of their fellow beings exist.

The very rationale of trade unionism commitsour organizations to tackle poverty everywhere. TheICFTU stands firmly by that commitment. The mis-conception that trade unionism can have no role inthe informal economy can be sustained by the notionthat informality is permanent — our poverty andpowerlessness too.

And the accompanying myth that trade unionsare, and have to be, defenders of privilege is itselfmost frequently broadcast from the high ground ofprivilege.

The Director-General has done a great deal in hisreport to remind us of our responsibilities and alsoour opportunities to put an end to poverty. It canmark a new beginning, but only if we are all ready totake up the challenge of bringing hope to the world’spoor so that they, too, can move forward and livedecent lives in freedom, justice and dignity.

Mr. MOGAMI (Minister of Labour and Home Af-fairs, Botswana) — Allow me to preface my remarksby extending, on behalf of the Botswana delegationand on my own behalf, my warmest congratulations tothe President and the Vice-Presidents on their elec-tion to preside over the 91st Session of the Interna-tional Labour Conference. Please accept my bestwishes in the task ahead.

I appreciate the opportunity to participate in thediscussion of the Director-General’s comprehensivereport Working out of poverty. It is noteworthy thatthe report puts a lot of emphasis on the world of workas “the key for solid, progressive and long-lastingeradication of poverty”. Indeed, a couple of years’ago, we adopted the Decent Work Agenda as the bestroute to eradicate poverty. This session of the Confer-ence presents us with yet another opportunity toreflect on the validity of this approach. The Report of

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the Director-General serves to facilitate the pursuit ofour objectives. It is yet another reminder of the obli-gations of the ILO and hence our obligations, as theconstituents of the ILO, to rescue mankind from thepoverty trap and to pave the way for the prevalence ofsocial justice and peace in the world.

Reference to “the persistence of poverty as a moralindictment of our times” in the Director-General’sReport is befitting in the modern world where anabundance of wealth exists side by side with abjectpoverty. There is consensus among those affected andthe interested parties that the level of poverty in theworld today is unacceptable. Much has been saidabout the need to reduce, if not eradicate, poverty inthe world. Promises have been made by those whohave the power and the means to make a difference.What is lacking is meaningful action, and a commit-ment to bridge the gap between promises and action.

Botswana is committed to the eradication ofpoverty. Poverty in Botswana is, in many respects, astructural problem, traceable to the country’s narroweconomic base, a small domestic market and limitedincome-generating opportunities through wage andself-employment. Other frequently cited causes ofpoverty include drought, lack of education and skills,lack of productive assets, the decline of traditionalsupport mechanisms such as the extended family andproblems related to market access and low producerprice.

We perceive poverty as a major obstacle to theattainment of the objectives of our National Vision2016 which, among other things, envisages a societyfree from the ravages of absolute poverty. Conse-quently, several direct and supportive programmes toaddress the incidence of poverty have been under-taken. The focus of most of these programmeshas been the creation of employment opportunities,empowerment of citizens to enable them to seizeeconomic opportunities in the country, provision ofassistance to citizens who are unable to earn their live-lihood on their own, and the creation of rural-basedsocial and economic infrastructure. In addition, ourGovernment commissioned the preparation of aNational Poverty Reduction Strategy in April 2002 inorder to provide focus for action to tackle poverty bythe Government and stakeholders.

Substantial investment in education and health hasresulted in some progress against poverty. However,the advent of HIV/AIDS is threatening to derail theachievements pertaining to health. Another effort inthe fight against poverty is the launching of the Citi-zen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA)programme two years ago. This programme providesfinancial assistance to citizens for the purposes ofinvestment and development of entrepreneurial andmanagement skills. Botswana also has a long traditionof participative governance, with structures which arepotentially geared towards allowing citizens to par-ticipate effectively in policy formulation and imple-mentation. These structures, which exist right downto the village level, augur well for building partner-ships and for enhancing ownership and commit-ment to the implementation of poverty reductionprogrammes.

Some onerous challenges, however, remain to beovercome. Botswana’s capacity for attracting directinvestment and mobilizing private domestic invest-ment has come under intense pressure as a result ofthe globalization of the world economy. This is so

notwithstanding the country’s substantial investmentin the creation of a macroeconomic and political envi-ronment that is conducive to foreign direct invest-ment and economic expansion and diversification.However, with the introduction of CEDA, prospectsfor mobilizing domestic investment to spur economicactivities and generate the level and types of employ-ment required for reducing poverty are promising.Concerning social protection schemes and socialsafety nets, issues of their efficiency, adequacy andeligibility require attention as they tend to have animpact on their effectiveness.

The debate on poverty reduction must recognizethat whilst poverty may be a common phenomenonacross the world, its magnitude and the challenges itpresents differ from region to region. In some parts ofthis world, close to half the population lives in pov-erty, which is concentrated in rural areas where themajority live and affects female-headed householdsthe most. It therefore remains a challenge for the ILOto devise strategies for intervention to address theseproblems if it is to remain relevant to its constituents.For this reason, we share the view that there is a needto debate further the policy on budget growth, giventhe increasing demands on the mandate of the ILO.Indeed the current disproportion between the regularbudget and extra-budgetary sources is worrisome.

Finally, for those of us who come from developingcountries, human resource development is an impor-tant aspect of a meaningful approach to combat pov-erty. I am therefore hopeful that the debate on learn-ing and training for work in the knowledge society,which is under way in one of the committees of thissession of the Conference, will benefit our efforts inthis regard.

Ms. FILATOV (Minister of Labour, Finland) —First of all, I wish to present my sincere congratula-tions to the President on his election. I also warmlywelcome the re-election of Director-General Somaviato his second term in office.

Once again the Director-General has presented tothe Conference a remarkable, very thought-provok-ing Report that merits detailed study. In “working outof poverty” on the road to stable growth and moreequal well-being, the development of a firm knowl-edge base and skills of the individual is a key issue,both in developing and developed countries.

The Report reminds us that, despite progressmade, there is still an urgent need to deepen ILO’scooperation within the United Nations family andwith the international financial institutions.

I welcome the ILO’s Global Employment Agenda.It aims to place employment at the heart of economicand social policy at both national and internationallevel. Hopefully, it signals a coordinated approach bythe ILO and the international financial, developmentand trade institutions.

In the Finnish Government’s new programme wereiterate our commitment to promote the values ofhuman rights, equality, equity and security that lie atthe heart of our society and the ILO. The main objec-tive of our Government is to develop our welfare soci-ety by creating new employment opportunities thatwill reduce unemployment by improving the provi-sion of basic services and income security.

Alongside improved preconditions for an activeemployment policy and entrepreneurship, theachievement of our set employment targets requires

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that cooperation based on collective agreements becontinued and intensified, particularly with labourmarket organizations.

In our society, the security of individuals and fami-lies, traditionally resting on the notion of stable em-ployment relationships, is somewhat eroding. This isreflected, inter alia, in the increase of fixed term andtemporary work. There is a tendency for women to beover represented in temporary employment.

I recognize that flexibility is needed in the world ofwork but, if carried out in a summary manner, it maylead to daunting consequences. It may create an at-mosphere of constant worry and insecurity affectingthe worker’s well-being, health and productivity.

Occasional work will not secure an adequate basisfor living or pensions in old age either. Social securityschemes at their best can, but only barely cover theneeds. It is — once again — women in particular whowill be hit hardest if this development is not kept incheck.

I also have doubts that occasional work will serveto boost the dedication to employment, innovationand creativity so urgently needed in the global set-upof the information society. To achieve a more sustain-able course, national policies will have to be devel-oped accordingly, but to support national policies inthis regard international cooperation is also called for.The ILO is the natural forum for such work.

Mr. President, the Director-General reminds usthat acceptance of poverty is an expression of a loss offundamental human values. This observation strikesme deeply. The respect for core labour standards andequality in working life are matters of fundamentalimportance. These we have agreed upon and yetpoverty is not declining.

Poverty is a multidimensional problem, needingmultidimensional solutions. The Millennium Devel-opment Goals form a comprehensive framework fordevelopment and poverty reduction. The ILO has acrucial role in promoting and implementing thesegoals. Poverty Reduction Strategy papers offer anoperational tool for development. We welcome theILO’s active participation in this process.

Original French: Mr. THYS (representative, WorldConfederation of Labour) — We are currently wit-nessing an unprecedented deterioration in the humancondition. Poverty and social exclusion are on theincrease, social and labour laws have been weakened,the gap between the rich and the poor is growing,poverty is becoming more and more prevalent amongwomen, the role of the State as a social safety net isdisappearing and the quality of employment is dete-riorating rapidly. At the same time, multinationalcompanies and international financial and economicinstitutions are acquiring more and more power to thedetriment of the States. Citizens are gradually losingthe sovereign and democratic power to take their owndecisions. Economic, financial and trade laws takeprecedence over human rights. The World Confed-eration of Labour considers that this situation mustbe reversed by establishing genuine social justice,capable of restoring human beings to their rightfulplace. This new order should be established withrespect for pluralism, identities, cultures, and ideo-logical, political or religious convictions. The WorldConfederation of Labour is convinced of the need tocreate decent jobs which provide all persons withtheir rightful dignity. We believe that global gover-

nance of the labour world should be given a more in-ternational perspective which regards the creation ofdecent jobs as the very foundation of the fight againstpoverty and social exclusion. The world of workshould receive special and differential treatment,given the importance of employment for the welfareof all men and women.

Once again, we would like to highlight the impor-tance and necessity of promoting international labourstandards as a paramount and indispensable elementin the fight against poverty and promotion of sustain-able development. The World Confederation ofLabour considers that poverty is a challenge for alladvocates of social justice and sustainable develop-ment. We believe that genuine social justice is theonly means of maintaining lasting and stable peace.The World Confederation of Labour rejects neo-lib-eral policies which neglect and even try to eliminatethe social dimension of globalization.

We propose the creation, within the UnitedNations system, of an economic and social securitycouncil, whose brief would be to regulate globalizationat the socio-economic level. The World Confederationof Labour is opposed to the diktats and policies ofinternational financial institutions and demands, atthe same time, a counter weight designed to addressthe social dimension of globalization. We believe thisrole should be played by the ILO.

We hope that the conclusions of the World Com-mission on the Social Dimension of Globalization willhelp steer us towards global governance. We wouldlike to express our conviction of the need to enhancethe ILO standards activities with a view to achievinga new, flexible and strengthened model, designedto streamline the workings of the various controland monitoring mechanisms for the Conventions andRecommendations.

Our Organization is convinced that only bystrengthening the standard-setting and monitoringmechanisms of the ILO will it become possible toestablish a new equilibrium, in which economic, tradeand financial laws, are subordinate to basic humanrights.

I urge the ILO to step up its efforts to raise itsprofile in relation to the institutions currently leadingthe globalization process, and to establish tightermonitoring mechanisms on the economic and finan-cial policies of these institutions, which, directly orindirectly, affect the lives of millions of workers allover the world.

Finally, I would like to conclude by stating that ourOrganization absolutely rejects all forms of terrorism,and by asserting that no war can be just when it isdesigned to protect economic interests. For justice tobecome a reality, basic human rights and freedomsmust be respected. Respect for internationally agreedrules is essential in order to guarantee those basicrights and freedoms, and in order to ensure a betterworld, in which people might live in lasting peace.

Original Russian: Mr. NAGHIYEV (Minister ofLabour and Social Protection of Population,Azerbaijan) — I would like to express my apprecia-tion for the Report presented to us and the subjectsfor discussion which, once again, confirm that theILO’s activities have the specific objective of promot-ing social justice. I also join previous speakers incongratulating Mr. Somavia on his re-election asDirector-General of the ILO.

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The question of how to reduce unemployment bycreating productive and decent jobs is one of the keyelements in solving employment problems. Theseproblems have recently become more acute in manycountries.

As a result of government decisions over recentyears which have been aimed at achieving macroeco-nomic stability, improvements in the socio-economicsituation in Azerbaijan have begun to be seen. At thesame time, Azerbaijan has some unique featureswhich are not shared by other countries. The politicaland socio-economic changes are taking place againsta backdrop of over 12 years’ continuing aggression byArmenia which has led to the occupation of over20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s territory, the loss of some4,000 industrial and agricultural enterprises and over300,000 jobs. As a result of this aggression, one ineight people in Azerbaijan is a refugee or a displacedperson. This naturally compounds the country’s em-ployment problems.

The Government is taking many measures to de-velop the employment system, in terms both of legis-lation and administrative procedures, in order to re-duce poverty by stimulating the creation ofproductive and sustainable employment. The Na-tional Programme for Poverty Reduction and Eco-nomic Development, which was adopted this year andalso aims at economic development, is devotedmainly to employment issues. How fully and effec-tively these problems are addressed will largely deter-mine the future development of our country.

This problem in our country is increasingly receiv-ing attention from international organizations. Jointlywith the UNDP and the ILO, we have begun to de-velop an employment strategy which will define newgovernment initiatives in this area. Employmentpolicy in Azerbaijan is based on a range of economic,social, demographic and other factors impacting onthe level and effectiveness of employment. In order toincrease employment and enhance its quality, policiesmust be geared to maintaining macroeconomic stabil-ity. A particular focus is on development of the non-petroleum sector, labour market institutions, job fairs,labour exchange development, and employment fordisabled workers, young people, refugees and dis-placed persons. In order to ensure coordination ofemployment measures with other aspects of economicand social policy, the Government is working moreclosely with trade unions and employers.

This Conference gives a new political impetus to,and trains a spotlight on, issues requiring interna-tional cooperation and steps taken at the nationallevel to develop employment.

It was once assumed that globalization would ben-efit all peoples. However, despite real progress interms of average growth and other indicators, thebenefits of this progress remain unequally distributed.Enormous progress in certain developed countrieshas been accompanied by growing poverty and in-equality in less developed regions. This is hardlylikely to lead to social harmony or productive pros-perity, which is so vital for social development.

In the light of this, I would like to draw your atten-tion to the following. As a result of the increasinginterdependence of countries, the international eco-nomic situation must promote employment and povertyreduction. In this context, donor states and interna-tional organizations must review the social costs ofrestructuring and seek ways of providing support to

longer-term projects to facilitate the development ofemployment in transition countries.

The increase in productive employment must takeplace in a context of globalization. The efforts ofdeveloped countries must be directed at improvingthe transition countries’ access to their export mar-kets. For example, Azerbaijan produces many thingsfor which there might be a demand in developedcountries. We must continue to increase investment inthe quality of the workforce, diversify exports andconstantly adapt to the changing economic conditionsof the world market.

It is essential that country programmes takeaccount of national characteristics expressed notablyin ethnic and cultural values which impact on theeffectiveness of implementation of such programmes.Under these conditions, on the basis of national pri-orities and the potential for solving employmentproblems, it is essential to take into account the stateof development of the main employment decision-making mechanisms and the global experience.

In conclusion, I once more thank the organizers ofthis Conference for the excellent working conditions.

I also thank the ILO leadership and the Director-General, Mr Juan Somavia, for their support andincreasing cooperation with Azerbaijan to ensure theimplementation of ILO principles and developmentof social foundations in my country.

Mr. SWEENEY (Workers’ adviser and substitutedelegate, United States) — At the AFL-CIO in theUnited States, we are pleased that the Director-Gen-eral has focused his Report on reducing and eliminat-ing poverty by the most effective way now, and that isby making sure that every human being who wantsand needs a good job can find one. The Report is fac-tual and forthright, noting candidly, and I quote,“never have we seen so much wealth while so manycontinue to live in abject poverty”, and the Reportartfully catalogues our mutual failures: ineffectiveeconomic and social systems, inadequate politicalresponses, bankrupt policies and insufficient interna-tional support.

Tackling the scourge of poverty requires a range ofpolicies, resources and, above all, a determined politi-cal will. The Director-General’s Report underscoresthe ugly fact that while globalization has created somevery wealthy winners, it has resulted in a dramatic in-crease in poverty and this demands dramatic action.

Even in the United States, the richest nation in theworld, poverty is increasing; our wage and wealth gapis wider than ever and this gulf is bigger than in any ofthe industrialized countries. In my home town of NewYork, for instance, there are 25,000 people who earnmore than US$20,000 a week and 4 million people try-ing to raise families on less than US$20,000 per year.Because of the low road our economy has been drivendown, unemployment in the United States is at 6.1 percent, the highest it has been in eight years. Many havelost health care as well as jobs — 41 million peoplehave no health insurance and 75 million people inAmerica lacked health care coverage at some pointin the last two years. We have lost more jobs thanat any other time in the past 50 years — 2.4 millionjobs in the past two years. Many millions of peoplehave given up looking for work. In New York, thereare 200,000 young men of colour under the age of 23who are out of work, and our crime rate is climbingaccordingly.

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It is axiomatic that people cannot work out ofpoverty without work. The Director-General’sReport appropriately outlines the approachesneeded to eliminate poverty and reinforce the kind ofsustainable development that creates good jobs, forexample, through micro-financing credits for thepoor, simplifying legal systems to help give smallenterprises and self-employed workers access to titlesand rights, rural and cooperative health and socialinitiatives, basic education and eliminating discrimi-nation.

The Report also properly encourages the ILO towork with other United Nations agencies to utilize thespecial strengths of each organization. I also stressesthe need for IMF and World Bank support for debtrelief, as well as poverty reduction strategyprogrammes that involve employers, trade unions andcivil society in a wider dialogue.

I will add that the AFL-CIO also notes the impor-tance of the ILO’s unique and potentially potent con-tribution to the social dimension of globalization inthe form of international labour standards. Nothing ismore important in the struggle to eliminate povertythan the Declaration on Fundamental Principles andRights at Work, because the freedom to organizetogether with others is still the most effective wayfor workers to guarantee their families an equitableportion of the wealth they help create.

We believe that the most difficult challenge toeradicating poverty lies in providing an environmentwhere workers can freely organize in associationsof their own choosing, where they can gain a voiceat work, as well as in their communities and their gov-ernment, through collective bargaining. All too often,and in all too many countries — including the UnitedStates — workers who try to form or join unions areintimidated, harassed, threatened, dismissed fromtheir jobs, and worse.

Next year, the Global Report under the follow-upto the Declaration on Fundamental Principles andRights at Work will focus on freedom of association,the right to organize and the need for more collectivebargaining. We look forward to the impact of thisReport.

The AFL-CIO especially commends the Director-General for highlighting the role that governmentcorruption and unregulated business practices play inperpetuating chronic poverty. Such corruption is adanger to development everywhere. We must inten-sify our struggle to toughen ineffective regulationsthat allow top executives to loot their own companies,steal the pensions of the workers they employ anddevastate entire communities.

We thank the Director-General for his Report andfor his leadership, and we pledge our support for theReport’s implementation.

Original Spanish: Mr. PALACIO BETANCOURT(Minister of Social Protection, Colombia) — Yester-day was our first opportunity to listen to the Reportpresented by the Director-General in which decentwork and poverty were the main issues addressed.These issues, which are central and permanent issueson the agenda of developing countries, including myown, can be looked at from several different points ofview. All of these are legitimate points of view. Never-theless, there is no doubt in my mind that it is verydifferent indeed to talk about poverty here in Genevaor in countries of the North than it is to live with pov-

erty in developing countries. What I am trying to sayis that if our objective is not to hold long and unpro-ductive discussions, but to undertake work so that wecan effectively reduce poverty, the countries of theSouth as well as the North will have to be better,further and more equally integrated. Furthermore,multilateral organizations, amongst them the ILO,must become more horizontal, that is to say be moreproactive and more effective in dialogue with institu-tions such as the World Bank and the InternationalMonetary Fund.

It is true that in this age of globalization, weMinisters of Labour must play an active role in thediscussions that are carried out with regard to treatiesor trade agreements. For every treaty we discuss orsign, we must have a social balance allowing us toanalyse its true impact on society and, logically, onthe world of work. We must understand that treatiesare signed not for themselves alone, but within thecontext of globalization which demands better coordi-nation and communication between governments,employers and workers. This also requires bettercoordination in the length and breadth of our owncontinents.

All of this means that bodies such as the ILO need tounderstand that change also befalls their organizationsand that, in this accelerated process of globalization,they have to develop and apply flexible and effectivetools which will enable us to move from talk to action.

As the Director-General said yesterday, the mainstrategy to reduce poverty in the world is undoubtedlyto create decent work. This means we have to have agreat deal of imagination, creativity and above all thecapability to act. Workers, employers and govern-ments are involved in and committed to action andcan, through bodies such as the ILO, flexibly againstthe background of the accelerating changes of global-ization.

Moving away from the general subject addressedhere, I would like to pass on to all of you the greetingsof the Government of Colombia. The President andhis Government are totally committed to social andeconomic development in our country. We know thatwe have serious and complex structural problems inColombia, which are reflected in the social situation.This demands a great effort from all the players insociety: We all — governments, unions, employers —need to be stronger and more democratic in order tofind new ways to cooperate which, based on produc-tive social dialogue, will lead to effective and efficientalternatives, enabling us to raise the standard of livingof all Colombians.

Finally, I would like to publicly reiterate the com-mitment of the Colombian Government to its country,and recall that Colombia, as a country, is aware of itscommitment to the international community andlogically to bodies such as the ILO. This has beendemonstrated, among other ways, by the presenceof the Vice-President of the Republic who, amongothers, is here today at this assembly of the ILO. Theresults which we will be presenting to the Committeeon the Application of Standards on Thursday willshow the efforts of a Government committed to thepresent and the future of our country. To you,Mr. President, to unions and to workers in Colombia,we would like to make an appeal so that together wecan all understand the responsibility we have andrespond to it. Only in this way can we leave a betterworld to our children.

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Mr. FONG (Minister of Human Resources, Malay-sia) — At the outset, allow me to congratulate thePresident on his unanimous election to preside overthe 91st Session of the International Labour Confer-ence. Allow me also to extend my congratulations tothe Employer and Worker Vice-Presidents on theirelection. I am confident that under their wise and ableleadership, this session will complete its business in afruitful and efficient manner.

I would also like to join the speakers before me ex-pressing my warmest congratulations to Mr. JuanSomavia, the Director-General of the ILO, on hisunanimous re-election for a second term. We com-mend the Director-General for his excellent work andsubstantive accomplishment.

My delegation is pleased that for three consecutiveyears the Director-General has come up with veryinnovative Reports that are visionary and long-termin outlook. The first Report was on decent work,which includes promoting rights at work, employmentand enterprise creation, social protection and socialdialogue, all of which are undeniably fundamental todecent living. Malaysia fully supports that the DecentWork Agenda be continued. In fact, it needs to beaggressively pursued, as it is an essential part of thesolution to break the cycle of poverty. However,States must be allowed to set their priorities and thespeed at which each of these components can beachieved.

The Director-General’s second Report on reducingthe decent work deficit raised our awareness by exam-ining the gap between people’s aspirations aboutwork and reality. At this 91st Session the Director-General has laid out the ways for us to eliminate anderadicate poverty.

The eradication of poverty through sustained andaccelerated economic growth and the empowermentof our people through education remains the overrid-ing priority for developing countries. This wouldin turn create much needed work in developingcountries, which would serve as the best route out ofpoverty, a view shared by the Director-General in hisReport. Malaysia believes that skills and knowledgeare essential to improve productivity, income andaccess to employment opportunities. Continuousretraining of the workforce is indeed an imperativefor survival in today’s globalized trading environment.It cannot be emphasized enough that knowledgeand skills are essential commodities that empower anindividual to stay competitive and be employable andenable him or her to stand up for his or her rights.

In this regard, the Malaysian delegation welcomesthe efforts undertaken by the ILO to replace thepresent Human Resources Development Recom-mendation, 1975 (No. 150), with a more dynamicinstrument that is more applicable and more useful tomember States and their social partners. This is mostappropriate in the wake of globalization and associ-ated developments in the economy, in labour marketsand in the world of work. However, it is hoped thatthis process of replacement will take into consider-ation the suggestions raised by members of the Com-mittee on Human Resources under the fourth item onthe agenda.

The report Time for equality at work warns thatfailure to tackle widening socio-economic inequalitiesin the world of work not only amounts to accepting awaste of human talent and resources but could have

disastrous effects on national social cohesion, politicalstability and hence growth in the years to come. Thisis the most challenging task of contemporary societyand it is essential for social peace and democracy.

The Malaysian delegation agrees that this gap mustbe closed. Failure to deal with discrimination at workwill mean greater difficulty in dealing with challenges,especially the social dimension of globalization andthe need to accommodate diversity. Discriminationcan also perpetuate poverty, stifle development,productivity and competitiveness, and ignite politicalinstability.

Malaysia regrets that discrimination against vul-nerable groups, such as women and people withdisabilities, still exists. To show its commitment toprotecting these groups, the Government of Malaysiahas established the Ministry of Women and FamilyDevelopment to enhance the role of women in nationbuilding in Malaysia.

Globalization will radically change the social,political and economic order of things as we knowthem. Certainly it will have a tremendous impact onthe life that we lead as workers and employers andalso as governments. For this reason, globalizationmust be guided so that it can benefit everyone. Effortsmust be directed at assisting the least developed partsof the world to manage the negative effects of global-ization. Globalization should not be about businessonly, but it should be about the well-being of every-one.

Taking into account the difficult and uncertaineconomic environment in many countries, the call forsupport from the ILO is increasing. In this context,Malaysia hopes more technical assistance will beextended to the Asian region in the future.

Original Russian: Mr. MILOVANOVIC (Ministerof Labour and Employment of the Republic of Serbia,Serbia and Montenegro) — At the outset I wouldlike to express our warmest congratulations toMr. Somavia on his re-election to the post of Director-General of the International Labour Organization.

Two years ago, I had the honour to address theInternational Labour Conference as representative ofthe new democratic authorities of the then FederalRepublic of Yugoslavia.

Today, I have particular pleasure to speak beforeyou as the Serbian Minister of Labour and Employ-ment, representing our new State, the State Union ofSerbia and Montenegro.

We have formed a fully-fledged tripartite delega-tion, equally represented by the representatives of thesocial partners and the Government.

Today, we discuss the Report of the Director-General, Mr. Somavia, entitled Working out ofpoverty. To work out of poverty is a tremendoustask for a country such as mine, which has embarkedso lately on the transition process and is having tostruggle with problems of political and social stabili-zation.

This struggle became ever more obvious with theassassination of Serbian Prime Minister, Mr. ZoranDjindjic in March this year. After this tragic event,Serbian people gathered even more tightly around thedemocratic forces in the country. I can assure you thatthere will be no retreat from the path of reforms andtransition we have embarked upon.

Poverty is indeed a big problem in our country, andour Government is therefore working on a Poverty-

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Reduction Strategy Paper. The Director-General’sReport tells of the complexity of this task, and I agreethat “all elements of society will have to worktogether” in order to solve this complex issue.

But, as Minister of Labour and Employment, letme stress the importance of providing decent work toall persons seeking employment. We in the Govern-ment will, however, invest all our efforts to improveworking conditions and provide more and betteremployment. I think we can fully rely on the tripartitecooperation we established towards that end.

Our task is particularly difficult within an interna-tional economic environment of low growth andstagnation. These are hardly favourable conditionsfor transition to the market economy and implemen-tation of the structural changes in our country. Overthe next two years, we are planning to privatizeall our publicly owned enterprises. However, thesesteps will certainly aggravate the problem of unem-ployment.

To respond to these challenges, we are planning toset up a national employment strategy in line with theEuropean Union Employment Strategy, especiallyfocusing on combating youth and long-term unem-ployment and on the problems of restructuring bigenterprises during and after privatization. We wantto attract more private foreign direct investment,encourage domestic investment into our economyand support the creation of new enterprises.

Another big challenge is the large informal sectorof our economy. The policy of the Government of theRepublic of Serbia is directed towards creating incen-tives for enterprises and workers to get out of the greyeconomy. At the same time, we are stepping up thefight against black labour. We are aiming to establishan integrated labour inspection, including all occupa-tional health and safety services.

In this connection, I would like to thank the Inter-national Labour Organization for assisting us in draft-ing the concept of this modern inspection. The UnitedStates has agreed to fund this project, and I very muchhope that the ILO services will participate in thetendering procedure.

Two years ago, I expressed my hopes for deepeningcooperation with the ILO in the field of normative,scientific and practical methods to improve economicand social development. Today, I am very happy toinform you that our cooperation with the ILO hasdeveloped successfully. We have established not onlythe cooperation mentioned in the field of labourinspection but also deepened our cooperation in lawdrafting to establish tripartite cooperation in Serbia.The newest example of this cooperation is the ILOassistance in our common project with the AustrianGovernment on improving the employment ofdisabled persons in Serbia.

Allow me, therefore, to thank you, Mr. Somavia andyour staff, for the great commitment to our country, andI can assure you that Serbia and Montenegro are de-termined in their efforts to preserve the fundamentalprinciples of social justice and tripartite cooperationin the spirit of the ILO Constitution.

(Mr. Muhaisin takes the Chair.)

Mr. LIPTAPANLOP (Minister of Labour, Thai-land) — I am very pleased to be here at this distin-guished gathering. First, I would like to congratulatethe President on his election. I am sure that he will

guide us through our deliberations at this forum withdiplomacy and grace.

I wish to thank the Director-General for his Reportto the Conference. Linking efforts to reduce povertyand stimulate the economy with the world of work arecritical to globalization and development.

In Asia, millions of workers are not able to finddecent work. Governments are trying to promoterights at work and encourage a wider social dialogue— the necessary foundation for decent work withinthe broader development agenda.

There are two points I would like to make. First,following up on the Thirteenth Asian Regional Meet-ing, national action plans for decent work need to becreated, put into action and monitored. Informationsharing must be transparent and up to date, both onlabour and employment issues and on the impact ofpolicies, programmes and activities at all levels.

Second, a globalized economy requires improvednational competitiveness. The world of work and thebusiness sector need better human resource manage-ment, understanding of the knowledge economy, andquality and productivity improvement.

Thailand has made efforts to promote decent work.Through programmes such as the Expansion ofEmployment Opportunity for Women (funded by theGovernment of Japan), the ILO has given us strongsupport. My Government is now planning a jointproject with UNIDO and the ILO to develop entre-preneurship in micro-and small enterprises, topromote job creation and self-employment for ourworkforce and to increase income for our people.Development of this informal sector requires newskills, such as modern management techniques.

Promoting safety in the workplace, providing socialprotection for workers, and helping enterprises gainacceptance in society are priorities of the Thai Gov-ernment. We are preparing to set up an institute topromote occupational safety and health and a properenvironment in the workplace. Social agents andlocal-level groups will be encouraged to join the part-nership in this effort.

In addition to job creation, the Government ofThailand is concerned about social protection.Recently, the Cabinet decided to launch an unem-ployment insurance scheme.

On the issue of rights at work, the Minimum AgeConvention, 1973 (No. 138), is awaiting Cabinetapproval, and we are seriously considering ratificationof the Occupational Safety and Health Convention,1981 (No. 155), the Freedom of Association andProtection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948(No. 87), and the Right to Organise and CollectiveBargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). The ThaiGovernment has set aside about 5 million baht tostudy the readiness of Thailand to ratify ConventionsNos. 87 and 98 to bring our law and practice intoconformity with international labour standards.

New forms of labour management relations arebeing developed to strengthen and encourage the re-lationship between workers and employers. Genderequality has been given increased priority in socialand economic policy and development projects.

The migrant worker is an issue of growing concern.Globalization and the liberalization of trade and in-vestment have led to the freer movement of workerswithin and across borders. Attention is being paidboth to the needs of migrant workers and foreignworkers in Thailand and of Thai workers going

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abroad. We are currently negotiating with receivingcountries to improve working conditions and protectour Thai workers. We are also ensuring that foreignworkers in Thailand are properly documented andemployed under the agreed terms and conditions.

We ask that the ILO help us to study this issue andprovide support to both sending and receiving coun-tries on the issue of migration for employment.

The Thai Government is committed to the promo-tion of decent work for all, to reduce poverty and toenhance economic and social benefits. There is stillmuch work to be done. We ask the ILO to providetechnical support and secure the necessary financialresources to plan, implement and monitor decentwork strategies to fight poverty and exclusion.

Success in our efforts cannot be achieved withoutthe close cooperation of all stakeholders. We mustraise awareness in society and encourage broad par-ticipation. I urge the member States, through the ILO,to find creative ways to share experience and bestpractices and to network more effectively so thatwe can achieve common understanding for mutualbenefit.

On behalf of the Government of Thailand I wish toexpress our sincere gratitude to the ILO for its activerole and commitment to improving the lives of allworking people and the development of our coun-tries.

Original Russian: Mr. SHMAKOV (Workers’ del-egate, Russian Federation) — First of all I would liketo congratulate the Director-General of the ILO onhis Report’s reflection of the profound and multi-faceted nature of the important global problem repre-sented by the interaction of decent work, sustainabledevelopment and poverty eradication.

The Director-General is entirely right in saying thatpoverty cannot be eliminated by decree, or any kindof legislation, and that the road to prosperity is theresult of sustained efforts by society as a whole.Within the framework of the ILO the internationalcommunity is represented by three components ofsocial dialogue which are, in the first instance, respon-sible for successfully combating poverty through uni-versal implementation of decent work and sustainabledevelopment as well as social and economic develop-ment.

We are convinced that this can be achieved onlywhen all the three constituents of social dialogue and,above all, governments and employers, who take themain economic and social decisions, assume their fullresponsibility to rise to this global challenge.

Poverty has many causes, it can be a lack ofresources, a low level of development, dependent onobjective or subjective factors, or inadequately devel-oped production relations.

In the Russian Federation poverty has been apressing issue for over ten years and poverty in theRussian Federation has a special national characteris-tic: some 30 per cent of Russian workers are the work-ing poor, since their salary level not only fails to pro-vide them and their families with a decent standard ofliving but is below the subsistence wage in the country.Yet, Russia has natural and human resources thatmake it one of the world’s richest countries. Thewasteful distribution of produce and violations ofworkers’ rights leads to a situation where most work-ers have an income lower than the minimum survivallevel, which worsens the disintegration of society. The

situation of single pensioners and unemployed peopleis even more serious. Today the ratio of the legal mini-mum wage to the minimum survival wage in the Rus-sian Federation is only 25 per cent. The RussianFederation’s trade unions believe that this situationcannot be allowed to continue; however, despiteworkers’ protests, the Government and the legislatorsare in no hurry to find a solution, although the cost ofliving continues to rise.

The European Union recommends that the mini-mum wage be 60 per cent of the average, yet in theRussian Federation this ratio is only about 10 percent. The situation of the Russian workers is alsoworsening because the minimum wage does not takeinto account family responsibilities, as recommendedby the ILO, and the monthly state child benefit isextremely low.

In such a situation, social security takes on particu-lar significance. However, the reforms being carriedout by the Government of the Russian Federationnow are very liberally oriented which threatens theentire social guarantee system in the country and thisgives rise to serious concern in the Russian tradeunions.

A significant problem in the Russian Federation isthe generally low level of salaries. Even intransnational corporations in the Russian Federation,which sell their products on the world markets, paylevels are several times lower than in similar compa-nies in developed countries.

In addition, the problem of arrears in wages has notyet been fully overcome even though salaries are theonly source of income for most of the population,although, over recent years, two-thirds of wage debtshave been paid off as a result of joint efforts by thetrade unions, the Government and the employers, andthis is in many ways thanks to assistance by the ILOunder whose auspices the problem was consideredseveral times at meetings of the Committee on theApplication of Standards.

In the Russian Federation there is a saying thatpoverty is not a sin. The Russian trade unions dis-agree. We believe that poverty is a sin not on the partof the individual in economic difficulties, but a sin onthe part of society as a whole, since it represents a bar-rier blocking the way to sustainable development forall peoples and for the human race as a whole. For thisreason poverty must be eliminated universally and forall.

Original French: Mr. AKOUETE (representative,Democratic Organization of African Workers’ TradeUnions) — I would like, on behalf of all Africanworkers affiliated to the Democratic Organization ofAfrican Workers’ Trade Unions, to congratulate theDirector-General on his re-election to a second termand to congratulate the President of this session of theInternational Labour Conference on his election.

The Report of the Director-General covers a sub-ject which is of interest on more than one front for ourorganization because it relates to a scourge which weare trying to tackle and eradicate every day in our ca-pacity as an organization of African workers. Povertyand its consequences are vicious and pernicious andaffect African workers very hard. This state of affairswill probably go on for many years if a long-term solu-tion is not found. So it is worth noting that the rem-edies proposed by the financial institutions have notbeen adequate to eliminate poverty in Africa because

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very often they are applied without taking intoaccount the human factor and the realities of life inAfrica. Furthermore, it is edifying to see that global-ization only benefits a minority made up essentially ofmultinationals from the northern countries whichamass wealth, whereas the workers in the southerncountries where they are located become mired everdeeper in poverty.

The economic and social divide which alreadyexists between northern and southern countries iswidening every day and in this way exacerbating so-cial inequality, and if nothing is done the entire worldwill suffer because we have to bear in mind one of theedicts of the Declaration of Philadelphia “povertyanywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity every-where”. Working out of poverty, therefore, is the daily“bread and butter”, as it were, of African workerswho have a great deal of initiative, but the problem islinked to the financing of their initiatives, becausefinancial establishments only lend to the rich not thepoor. These initiatives are also blocked by the absenceof state policies for micro enterprises.

As an organization defending the rights of Africanworkers, we believe that the eradication of povertycan only be achieved through respect for the rights ofworkers and this respect requires that States shouldratify and apply Conventions, especially the coreConventions. Financial institutions should set upeconomic policies with a human faces, taking intoaccount the realities and especially the genuine needsof the population in Africa. North/South cooperationand regional integration should allow the AfricanStates in to alleviate poverty. It is with this aim inmind that we feel that subregional organizations andthe New Partnership for Africa’s Development(NEPAD) should set up economic policies, takinginto account social issues and the rights of workers.Total and unconditional debt forgiveness for poorcountries is one effective way to eradicate poverty.We are convinced of that.

We cannot talk about poverty without mentioningthe war in Iraq and its consequences for Iraqi work-ers. Everybody will appreciate that war breedsextreme poverty and this is why we demand that theIraqi people and the United Nations be involved inrestoring peace in Iraq.

The situation of Palestinian workers in the occu-pied Arab territories is extremely worrying, particu-larly with regard to the conflict that is dragging on inthis region, and we should all be involved in a defini-tive resolution to this conflict.

We could not finish this speech without mentioningthe scourge of AIDS, which was raised in the Reportbut not from the point of view of the drugs and treat-ment issue, which is of particular concern to Africanworkers. The fact is that in the case of AIDS today,the drugs are in the north and the patients are in thesouth. To allow southern countries in general, andAfrica in particular, to fight this disease we needaccess to cheaper drugs.

Original Spanish: Mr. DEL RÍO (Workers delegate,Dominican Republic) — Allow me to begin by con-gratulating the Director-General for his excellentReport and for his re-election, on behalf of theNational Council of Trade Union Unity (CNUS),which comprises the four main trade unions of theDominican Republic, namely the Single Confedera-tion of Workers (CTU), the General Confederation

of Workers (CGT), the National Confederation ofDominican Workers (CNTD) and the AutonomousConfederation of Class Unions (CASC) — which isaffiliated to the Latin American Central of Workers(CLAT) and the World Confederation of Labour(WCL) — and of which I am the Secretary-General.

Five years have passed since the adoption by theILO of the excellent Declaration on FundamentalPrinciples and Rights at Work which restates the needfor the respect of these rights to guarantee socialjustice in the world.

Despite the fact that our country has signed theeight Conventions that underpin this Declaration,many of these rights continue to be violated by sectorsthat have still not accepted the rights of men andwomen workers and especially the right to freedom ofassociation.

The dramatic fall in the number of trade unionsand, therefore, in collective bargaining continues tobe a source of concern. It is proof that we need greatercommitment from all the social partners in order toput an end to this basic violation of our rights.

Child labour continues to be an insult to our soci-ety, despite the huge efforts that we recognize are be-ing made by the Government and by the Secretary ofState for Labour, trade union organizations, businessorganizations and civil society, efforts that have re-ceived the help and cooperation of the ILO, throughits IPEC programme, to eradicate this scourge at leastits worst forms. However, the increased level of pov-erty in which the majority of our people are living,which contrasts with the figures provided by interna-tional financial organizations, brings its whole weightto bear on this vulnerable sector of our population,and means that thousands of our boys, girls and ado-lescents are becoming involved in the worst forms oflabour instead of going to school and engaging in therecreational activities suited to their age.

This situation, which originated from the neo-liberal model which is encouraging the globalizationof the economy, is not improving; in fact, it is gettingworse as a result of the existence of an anti-tradeunion policy which is posing an obstacle to collectivebargaining and therefore preventing the achievementof better living and working conditions. This has ledto the closure of small and micro-enterprises and, inturn, to unemployment and the creation ofassistentialist policies aimed partially at combatingpoverty instead of creating decent and dignified work.This difficult situation increases work in the informalsector, and consequently brings with it all the prob-lems and lack of protection this entails.

Although equal opportunities and equal treatmentare guaranteed in legal terms, in practice, women con-tinue to join the labour force in more difficult and vul-nerable situations than men and fragmentation is be-coming more evident every day.

Despite all of these difficulties, we continue toprogress along the path of dialogue and consultationand, as a result of this process, we are making progressin the implementation of the new law No. 87.01,which creates the Dominican system of social securitywhich we hope to develop gradually in the hope that thewhole population will be covered within a few years.

The subject of training is crucial for us, especiallyvocational training. With the employment sector, weare fostering a project on the recognition of qualifica-tions, for which we will need the cooperation of theILO.

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Before concluding, I would like to say on behalfof my organization that I strongly oppose theflagrant violation of trade union rights that is takingplace under the current regime in Cuba, namely theimprisonment and sentencing, together with otherfreedom fighters, of trade union leaders Pedro PabloAlvarez Ramos, Secretary-General of the UnitedCouncil of Cuban Workers and sentenced to 25 years’imprisonment; and Oscar Espinosa Chepe, sentencedto 20 years; Carmelo Fernández, sentenced to15 years and Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, sentenced to26 years — all condemned for demanding their rightsin accordance with the Freedom of Association andProtection of the Right to Organise Convention,1948 (No. 87). We formally request the mediation ofthe ILO so that Cuba will apply Convention No. 87on trade union rights in practice and so that thesepeople, who have been unjustly sentenced, will bereleased.

The world of today needs more institutions like theILO to ensure and promote trade union freedom andpeace as the result of social justice.

The Preamble to the ILO Constitution of 1919 ismore present and necessary than ever before. Univer-sal and permanent peace can be based only on socialjustice.

Original Arabic: Mr. AL KUHLANI (Workers’delegate, Yemen) — In the name of God the Merciful,the Compassionate! I would like on behalf of theYemeni trade unions to congratulate the presidentmost warmly on his election as President of thisimportant session. A session different from the othersbecause it takes up one of the most important socialquestions of all, the eradication of poverty, as well asother questions which are equally important.

I would also like to congratulate the Director-General of the ILO on his election to a second term,the first having been characterized by a high standardof performance and development of its operatingmechanism.

I would also like to mention the content of theDirector-General’s Report with regard to working outof poverty. Poverty is one of the most complex socialproblems that afflict our society, particularly develop-ing societies. It is indeed a nightmare.

Poverty has spread during the last decades and hasaffected many of the world’s peoples, including chil-dren who are the young people of the future and thegenerations of the future. The main reason for thisphenomenon can be found in the effects of globaliza-tion, which has neglected the social and humandimension and curtailed much of the economic devel-opment and national resources. This has led toincreased illiteracy among young people, rising unem-ployment rates, demographic explosions and exacer-bation of the phenomenon of child labour. TheReport addresses all these issues and many others aswell. It proposes various solutions, taking intoaccount the social dimension, economic development,job creation and reduction of the phenomenon ofchild labour.

The adoption of strategies for the years to come isextremely important, and this will be particularly rel-evant for economic and social networks in developingcountries. We need to create jobs and encourage in-vestment and strengthen the role of the trade unionsso that they can defend the need for education andsocial rights, among others.

A tripartite dialogue is essential to tackle theseproblems. Trade unions must be represented asa proper social partner and be involved in decision-making in all matters concerning the variouseconomic and social aspects. There cannot beany economic development without social partner-ship.

Yemen has made progress with regard to the devel-opment of democracy and human rights. The parlia-mentary elections of 27 April 2003, were unprec-edented in terms of transparency and performance.The Yemeni trade unions played a very prominentrole in monitoring the elections. The total number oflocal observers was about 30,000 persons, 20 per centof whom were trade unionists from various regions.This helps us to build a country founded on institu-tions and increases the scope of participation. TheYemeni trade union movement has achieved much.Laws have been promulgated governing trade unions,taking into consideration international labour norms,human rights conventions, freedom of association,freedom of expression and collective negotiation.We are working closely with the employers and theGovernment to develop legislation on labour, socialsecurity, retirement and pensions.

I would like to thank the Director-General of theOrganization, the Governing Body and the BeirutRegional Office, particularly the department whichcovers workers’ activities, for the technical assistancethat they have afforded us. This has allowed us to de-velop the capacities of the trade unionists, particularlyof female trade unionists.

We attach great importance to the rights of workersin the occupied Arab territories because of the diffi-cult circumstances created by the Israeli occupation.We have witnessed the demolition of houses andforced migration of workers. We have seen this insouth Lebanon, Iraq and Syria as well. This situationcannot lead to future security or stability, but is in factexacerbating the conflict. It is a flagrant violation ofall international norms and human rights.

Original Spanish: Mr. ECHEVARRÍASALDARRIAGA (Employers’ adviser and substi-tute delegate, Colombia) — On behalf of the Colom-bian delegation, I would like to join those congratu-lating the President on his election to preside over thissession of the Conference, and I would like to extendthese congratulations to all the Officers of the Confer-ence. I would also like to congratulate the Director-General on his re-election at the March session of theGoverning Body — he can count on our full coopera-tion when carrying out his mandate.

We see the Report submitted by the Director-Gen-eral this year as a continuation of the two Reportslooked at during the last two sessions of the Confer-ence. The fight against poverty has to be looked at ina holistic fashion and discussed particularly in atripartite manner, according to the constituents andobjectives of the ILO.

Furthermore the search for better living conditionsfor people with precarious incomes is an objectivethat must be developed not only by the ILO, but by allof the organizations within the United Nations sys-tem, particularly through their various programmesand special activities.

Poverty reduction is a human objective and as suchwe should join efforts to achieve this goal. The ILOmust help to achieve this, but this does not mean that

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the Organization should be called upon to save theworld from poverty.

The Director-General makes reference to manyways of combating poverty, but given the limitationsof time I will only refer to one in particular, namelythe support that this house can give to various govern-ments to remove the obstacles which exclude coun-tries from the globalized world. There is no doubt thattechnical cooperation and social dialogue are funda-mentally important tools for reinforcing governance,eliminating corruption, cutting through red tape whensetting up businesses and improving qualifications,productivity and training in the workplace.

The ILO should cooperate in initiatives which en-courage governments to establish policies which willlead to an improvement in physical and communica-tion infrastructures; better use of fiscal resourcesthrough a combination of appropriate discipline inpublic spending and tax reductions; the recognition ofthe right to private property and private initiative; thepromotion of employment and enterprise policies;and facilities for credit, particularly for small and me-dium-sized enterprises. I could mention other activi-ties, but these are in themselves a great task for thisOrganization to take on, based on the idea that decentwork results from creating suitable conditions forproductive investment, which is obtained when theactivities I have mentioned are carried out.

In addition, in Colombia we very much have tobear in mind one factor which is fundamental for eco-nomic growth and social welfare. Here, I am referringto security, not just personal security but alsoeconomic and legal security. Important progress hasbeen made recently in this direction.

In the monthly survey carried out by ANDI amongColombian entrepreneurs, when asked about insecu-rity, this issue went from being the second biggestproblem to being the fourth biggest problem theywere faced with last year. There is a greater feeling ofstate presence which has generated more confidence,not just in domestic consumption but also in produc-tive investment. Violence has decreased across theboard, even as regards the murder of trade unionists.These effects have been reflected in the rise in GDP,which went up by 3.8 per cent in the first quarter ofthis year; we have not seen such growth in our countryfor more than eight years.

It is very important to emphasize that it has notonly been the State and the legal reforms that havestrengthened public finances and increased employ-ment opportunities.

The ILO has also played an important role throughthe technical cooperation programme established bythe Governing Body two years ago. In the businesssector, we have always maintained that instead ofsanctions Colombia needs support from the interna-tional communities so as to strengthen democraticinstitutions and combat the problem of armed internalconflict, which indiscriminately affects all sectors ofsociety. As part of this cooperation programme, theemployers have held meetings in various cities of thecountry to raise awareness in the ILO Declaration onFundamental Principles and Rights at World. Duringthe course of this year we have organized variousregional workshops among employers to discuss alter-native methods for resolving labour disputes. Withthe support of the ILO, we hope, in the second quar-ter of the year to present a proposal on arbitration tothe Tripartite Labour Coordination Committee.

The idea is to find rapid solutions to individual orcollective disputes. Maybe in this area we need to im-prove the effectiveness of the Inter-InstitutionalCommittee for resolving cases presented before theILO. By working together, we workers and employ-ers, with the support of the Government, could avoidthe need to have rulings from Geneva on manymatters that we could have settled in Colombia.

Lastly, I would like to say that we, as social part-ners, are called upon to strengthen democratic institu-tions and to reject violence, and dialogue is the bestway to achieve this.

Original Spanish: Mr. GURDIÁN CASTELLÓN(Minister of Labour, Nicaragua) — The Report of theDirector-General this year confirms that the ILOshares the concern of all of us at the major threatposed to the sustainable development of manypeoples by poverty.

We must start by recognizing that there is a socialcrisis and show a commitment to overcome it. There isgeneralized poverty, hunger, malnutrition, childlabour. Some 2.2 million Nicaraguans, almost 40 percent of our population, have less than US$1 a day topay for their basic food requirements. The mainobjective of the Poverty Reduction Strategy poses aconsiderable challenge: to reduce extreme poverty byhalf by the year 2015. This will be possible only if wemanage to reverse the declining trend in investmentover recent years by raising public investment from11.5 per cent of GDP during 2003-05 to over 13 percent. It is necessary to stop looking at public invest-ment as a variable for adjusting the endemic fiscaldeficit, and instead make it an instrument for leverag-ing private investment and a driving force ofeconomic growth and development.

For the wages of the low paid to increase and bestabilized, we need an integrated approach that willincrease productivity and pay, boost purchasingpower and consolidate our social structure. It is alsovery important to raise awareness among all theactors in the productive process about this new eco-nomic reality. Their resolute support in our efforts toimprove the living conditions of our people, and thejoint adoption of a national employment policy byworkers, employers and government, confirm that theeradication of poverty is a concern for the whole ofsociety. There is undoubtedly a tripartite commitmentto end poverty.

There are other aspects concerning efforts toimprove the link between work and national develop-ment. Labour productivity is closely linked to thelevel of workers skills, which depend on formaleducation but also on the training received on the job.

In short, our economic growth is not yet dynamicenough to generate productive employment for allwhich is well paid and undertaken in conditions offreedom, equity, security and human dignity. Never-theless, the challenge taken up by the Government ofEnrique Bolaños Geyer is to create decent workthrough domestic and foreign investment.

The modernization of the State, its legislation andinstitutions, is absolutely imperative to guarantee sta-bility and the possibility of sustainable human devel-opment. Modernization must go beyond instrumentaland operational changes. Its nature and scope must bereviewed, with all its limitations, but must also allowState to play a coordinating role, to allow the indi-vidual to be at the centre of the development process.

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I wish to conclude by reiterating my appeal to makejoint efforts to generate productive employment. Myappeal is addressed especially to the ILO and otherfriendly governments, to prevent more deaths of thepoor and indigent because poverty still persists.

Mr. OTANG (Chairman, Council of State, Kiribati)— I would like to associate myself with previousspeakers in congratulating the President and Vice-Presidents on their election to their respective offices.I should also take this opportunity to express mygratitude to the Chairperson of the Governing Body,Bill Brett for the report on the Governing Body’s ac-tivities during the period June 2002 to June 2003. TheGoverning Body has done an excellent job in theperiod under review. Allow me to express, on behalfof Kiribati’s Government, my thanks to Lord Brett forhaving served the ILO with dedication and commit-ment for a considerable number of years. As he isleaving the ILO in the near future I wish him well inhis future endeavours.

Let me also extend my congratulations to theDirector-General, Mr. Somavia, on his appointmentfor another term of five years. His excellent work instreamlining ILO activities and combining themin one package, while abiding by the principle thathuman beings’ interests must be at the forefront of de-velopment and budgeting that allows for a substantialincrease in allocations to our regions, has convincedme more than ever that his appointment is in the in-terests of the world of labour and deserves the sup-port of all delegates to this Conference.

I must say that Kiribati supports the Decent WorkAgenda, the principal objective of which is the eradi-cation of poverty. To achieve this objective Kiribatiwants to see fundamental principles and rights atwork realized. Decent employment must be created.Social protection must be improved and parties mustengage in social dialogue when deciding on all mattersof interest to them. This creates harmonious indus-trial relations, balanced development and substantialgrowth. However, given our uniqueness as a smalldeveloping nation, with development challenges thatdiffer from those of other countries, Kiribati willapproach decent work strategically and will developthe relevant policies and measures to translate it intoreality within the Kiribati context.

Translating the Decent Work Agenda into practicecalls for a multidisciplinary approach requiringeconomic, social and political inputs. This, of course,requires knowledge, expertise, dedication and com-mitment so that the Agenda is developed and imple-mented with vigour in a highly professional manner.

The ILO possesses the knowledge and expertiserequired for the development and implementation ofthe Decent Work Agenda in Kiribati. I therefore callupon the ILO to keep abreast of the development ofdecent work in Kiribati and to render assistance asrequired from time to time. Our position on this ques-tion has been voiced very clearly to the RegionalOffice for Asia and the Pacific and I look forward toILO assistance in the coming months.

It is incumbent upon me, at this stage, to expressmy thanks to the ILO for the decent work report, Anagenda for development and dignity, that highlightedthe decent work deficits of the South Pacific coun-tries. This report was examined in a subregional semi-nar that took place in Fiji, as a result of which Kiribatiis now engaged in drawing up a decent work plan of

action. ILO also wrote two specific reports onKiribati, which are now helping us to broaden andstrengthen our activities on the decent work plan ofaction. Those reports were on decent work in themaritime sector, the conditions of work and the life ofseafarers in Kiribati and on social protection/security.

I must commend at this stage, the ILO Office inSuva and the multidisciplinary team in Manila fortheir constant support to our work generally. The as-sistance of these two offices has been invaluable toKiribati and I look forward to their continued supportin the coming years.

Let me conclude by bestowing the Kiribati tradi-tional blessing of Te Mauri (Health), Te Raoi (Peace),ao Te Tabomoa (and Prosperity).

Mr. MAGAYA (Minister of Labour and Adminis-trative Reform, Sudan) — Allow me to congratulateMr. Wamalwa on his election to preside over the 91stSession of the International Labour Conference. It isan honour for all of us. We are confident that his wis-dom and experience will help steer the Conference tofruitful conclusions.

I would like to start by commending the Director-General for his Report, which is devoted to the rela-tionship between decent work, poverty reduction anddevelopment. Through the adoption of decent work,the basic principles of the ILO came to the front andwere given due value and weight. We believe that pro-motion and realization of basic rights at work, em-ployment security, provision of protection and pro-motion of social dialogue are key factors todevelopment and poverty reduction.

Widespread poverty, unemployment and underemployment compromise the basic human rights anddignity of individuals and communities affected,while their widespread occurrence represents athreat to social and political stability. We believe thatthe eradication of poverty and the promotion of in-creased production opportunities should be a majorpriority of economic and social policy of govern-ments in the developing countries in general and Af-rican countries in particular. We are of the opinionthat this could be achieved if the following issueswere given due attention: one,. continuous reviewand modernization of human resources developmentstrategies to make individuals employable andinformed. Continuous development of trainingcontributes to economic development and helpsachieve full employment and promote socialinclusion. It helps individuals to gain access todecent work and good jobs, and escape poverty andmarginalization. Two, extending support and provid-ing incentives to agricultural exports, as the bulkof the labour force in LDCs are employed in theagricultural sector. Three, encouraging and develop-ing small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employment projects. Four, development andexpansion of safety networks and social security toreduce the effects of unemployment and poverty.Efforts in this regard are to be geared towardslaunching in-focus programmes to contain the dam-aging effects of HIV/AIDS pandemics and malaria.Five, strengthening the social dialogue on theprogrammes of economic reform and promotion ofcooperation between the workers and administra-tions when reviewing structural adjustments, with theultimate objective of improving labour marketperformance and protecting workers’ rights.

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We believe that the ILO has a major role to play toreduce poverty and enhance development through re-alizing the values of decent work and implementingthe four basic objectives. In this context we stress thattechnical cooperation is highly needed by the Africancountries. Since the ILO is not a funding agency, it isencouraged to develop policies and programmes withinternational financial institutions in areas relating toemployment creation and poverty alleviation and tolook for extra-budgetary resources to support thetechnical cooperation programmes.

Looking back to the Sudan, in relation to decentwork we find that many positive steps were accom-plished. This includes: one, the 1998 Constitution ofthe Sudan embodies the basic human and fundamen-tal rights including the right of organization. Two, theadoption of a policy to promote agriculture to absorbmost of the labour force and establish self-employ-ment and labour-intensive projects. Three, vocationaltraining is supported and developed to cover all theStates. Four, the ratification of seven Conventions outof the eight core Conventions of the ILO. This year,the ILO registered the ratification of the Sudan of theMinimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), andthe Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999(No. 182). Five, the pension and social securitysystems have been extended to cover more workers,services and areas. Pensions are highly increased tocompensate any deterioration resulting from the ad-verse effects of inflation. Six, in the area of safety theSudan has taken positive steps to ratify the Safety andHealth in Agriculture Convention, 2001 (No. 184).

The social and economic development in the Sudanis negatively affected by the prolonged civil war whichhas gone on for decades. The war has caused displace-ment, refugees, loss of lives and increased poverty.The Government of the Sudan responded positivelyto many initiatives to reach peace and stop the war.One of those initiatives is the IGAD initiative whichis led by the Kenyan Government. Under this initia-tive a protocol for detailed negotiation by both sidethat would lead eventually to a negotiated compre-hensive peace agreement was concluded. The agree-ment led to the signing of an agreement on ceasinghostilities that would provide confidence-buildingmeasures. Right now negotiations are continuing onissues of difference within the context of the protocol.We are confident that a final peace agreement will beconcluded soon to put an end to the civil war in theSudan. At this juncture we highly commend the ef-forts of all the friendly countries representing thefriends of IGAD in assisting the two sides to reach apeaceful resolution to the conflict

We look forward for assistance from the ILO andthe international community to assist the Sudan in re-habilitation, resettlement and reconstruction. Welook forward also to discussing the situation of work-ers in Palestine in a special sitting.

Original Spanish: Mr. ORTEGA NADAL (Em-ployers’ delegate, Dominican Republic) — The Em-ployers’ delegation from the Dominican Republic ispleased to greet the delegations here at this 91st Ses-sion of the International Labour Conference and wel-comes the Report presented by the Director-General,which presents the harsh reality that faces we whomake up the ILO, particularly developing countries.

Fighting poverty is the duty not just of those whomake public policy but also of society as a whole. To

overcome poverty we need to improve primary edu-cation, safety and health at work, occupational train-ing and policies promoting employment. We need totake better advantage of free trade agreements and ofscientific and technological developments, which areessential for making our societies more competitiveand more productive.

Reducing poverty requires a serious and consistentattitude on the part of governments, cooperationfrom multinational agencies, democratic participationon the part of our peoples and the legitimacybestowed by effective tripartite discussions. It is alsothe reason for the standards in force in some of ourinternational bodies and the reason that it is impor-tant that national resources be allocated in sufficientquantities to education, health and professionaltraining among other important priorities.

We should not hide the fact that the creation of op-portunities and decent work depends on the properenvironment for productive investment and on thedevelopment of proper entrepreneurial spirit and so-cial responsibility on the part of business people.

In the Dominican Republic, we have ratified theeight core Conventions of the ILO and we are follow-ing these up so as to ensure that they are implementedin the best possible way. We have been giving priorityto updating our national industrial infrastructure toglobalization, the WTO agreements, the process ofconstruction of the Free Trade Area of the Americas,the implications of the new association agreement be-tween the African, Caribbean and Pacific States(ACP) and the European Union and the matters thathinder the effectiveness of the labour force such asHIV/AIDS, child labour, the informal economy, theproblems that micro-small and medium-sized enter-prises face and strengthen a culture of dialogue andharmonization.

In the Dominican Republic, we are carrying out so-cial and entrepreneurial investment programmes,with the support of the World Bank and other interna-tional agencies, with a view to tackling poverty on thebasis of corporate citizen ship.

We have a tripartite consultative labour council,which discusses labour policies with a view to main-taining a harmonious environment in which to work.

The administration offers a social office in whichthe business sector takes part and this is a setting foropportunities to promote decent work and an in-crease in national employment. Likewise, in variousparts of the country we have had an effectiveprogramme which has returned children who havebeen made to work to school. These children weremainly made to work by their families to help providefood.

However, we believe that the business sector facesobstacles mainly in exchange rate volatility, high in-terest rates and financial policy that lowers livingstandards as a result of external shocks and misguidednational policies.

Finally, we believe that the ILO is the competentinternational forum for all matters relating to prin-ciples and rights at work, that trade agreementsshould not include social clauses and that we do notneed other regional forums for these issues. We callupon the ILO, the United Nations system and theBretton Woods institutions to work together to coor-dinate coherent policies that are consistent withdomestic policies, in order to ensure that unemploy-ment, inflation, noticeable depreciation of exchange

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rates, high interest rates, the external debt problem,the integration of our countries in the internationaleconomy and the creation of decent work are madecentral to the ILO’s technical and financial assistanceprogrammes in order to serve those who belong tothis worthy and humanist International Labour Orga-nization.

Mr. MLANGA (Minister of Labour and VocationalTraining, Malawi) — First of all, I should like to con-vey the greetings of the Government of Malawi, thewarm heart of Africa. Others have also called it theSwitzerland of Africa.

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to addressthis session of the International Labour Conferenceon behalf of the Government of Malawi, which isunder the democratic leadership of His ExcellencyPresident Dr. Bakili Muluzi, who would like to wishthis Conference every success in its deliberations andconclusions.

Turning to the Director-General’s Report, Workingout of poverty, I wish to commend the Director-Gen-eral, Mr. Juan Somavia, for providing this Conferencewith yet another rich, passionate, deep and brilliantreport on the question of poverty and how it can beeffectively eliminated through work.

Indeed, poverty continues to remain the greatestchallenge faced by humankind. It is not only the mostshameful problem to human society, but it is alsodehumanizing, degrading and, above all, a real threatto human life. I therefore entirely agree with theDirector-General’s observation in Chapter 1, page 1,in relation to the decent work dividend, that povertyis the result of ineffective economic and socialsystems.

We are all aware that poverty somewhere consti-tutes a threat to prosperity everywhere. Today, thisphilosophy is as relevant as it was in 1919, whenthe Constitution of our noble Organization was firstwritten. The world today continues to be highlyunsafe to live in, merely because poverty is arisingfrom the current economic order of exclusion,whether at the national or international levels.

This is why I would like to agree with the Director-General’s observations at the bottom of page 68 of theReport, that “the decent work strategy offers anintegrated framework for promoting institutionalchange” for the inclusion of marginalized groups. In-deed, there is no question of a straightjacket formula,where one size fits all, when introducing decent workapproaches in our countries.

We come from different corners of this world, withdifferent economic, social, cultural and technologicalbackgrounds. It must be appreciated that poverty maymean different things in these different corners of theworld. Hence, the need to come up with country spe-cific approaches to the Decent Work Agenda if thesocial dividend is indeed going to be realized and en-joyed by everybody in our society. Otherwise, the de-cent work dividend will remain just a mouth-wateringdream for many of us, especially for those of us whocome from the developing world.

To this effect, my country, with the support of theInternational Labour Organization, has left no stoneunturned in its efforts to promote the Decent WorkAgenda. For example, just recently, the Government,through tripartite consultations, has developed a drafttenancy labour bill, which aims at addressing relation-ship problems between employers and employees.

The envisaged act will, therefore, help to removemost of the unfair practices that take place betweenlandlords and their tenant farmers, whose concernsare not adequately addressed by the existing legisla-tion.

In Malawi, poverty alleviation continues to be anational priority for economic development. Sincethe adoption of multipartite democracy in 1994, anumber of policies have changed dramatically, so thatany public expenditure which does not directly ben-efit the poor has been changed or discontinued. How-ever, due to the harsh world economic order and thelimited market opportunities for Malawi’s agricul-tural products, the social dividends of our pro-poorspending seem to be slow in being felt by the people.

We believe that a great potential for harvesting richsocial dividends from decent work in Malawi is slowlybut surely being realized. However, we need a lot ofcapacity building for decent work. As in pages 80 and101 of his report the Director-General pledges contin-ued ILO assistance to its constituents in preparinglabour laws and designing institutions, it is my humbleprayer that Malawi will be considered one of thesedays, for one of the Decent Work Pilot programmes.

Let me conclude by thanking the ILO mostsincerely for the assistance it has rendered to ourGovernment in a number of activities in the field oflabour administration for the benefit of the entirepopulation of Malawi.

Original Spanish: Ms. VILDOSO CHIRINOS(Vice-Minister of Employment Promotion, Peru) — Ishall address three points in my contribution: thedevelopment of qualifications; investment in jobs andlocal environment; and small and micro enterprises.

These and other points pointed to the Director-General’s Report as strategies for overcomingpoverty are part of the employment promotionpolicy contained in the national agreement signed bythe Government, political parties and civil society inPeru.

My first point concerns small and micro-enter-prises: linking employment with rights. On the basisof a draft drawn up by the Ministry of Labour and thePromotion of Employment in Peru, Congressapproved the Promotion and Formalization of Microand Small Enterprises Act, designed to facilitate theintegration of these enterprises into the most modernpart of the economy and to reorient public institutionstowards the needs and potential of this sector. TheAct sets up a national council for the promotion ofmicro and small enterprises, commits the State todeveloping support mechanisms for both micro andsmall enterprises, and sets up a special labour law re-gime on a temporary basis for micro enterprises only.

Micro enterprises are defined by the Act as an eco-nomic unit with no more than ten workers and sellinggoods worth an annual total of up to US$150,000.Their productivity is insufficient to meet the eco-nomic criteria applicable under general labour legisla-tion for the private sector. Forty per cent of workers inPeru work in this sector, nearly all of them on an unof-ficial basis and without social security. To facilitatethe acquisition of labour rights for these workers, thelevel of profits allowed for was estimated with regardfor the effort micro-enterprises may make in estab-lishing their position on more stable markets. Theproject is designed to foster the development of enter-prises participating in export-oriented sectors; to

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enhance their role as providers for the State; toextend business development service, and improveaccess to loans.

It will be a challenge to apply the new labourregime in Peru, because the people who run andwork in micro enterprises will need to be madeaware of the new regime, the work of labourinspectorates under the Ministry of Labour will haveto be strengthened to avoid fraud by larger companiestrying to take advantage of the regime, and dissemina-tion, information and even inspection activitieswill have to be decentralized in cooperation withlocal governments.

My second point refers to the development ofqualifications. The fight against unemployment andunderemployment needs us to bridge the dividebetween training and employment. A lot of theinvestment carried out by the State and by families invocational training are wasted because the qualifica-tions that young people acquire are not in line withthe market requirements. On the other hand, a lack offormal qualifications is often the basis for discrimina-tion against people who may have gained valuableon-the-job experience. In response to this situation,the Ministry of Labour and the Promotion of Employ-ment in Peru has supported the setting up of a tripartitecommittee for the standardization and certification oflabour skills, particularly for the textile and clothingsector. This Committee has carried out a study onthe skills genuinely required by enterprises and isworking on standards for the provision of training inthe textiles and clothing sector, which will also formthe basis for certification of skills learned throughon-the-job experience. The scheme will then beextended into the construction sector. The NationalLabour Council of Peru has also adopted a set ofbroader rules concerning skills of certification andstandardization.

My final point relates to investment in jobs and thelocal environment. During the first two years of thegovernment of President Toledo, a temporary em-ployment programme, called A Trabaja, or “Get toWork”, has been implemented.

In line with the Director-General’s comments in hisReport “care is taken to ensure that the wage is set ata level to help lift workers’ families out of severepoverty but avoid attracting employed workers awayfrom other income-generating activities”. The workcarried out under the programme is in the interest ofthe whole community. In the urban component of theprogramme, the selection of projects is done througha competition in which various objective criteria areused for selection. An interinstitutional committeecomprising representatives of the central Govern-ment, local government and civil society is in chargeof selection.

Original Russian: Mr. SHYLOV (Workers’ adviserand substitute delegate, Ukraine) — Let me start bycongratulating the President on his election to thisimportant post and wish him every success in conduct-ing the meeting.

The Report of the Director-General on the eradi-cation of poverty and its connection with decent workand development is very profound and reflects the re-alities of today’s multi-polar world in which the gulf isincreasing both between rich and poor countries andbetween the rich and poor within those countries. Wesupport the Director-General’s views that combating

poverty requires the concerted effort of all socialpartners.

The socio-economic phenomenon of poverty ispresent in every society and is a serious problem. Al-leviation of poverty is important not just for humani-tarian considerations but also to increase and improvethe physical, labour and intellectual potential of anycountry. Therefore I would like to share with you ourviews of the problems facing Ukraine and establishthe historic challenges concerning the alleviationof poverty which we as trade unions must tackletogether with our social partners.

The problem of poverty is at the centre of tradeunion attention in Ukraine and we want people to be-come aware of the rate of growth of GDP not throughstatistics, but through real effects for their families,towns and villages.

Despite the fact that from 2000-02 our GDP grewby 20.9 per cent and our real wages by 39.7 per cent,around 28 per cent of our population is below thepoverty line, defined as 192 grivni or US$36.

It is not just the traditionally vulnerable groupssuch as pensioners, the disabled, large families andone parent families, who are below the poverty linebut also the so called “new poor” low- paid workers,the unemployed, and workers who experience asignificant delay in receiving their wages.

We are particularly concerned about the fact thatthere are chronic outbreaks of poverty in specificindustries and regions of Ukraine. So in health or edu-cation or culture, 80-90 per cent of workers are paid awage which is below the poverty line. On the initiativeof the unions, a reform of the wage system was begunat the end of 2000, but it is proceeding too slowly.

It is particularly difficult for the unemployed whoseaverage level of benefit is only 59 per cent of the mini-mum wage, and despite the fact that unemployment inUkraine is officially quite low, around 4 per cent,nevertheless, there are at least eight people — andas many as 20 in some regions — for every vacancy.

At the insistence of the trade unions, every generalagreement now carries a quota of jobs to be createdby the Government or by enterprises. This year weare hoping for 300 to 320 thousand jobs to be createdin this way. In order to provide jobs for all those whoare willing and able to work, and thereby reduce theextent of poverty, the Federation of Trade Unions ofUkraine has secured from the Government the devel-opment of a job creation scheme, which should helpreduce poverty in the country to a minimum.

In order to eradicate poverty, it is extremely impor-tant to increase wages. Thanks to economic growthand the initiative and tenacity of the trade unions,laws have been passed increasing the monthly mini-mum wage to $35 as of 1 January 2003 and further to$51 as of 1 December 2003. This equates to 65 per centof the legally defined subsistence level.

We also need to tackle the question of payment ofwage arrears. Two million people still have notreceived all their wages, and that is 18 per cent of theworking population. The Federation of Trade Unionsis demanding that all the back-pay should be paid.

Another problem is that a quarter of all people whodie in Ukraine are of working age. This may welldouble in the next few years, reducing the size of theeconomically active population. If the brain-draincontinues at the present rate, then there will benobody to build the Ukrainian economy. There is alsoa decline in urbanization. We would therefore support

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a national programme to alleviate poverty and a planto implement a national demographic policy up to2005 to combat poverty and improve the well-being ofworkers.

The fundamental factor which knits a societytogether is its striving to survive and prosper, andselection criterion for whether changes are positiveor negative for a society is their social effectiveness.Societies that survive are those that can welcomechange which will be effective and will help in growthand production. It is the job of the ILO to helphumanity to recognize this selection mechanism,which will lead to a more just distribution of the fruitsof globalization.

Original French: Mr. DIAKITE (Minister ofLabour and Public Services, Mali) — I would also liketo join all those who have congratulated the Presidenton his brilliant election to chair the 91st Session of theInternational Labour Conference. I wish him everysuccess in carrying out the tasks entrusted to him.

This session, whose main topic is mainstreamingdecent work into development polices andprogrammes with a view to reducing poverty, is ofextraordinary importance to a country like mine.

In fact, during this Conference, we will have todefine a strong social, economic and institutionalframework for the implementation of the integratedapproach to economic growth and promoting employ-ment advocated by our Organization.

My congratulations also go to the other Officers ofthe Conference for the trust placed in them. Allow meto take this opportunity to congratulate the Director-General of the International Labour Office for hisexcellent Report and for his determination constantlyto remind the international community about all thesocial challenges facing the developing countries.

The richness of this year’s Report and the emi-nently practical solutions it proposes will certainlyconstitute a frame of reference for all upcomingdiscussions in the ILO about development issues.

Decent work is a universal aspiration. The wish ofevery worker, man or woman, wherever he or she maybe, is to find a sufficiently well-paid job to meet thebasic needs of his or her family and to offer it dignityand security. In Africa, however, intolerable levels ofpoverty are still rife. Decent work deficits are visibleat all levels. The number of workers who lose theirjobs or who are unable to find work particularlywomen and young people, are reaching worryinglevels.

Ninety per cent of workers have virtually noadequate social protection. The spread of HIV/AIDSis likely to prove an irreversible setback to the devel-opment of the African continent.

In order to promote decent work and social inte-gration, the Government of the Republic of Mali isconvinced that the action to be taken must give priorityto the development of firms and the improvementof skills at all levels, the implementation of labour-intensive investment programmes to create more jobsand the formulation of policies designed to make iteasier for the most disadvantaged members of thepopulation, in other words those in the informaleconomy, to obtain access to credit.

In many countries, finding work in the informalsector is the sole alternative to unemployment. Giventhat any strategy targeting this sector gives a substan-tial fill up to the creation of jobs and goes a long way

towards meeting the basic needs of the population, itsfundamental aim should be to give economic units therequisite technical and financial resources to boosttheir production and productivity levels and to im-prove the income of the various categories of workersemployed in them. Reducing the decent work deficitis certainly the best way to reduce poverty and to offerfirms the biggest opportunities for development.

The ongoing shortage of productive jobs through-out the world, especially in Africa, therefore meansthat we must review our call for more effective, all-round strategies.

In order to break the spiral of poverty, a thoughreform of macroeconomic structures, which concen-trates above all on the promotion of employment,improving the productivity of the poorest workersand extending social protection, is necessary amongother things.

As the Director-General so aptly stated in hisReport, the fight against extreme poverty cannot bewon, if national economies are unable to create asufficient number of jobs and sustainable livelihoodsfor all.

This is why my delegation takes this opportunity toreaffirm its profound attachment to the implementa-tion of the Global Employment Agenda which makesfull productive employment in the job of one’s choicethe focal point of economic and social policies.

The implementation of this comprehensive integralframework for development will flounder without thereal participation of the traditional social partnersand the other components of civil society.

In my country, the Government, workers andemployers very quickly realized all the benefits thatthey can derive from this participative process. In thestruggle against unemployment, we have also devisedan active conceited policy based on sustainablehuman development.

Furthermore, the partners’ full participation indrawing up the Poverty Reduction Strategy, made itpossible to take employment into account whendefining development polices.

Lastly, the National Strategy for Combating Pov-erty, the National Action Plan to Reduce Poverty andthe Solidarity Part for Growth and Development areconsidered today by all socio-economic actors to bepolicies and measures which might well encourage thecreation of jobs and improve the living conditions ofworkers.

Consequently, I would like to end my statement byinviting the international institutions concerned toredefine the rules of international trade so that poorcountries can at long last obtain more substantial in-come from their natural resources in order to financetheir development.

I wish our deliberations every success.

Original Chinese: Mr. XU (Workers’ delegate,China) — First of all, please allow me to congratulatethe President on his election to preside over this 91stSession of the International Labour Conference. Mycongratulations also go to the other three Vice-Presi-dents. I believe that under their guidance this Confer-ence will be a sure success.

The Report Working out of poverty submittedby the Director-General of the ILO to this sessionreflects reality and visions, with comprehensive andin-depth analysis, setting forth the common concernof the international community about poverty.

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Poverty has long plagued the world of work. This isparticularly true in the developing countries whereabout 1.2 billion people were living on US$1 a day orless in 1999. As the Report points out, “poverty is acomplex, deep-seated, pervasive reality”.

Behind poverty, there are many factors — historic,economic, political and social, and since the irrationalinternational economic order remains unchanged,economic globalization has made the problem evenworse. We believe that poverty alleviation must bebased on sustainable development and social integra-tion. This is a long-term task of the internationalcommunity.

Since 1995, the United Nations family has reori-ented its development approach to focus on povertyreduction with coordinated actions. The ILO shouldalso join hands with its tripartite constituents in themember States, to integrate a poverty alleviationstrategy into the coherent international framework.With unemployment, we often see poverty. There-fore, creating and expanding job opportunities is themost effective way to reduce poverty. At present, theILO should provide more technical assistance todeveloping countries to help them address theirproblems and challenges in the course of developingtheir economies, increasing employment, fightingagainst poverty and achieving decent work. All this isof great importance to the ILO in realizing itspurposes and aims. We believe that trade unionsacross the world have had fruitful experiences duringthe process of implementing poverty alleviationstrategies, gaining decent work and protecting thelegitimate rights and interests of their members andworkers. Poverty alleviation and full employmentneed effective government action and, moreover, theactive participation and cooperation of the socialpartners, including trade unions.

The ILO should continue to promote social dia-logue and tripartism, and emphasize the importanceof decent work in expanding employment, eliminat-ing poverty, developing social justice and achievingsocial progress. At the same time, the ILO shouldprovide adequate technical assistance to trade unions,in particular those in the developing countries, andpay due attention to their irreplaceable role inpoverty alleviation and decent work.

We note that in his Report the Director-Generalhas confirmed the achievements that China has madein poverty alleviation since the 1990s. We are proud ofwhat we have achieved, but we are also fully awarethat there are still many poor people in our countryand we still have a long way to go.

Given these new circumstances, the Chinese tradeunions have made it their mission to protect the legiti-mate rights and interests of their workers. We haveimplemented the Warmth Project for 11 years — aproject designed to create job opportunities for needyworkers, help improve their employability and meettheir basic needs. Over the past two years, we havestrengthened cooperation with the ILO and theUNDP in respect of poverty alleviation and employ-ment generation. We provide the laid-off and unem-ployed with micro-loans, with which they are able tocreate self-employment or set up their own busi-nesses, thus improving their employability. In thisway, the Chinese trade unions have played their partin poverty reduction and they will, as always,strengthen cooperation with the ILO and make duecontributions to the lofty cause.

Original Arabic: Mr. AL-RABAIE (Employers’delegate, Oman) — It is my pleasure, in my name andon behalf of the delegation and the Chamber ofCommerce and Industry of Oman and the Councilof Businessmen, to congratulate the President on hiselection and to congratulate the Vice-Presidents, andexpress our hope that the work of this Conference willbe very successful thanks to your constructive effortsand widely-recognized wisdom.

I would also like to congratulate the Director-General on his re-election and wish him every success.

We were very pleased to receive the Director-General’s Report on Working out of poverty, whichaddress various aspects of sustainable developmentand decent work as ways of eradicating poverty. Wesupport his view on the need to mobilize efforts insupport of workers to eliminate poverty, through aprocess of dialogue. Poverty is a scourge that destroyspeoples’ lives and deprives the majority of the meansto live in dignity.

The Sultanate of Oman has adopted an economicdevelopment and social development policy with theparticipation of all three partners in the productionprocess, and has adopted a number of policies andmeasures as a basis to combat poverty, ignoranceand disease.

Our people enjoy a dignified life of security andwell-being. The employers’ organizations have playeda vital and pivotal role in the conception ofprogrammes to combat poverty through job creationand working towards the achievement of sustainabledevelopment.

The manifold risks of poverty threaten allhumankind with increased instability and loss ofsecurity which exacerbate poverty. The ILO throughits Constitution and the achievement of its objectivesis called upon to play a vital role in developingprogrammes to help people, particularly employeesand workers. It is important at this point to mentiontwo vital issues in our Arab region which requireparticular attention by our Conference. The firstconcerns the tragic situation of the employers andworkers in Palestine and the occupied territories.The second issue is that of the situation of the employ-ees and workers in Iraq, which has preventedour colleagues and partners from attending thisConference.

We hope that the International Labour Office willgive us concrete expression to the objectives of ourOrganization by helping the social partners in Iraqand assisting with the post-crisis reconstruction effort,to enable the three partners in Iraq to play a vital role,as they should, in all these matters which are of con-cern to us, and to take part in future sessions of theconference.

Following the declarations of the Director-General, I will invite you all to pray with me to thealmighty that peace and security based on justice andequality will prevail all over the world, that human-kind may enjoy the blessings of living in security andprosperity.

Mr. GAJDOS (Workers’ adviser and substitutedelegate, Slovakia) — I am deeply honoured to speakbefore you on behalf of the Slovak trade unionmembers at this international labour forum focusingon poverty and ways of eradicating it.

Unfortunately, poverty is an increasingly extendedphenomenon in our country — several statistics say

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from about 12 up to 20 per cent of people are poor.We have a large number of unemployed, poor andprecariously employed people. Real labour and socialincomes are being constantly reduced, and materialshortcoming and uncertainty increased.

Based on this unfavourable development, we haveto rather speak about social downfall and destructionthan about social progress in our country.

There are many causes underlying suchdevelopment’s. We consider the most significant to bethe ineffective and passive economic policy of govern-ments in the period of transition towards marketeconomy. Further causes are globalization and, sincelast year, economic and social policy of the neo-liberalGovernment.

Recently implemented and drafted measuresconcerning amendments to salary and social acts, theact on employment, pension security and sicknessinsurance, as well as taxation acts and the LabourCode, all go against the principles of social justice andsolidarity and further decrease social and labourprotection. Such measures, along with a massiveincrease in prices, are expected to continue toincrease the number of poor people in our country.

We are proud of being one of the few countrieswhere tripartite social dialogue is stipulated by law.This law is, nevertheless, permanently breached bythe Government. Draft acts have serious impactson the rights of employees and their families. TheGovernment, contrary to the law, does not submitsome of them to be discussed at all and discussion on thesubmitted acts are run in a very formal way withoutachieving any consensus between social partners.

Naturally, Slovak trade unions cannot view such apolicy and take an inactive approach. We are using,and will use, any type of social struggle to promote theeconomic, social and labour interests of all employeesand trade union members.

It is more than useful that the International LabourOrganization is dealing with social justice and thatthis discussion is focused on new roads to eradicatepoverty. Poverty is a global disease of the world. Inthe past, its unlimited spread caused many tragedies,therefore, let us learn lessons.

It is a challenge for all of us, for social partners andworld institutions, to seek efficient tools for eliminat-ing negative impacts of economic and politicalsystems.

Mr. KEARNEY (representative, International Tex-tile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation) —Work is the best route out of poverty; but — as wesee in the textile, clothing and footwear industriesunregulated and unprotected work can also be apassport to permanent poverty.

China and Mexico now dominate the North Ameri-can clothing market, each supplying around 15 percent of all apparel imports. However, the surge in jobsthis has created has not meant higher wages or risinglabour standards for the millions of migrant workersconcerned. On the contrary, in Mexico, the value ofthe legal minimum wage fell by almost half during the1990s. In China, footwear workers toil for 11 hours aday, often seven days a week. Unpaid wages are ahuge problem, with 8,000 cases recorded in Shenzhenalone in nine months in 2001. Acute and chronichealth and safety hazards abound, with more than10,000 cases of severed limbs and fingers recorded inShenzhen in 1999.

China and Mexico are trendsetters for the world’stextile, clothing and footwear industries. Today, realwages in the industries are falling and working condi-tions worsening everywhere in a desperate race to thebottom, as core labour standards are jettisoned inthe name of competitiveness.

When unionized workers at Gina Form in Thailandtried to resist this trend, their employer began acampaign of intimidation and harassment to destroythe union by moving supporters from job to job andlaying off its leaders. Little help was forthcomingfrom those charged with implementing the country’slabour legislation.

In Sri Lanka’s export processing firms freedom ofassociation is largely non-existent, with governmentagencies promoting company-run employee’s coun-cils to thwart efforts to unionize.

Being “footloose and fancy free” is all the rage inthe sector. Like loggers who exploit resources, laywaste to an area and then move on, sports goodscompanies which for the past 15 years have exploitedthe low-wage haven of Indonesia are now fleeing thecountry in search of cheaper and more compliantworkforces. As soon as workers start demanding theirrights, jobs disappear as quickly as they came.

In Cambodia, workers at Gold Fame Enterpriseshave often worked 17 hours a day, seven days a weekin busy periods, being told by their supervisors, “thiswill not kill you, and if it does, we will just carry yououtside.”

While unemployment runs high in many countrieslike Lesotho, companies are importing cheapermigrant labour mainly from China. Such workers areoften subjected to the most appalling exploitation.

Since the legal minimum wage for Bangladesh’sgarment workers was last raised in 1994, its valuehas halved to US$17 a month, putting many ofthe country’s 1.5 million garment workers among the1 billion of the world’s poorest people who are unableto think, plan or dream beyond the daily struggle tosurvive.

The absence of internationally binding enforcementmechanisms to protect workers’ rights is weighingheavily on those employed in the textile, clothing andfootwear industries. The ILO’s reliance on persuasionto enforce its Conventions is just not working, and it ispoor workers, mainly women in the poorest countries,who are being condemned to perpetual poverty.

This cannot continue. Governments everywheremust confront this challenge. In particular, govern-ments in the South must recognize that they are com-peting among themselves in ways that threaten theireconomies, and are themselves largely responsible forthe decline in wages and labour standards imperillingtheir workers. China is a key player here and must bepersuaded to join with others to put an internationalfloor on wages and working conditions in industriessuch as textiles, clothing and footwear.

Only through enforceable international labourstandards can China and other countries in the Southprevent multinational manufacturers, merchandisersand retailers playing them off against each other in adesperate race to the bottom. Governments thereforeneed to insist that the ILO and the WTO join forces todevise a regulatory trade and labour regime to deterabuses of workers’ rights and reward national labourlaw enforcement.

This is the only real route out of poverty andtowards decent work for all. The alternative of doing

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nothing will ensure that the bottom will continue tofall, with tens of millions working deeper into povertyand confirming the view of the cynics that poverty willalways be with us. It is neither an attractive nor anacceptable alternative.

Original Spanish: Mr. PARRA GAONA (Workers’delegate, Paraguay) — For the workers of the world,the ILO continues to be the great parliament whereyear after year we voice our grievances, our worriesand some of our hopes.

The twenty-first century presents unprecedentedcontradictions: on the one hand, the rampant progressof certain very rich countries, and on the other, themajority of countries condemned to poverty, unem-ployment, insecurity and backwardness.

We are impoverished countries because of foreigndebt and international social injustice. We thereforesupport the ILO Director-General in his proposalto combat poverty through decent employment andsocial justice.

Neo-liberalism, with its central strategy of global-ization, aims to impose through any means the tyrannyof the market. Workers, and in particular the tradeunion movement, suffer the impacts of change in theworld of work. We are victims of globalization,deregulation, privatization, flexibilization and thegreater acarcity of employment.

From an economic point of view the crisis contin-ues to deteriorate without any growth. Indeed, thereis permanent and progressive destruction of the pro-ductive apparatus, massive outflows of capitalthrough financial speculation, the payment of foreigndebt, earnings accrued to transnational corporation,and payments for patents and franchises, such asMacDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Coca Cola or Brahma. Inthe absence of any state policy that would improve theeconomic situation, this generates only unemploy-ment, poverty and hunger in our country.

The permanent closure of factories that hasbeen occurring on account of the financial crisishas left thousands of workers in the streets, swellingthe ranks of the unemployed and underemployedthat characterize the labour market. About 2 millionpeople are already in employment difficulties, andof these about 900,000 have no jobs and no possibilityof getting one. It is thought that by the middle ofthis year 300 businesses will close with the lossof 20,000 jobs.

But change will come only at a price. It will comeonly if we, the working class, become organized andstand up to the Government to make it backtrack inits corrupt policy of hunger, as in the 16-day struggleagainst privatization which cost the life of our com-rade Calixo Carbel Benito, murdered by the policeduring a demonstration. Under such circumstances,our struggle, our organizations, our solidarity aremore difficult but also more necessary. We hope thatParaguay will ratify the Minimum Age Convention,1973 (No. 138).

I represent all workers in Paraguay and speak asleader of the National Confederation of Workers(CNT), which is affiliated to the CLAT/CMT. In ourcountry, as in the whole MERCOSUR region, we areexperiencing a profound crisis and turmoil. Economicrecession, high levels of unemployment, critical pov-erty, scandalous inequalities generalized corruptionand a failure of neo-liberal policies have pushed us tothe verge of despair.

In Paraguay, the political class has demonstratedspectacular inability to govern honestly, while thefinancial sector has become entrapped in speculation,seeking high yields at public expense. Wages arebelow subsistence level. Agriculture and forestryunderpin our economy production, but the Paraguayanrural worker has become increasingly stripped of landownership. Five per cent of owners control 64 per centof land which could grow crops. Poverty is on theincrease in rural areas, and every year sees a renewalof the organized struggle for agrarian reform.

In the urban industrial and services sectors, theclosure of companies is an ongoing thing, and there isa policy of complicity between employers and certainsections of the Government, in a war against tradeunion movement. Even if the current Ministry ofLabour pursues a policy of dialogue, it lacks thecapacity to transform social and labour conflicts intorespect for labour standards.

Some of the more alarming cases include thefollowing. In transport, 14 to 16-hour working days,harassment of unions in metal and textiles, manyfactories closed by smuggling and unfair competition.Other examples: in the sugar plant Eturbe, more than200 workers were sacked following a strike; in theParaguay a Tebicuary sugar plant, dismissals of unionleaders, refusal to recognise the union. One of thedirectors is businessman Juan Bosch, the HonoraryConsul of the Netherlands, who was prosecuted forsmuggling sugar. We also had a strike of workers inCiudad del Este, with 400 people sacked. In PuertoCasado a dispute over land involving the sale byCasado of 700,000 hectares to Atenil and Victoria SA,two companies linked to the Moonies sect, in viola-tion of Conventions Nos. 87, 98, 169 and others. Therewas a strike at the sports club of Puerto Sajonia withreprisals from the police including torture of strikers.There were mass dismissals of unionized workers atCervepar following a merger with the transnationalBraham. There has been harassment of trade unionsat the Yacyretà binational power company. Construc-tion, timer, commercial and food companies are para-lyzed, while the public sector is fighting for fundsfor health care and education, and for an end to thepersecution of unions. All these incidents are graveviolations, increase the precarity of employment andundermine new collective agreements. However,recent events in the Southern Cone have raised hopes.The new President of Brazil is a tough union fighterwho has our respect and support. The president of Ar-gentina is also a new man of the seventies generation,who has undertaken to tackle Argentina’s severecrisis.

Our struggle will go on. We workers will continueto work in more difficult and complex conditions. Wedemand profound and radical changes in economicand social policy. We call on the authorities toimplement policies to restart the economy, combatcorruption, create jobs, improve training and carryout structural reform.

On behalf of Paraguayan worker, we wish toexpress our support for the ILO and the MillenniumEmployment Programme which has been promotedby the United Nations. We condemn any violation ofILO Conventions and of human rights in general. Wealso condemn the warmongering policies, armamentstrade, terrorism, invasion, wars and usurping ofnatural resourses of our countries. We endorse, as aNational Confederation of Workers, the option of

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genuine democracy, and affirm our commitment towork tirelessly for social justice and world peace.

Mr. BARAK (Employers’ adviser and substitutedelegate, Israel) — I would like, first, to congratulatethe President on his election as President of this Con-ference. I am sure that, under his guidance, we shallhave a successful and fruitful Conference. May I alsocongratulate the Director-General on his excellentand much appreciated Report, entitled Working outof poverty. The Report describes a wide range ofmeans to combat the vicious circle of poverty. All theplans of action outlined by the Director-General areimportant and there is no one prevailing or exclusivepathway on which to stride. Still, I would like to em-phasize that, in order to advance towards generatingdecent employment as the most crucial step in thisarena, the efforts of governments alone in many casesare not enough. It requires the converted pull of allthe social partners — governments, employers andworkers — to carry out this task.

There is no universal model of social dialogue. It isa flexible process that must be adapted to diverse situ-ations. It can take the form of bipartite negotiationsor that of tripartite dialogue, which is usually moreefficient in matters of national scope. This is the beststrategy and experience has shown that there hasbeen no efficient alternative to the combined strengthof consensus.

As I indicated before, social dialogue can takemany forms and shapes. In Israel we had begun topromote, on a national scale, another variation of so-cial dialogue, namely the resolution of labour disputesthrough methods of alternative dispute resolution(ADR), mainly by voluntary mediation which may beexercised by private or public mediators. The aim is toapply the process of mediation before the outbreak ofa labour dispute and not, as usually is the case, after astrike has started. To this end, representatives ofemployers’ organizations and prominent businessfigures, and in the presence of the President of theState of Israel, Mr. Moshe Katsav, the President ofthe Israeli Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice,publicly signed a mediation pledge in January of thisyear.

Among the signatory organizations there is theManufacturers’ Association of Israel, the Federationof Israeli Chambers of Commerce, the Association ofInsurance Brokers and Agents, Kibbutz IndustriesAssociation, Association of Electronics and Informa-tion Industries, the Israeli Association of Civil Engi-neers and many others. On the other hand, it may bepointed out that the Histadrut has not yet joined thepledge and we hope that it will do so in the near future.

The main principles contained in the pledge arethat the organizations joining it undertake to initiatereferral to the process of mediation and promote suchreferral in disputes between their members. Further-more, the signatory organizations agreed to include incollective and other agreements a clause suggestingreferral to mediation whenever it may be appropriate.Mediation shall thus become a tool for dispute resolu-tion both as regards internal management andexternal relations between organizations and theirmembers, and hopefully between workers andemployers at the workshop.

In this connection, it is interesting to note that theILO has already adopted the Voluntary Conciliationand Arbitration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 92). We

urge the ILO to continue its work on this subject, per-haps in an upgrading manner.

Social dialogue can form a major part of the solu-tion to another question that is on the agenda of thisConference, which is “the scope of employment rela-tionship”. This is another case for which solutions areneeded to a variety of problems that cannot be regu-lated by an ILO instrument such as a Convention orRecommendation. Again, social dialogue, which isessentially a negotiating process, is the only practicaland reasonable answer.

In Israel we have put this sort of solution into prac-tice. The Government did its share by introducing toParliament a bill regulating the relations betweenlabour contractors and their workers, taking intoaccount the role of the user, and the employers’ andworkers’ organizations signed collective agreementsproviding for wages, social insurance and other condi-tions of work for the employees of labour contractors.

This is what social dialogue is all about.

Mr. SANDRASEKERE (Workers’ delegate, SriLanka) — Let me first of all congratulate the Presi-dent on his election to preside over this 91st Session ofthe International Labour Conference. I share theviews expressed by other speakers before me thathis background and experience will ensure that thedeliberations of this Conference are carried out andconcluded successfully.

I also wish to make use of this opportunity tocompliment the Director-General and the Office forthe superlative nature of the Report that has beenprepared which is actually a departure from theprevious Reports and encapsulates the gamut offactors that have a bearing on the lives of the workingpeople in the world.

The Director-General has appropriately touchedupon the decent work strategy and the various aspectsthat have become collateral to the globalizationprocess.

It had been rightly pointed out that competitive-ness by itself is not an exclusive answer to rapideconomic and social development. In point of fact glo-balization and the search for the Holy Grail to kick-start economies brings along with it contradictionsthat are difficult to reconcile with the decent workstrategy for the reason that competitiveness results inderegulating not only the market but also protectivelegislation in respect of workers, particularly in thedeveloping countries.

In other words, globalization and competitivenessmeet at the apex of laissez-faire and the inevitabledownsizing leading to more and more workers beingpushed into a process of casualization, contractlabour, etc.

A natural corollary to such a situation is that suchworkers go outside the pale of trade union penetra-tion. In such a situation if certain fundamental regula-tions to give effect to international labour standardsare dismantled, the whole concept of the decent workstrategy loses its validity as such workers are prey toexploitation. Therefore, there must be a mechanismby which self-employed persons can join and formtrade unions in order to protect and promote theirinterests.

Another important topic touched upon by theDirector-General is so-called social dialogue. Asfar as we, as a major trade union, are concerned, wehave put in place well-defined labour management

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dialogue mechanisms covering not only employer-employee relations but also other social aspectsthrough collective agreements.

Against this background, the social dialogue that ispropounded by the ILO is not only difficult tocomprehend but also has a tendency to erode thebargaining power of trade unions. Therefore, it isimperative to consult the representative trade unionsbefore any other medium than collective bargaining isto be introduced.

In this context, I would like to mention that in SriLanka, the Ministry of Employment and Labour isheaded by an innovative and dynamic young Ministerwho has put in place job creating systems and intro-duced labour law reforms after accepting the amend-ments made by representative trade unions to theoriginal draft. In the current scenario, the Ministryof Employment and Labour has emerged from itshitherto peripheral position to reach a status ofnational prominence.

In conclusion, I wish to restate the obvious, that theILO and international labour standards will continueto act as a buffer against the onrush of globalizationand the ILO and its instruments will retain theirrelevance at all times and help scale down the exploi-tation of the working people.

Mr. SUKHBAATAR (Workers’ adviser and substi-tute delegate, Mongolia) — First of all, on behalf ofMongolian workers, I would like to congratulate thePresident and the Vice-Presidents for their election topreside over this 91st Session of the InternationalLabour Conference. It is a great honour for me toconvey the warm greetings of Mongolian workersto all the delegates of the Conference.

Our delegation considers that the comprehensiveReport of the Director-General, Working out of pov-erty, which has been submitted to the Conference,clearly reflects the attention paid to the world ofwork.

Poverty alleviation is a vitally important issue, to betackled by tripartite constituents. We fully agree withthe Director—General, who highlighted in his Reportthat the ILO and its constituents - workers, employersand governments — can better respond together tothe aspirations and everyday needs of people living inpoverty. Poverty has become a reality and a danger inMongolia. According to national estimates and thoseof the United Nations Development Programme,about 36 per cent of the total population is currentlyliving below the poverty line. Wage and pensionsincreases are lagging far behind the price increases ofmain consumer products and services. Mongoliantrade unions could not accept the rigid monetarypolicy of the international financial institutionsand their position on freezing wages. However,in spite of such differences in opinion, the Confedera-tion of Mongolian Trade Unions has enteredinto a dialogue with international financial institu-tions such as the World Bank, the InternationalMonetary Fund and the Asian Development Bankas well as with the Government on broader involve-ment of trade unions and civil society in the processof developing and implementing the povertyreduction strategy papers (PRSPs). We highlyappreciate the fact that the ILO has undertakenPRSP-related activities in some countries and hopethat it will expand to involve more of the developingcountries, such as Mongolia.

Our delegation fully supports the discussion on thescope of the employment relationship. For the lastdecade, many types of employment relationship haveemerged in Mongolia and a large number of workershave been sidelined from social protection. The scopeof the labour laws’ coverage has been too narrow andonly part of the working population has been ablelegally to enjoy the right to social protection.

Therefore, we fully support the idea to develop theinternational instruments on employment relationswithin the context of the Conference in the form of aConvention or Recommendation. It will benefit bothworking people and society as a whole. This issue alsoraises concerns with regard to the informal economy,which, rather than diminishing, is constantly spread-ing. According to some sources, workers in the infor-mal economy account for approximately 10 per centof the labour force in our country. In view of thisreality, social partners have to cooperate in order todevelop and implement the appropriate nationalpolicy with the technical assistance of the ILO. Theobjectives of such a policy should be the transforma-tion of informal sector activities into more highlyproductive, organized and socially responsible enter-prises. We consider that one of the most efficient waysof formalizing the informal sector is cooperativedevelopment. Cooperative development is significantto the promotion of employment, income generationand the overall economic growth of the country.

It has been a major challenge for us to participateactively in the implementation and promotion ofthe ILO Decent Work Agenda in Mongolia. Wecould achieve more with the close cooperation of thetripartite constituents and with ILO support.

I wish this session of the International LabourConference every success.

Mr. TILAHUN (Employers’ delegate, Ethiopia) — Iwould like to congratulate the President and membersof the high table, for the trust given to themby this august body to chair and direct us to the fruitfuland successful conclusion of our historic deliberations. Ihave no doubt that Mr. Wamalwa will discharge theresponsibilities entrusted to him by the social partnersto our full satisfaction. This is what we are witnessingsince the beginning of this Session of the Conference.

We are holding this historic event at a very difficultand challenging time for the world, whatever part ofthe globe we come from in particular for us in the leastdeveloped countries, where the conditions are evenharsher in all aspects.

What is however encouraging for us as Employers’representative of Ethiopia, is that these high-leveldiscussions on key global issues of employment rela-tions, new human resources development needs,application of standards, and occupational safety andhealth measures are taking place at a time when mycountry is in the middle of a meaningful economic,social and political transformation process from ahighly regulated economy to a deregulated economy,with the exception of key strategic sectors that thegovernment kept for itself, and when substantive de-mocratization of the government structures that usedto serve the highly centralized and regulated systemare taking place. I would like to mention that we, theEmployers’ delegates from Ethiopia, are picking up alot of skills from this Conference that will help us toeffectively discharge our responsibilities in our socialdialogue engagement with our partners.

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The representatives gathered here come fromdifferent countries, which are at varying stages of de-velopment, so obviously the needs of their respectiveconstituents also vary, though they could be commonin nature.

In this respect, the Employers’ association in mycountry faces multifaceted problems. As corporatecitizens we are trying to make our contribution tosalvage the lives of millions of starving people. Asbusiness enterprises, we are trying to develop sustain-able businesses that will also create as many jobs aspossible for millions of people to be engaged in gainfulemployment whilst meeting the needs of all our otherstakeholders.

To be modest, both of our above-mentioned re-sponsibilities/tasks are very complex and challengingfor the employers, as they are for our social partners.In this respect, we, the social partners in Ethiopia,deserve some kind of encouragement and motivationfor us to be successful in our respective roles in ourroad map for the transformation journey.

What is perhaps encouraging is that, if I have tospeak for all of the social partners in Ethiopia, wehave in principle aligned to pursue our key roles, onwhich we are very good. That is for the government todevelop the infrastructure, create the enabling envi-ronment including change of world government struc-ture for the Employers’ association to promote thedevelopment of as many enterprises as possible andthereby to create as many jobs as possible and for theWorkers’ association to promote and focus on workdiscipline and productivity.

I am pleased to report that some of the steps takenso far are encouraging, though the speed of thechange process is yet to be improved:

The Government, in consultation with its socialpartners and all other stakeholders, has formulated asustainable Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP),which received positive support from many credibleinternational funding institutions. Some of theseprogrammes/projects have been launched.

The Government has issued new investment codeswhich is an improvement on what used to exist, but westill believe it can be improved further.

The labour law, which has been okayed by thesocial partners, is at its final stage.

The social partners have very much focused oncombating the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This is a bigliability for the country on top of the poverty issue.

The Government has now publicly declared itsdesire to engage in an open and transparent dialogueon key economic, social and political issues. At thispoint, I would like to highlight the important role theILO Office in Addis Ababa is playing in terms ofsupport it gives us in our endeavour to make oursocial dialogue more effective.

During our last week’s deliberation, we wereencouraged to witness the kind of focus being given todisadvantaged groups like gender, the disabled and onany sort of exclusion. In this respect, the Employers’group of Ethiopia, being at its infant stage, requests forspecial and continued ILO technical support in areas ofawareness raising, capacity-building of its Membersfor it to be equipped with the necessary tools for it toeffectively engage with its powerful partners.

As I said earlier, for us to help our members tocreate as many enterprises as possible and benefitfrom it, whilst engaging millions of people as envisagedin the PRSP of the Government, which is also part ofour corporate governance responsibility to contributeto the country’s sustainable development effort, theEthiopian Employers’ Federation seeks special tech-nical support for it to contribute to the developmentof an enabling environment for business to grow, forits current and future members.

The country has what it takes to grow, be it naturalresources, climate and workforce. We would wish thatthe world stop giving the country wheat, but help thebusiness and workers grow the wheat themselves on asustainable basis.

(The Conference adjourned at 7.20 p.m.)

No. 8 – Wednesday 11 June 2003

PRINTED IN SWITZERLAND

CONTENTS

Page

Fourth sitting:

Ratification of international labour Conven-tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Reports of the Chairperson of the GoverningBody and of the Director-General: Discus-sion (cont.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Speakers: Mr. Ray Guevara, M. Sarwar, M. Kairelis,

Mr. Reppas, Mr. Pochinok, Mr. Kamoshita, Mr. PaisAntunes, Mr. Li, Mr. Park, Mr. Biltgen, Mr. Nikili,Mr. Kaník, Mr. Nieto Menéndez, Mr. Samarsinghe,Ms. Rosas Pérez, Mr. Solari Saavedra, Mr. Dimovski,Mr. Maroni, Mr. Eremeev, Mr. Corries, Ms. Quintin,Mr. Khatib, Mr. Tomada, Mr. Cho, Mr. MeirelesVieira De Castro, Mr. Martínez Molina, Mr. East-mond, Mr. Marí Olano, Mr Daer.

Fifth sitting

Reports of the Chairperson of the GoverningBody and of the Director-General: Discus-sion (cont.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Speakers: Mr. Doutoum, Mr. Chen, Mr. Moreira San-

doval, Mr. Mansouri, Mr. Ylieff, Mr. Venturini,Mr. Nordmann, Mr. Andres, Mr. George, Mr. Ryder,Mr. Mogami, Ms. Filatov, Mr. Thys, Mr. Naghiyev,Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Palacio Betancourt, Mr. Fong,Mr. Milovanovic, Mr. Liptapanlop, Mr. Shmakov,Mr. Akouete, Mr. Del Río, Mr. Al Kuhlani,Mr. Echevarría Saldarriaga, Mr. Gurdián Castellón,Mr. Otang, Mr. Magaya, Mr. Ortega Nadal,Mr. Mlanga, Ms Vildoso Chirinos, Mr. Shylov,Mr. Diakite, Mr. Xu, Mr. Al-Rabaie, Mr. Gajdos,Mr. Kearney, Mr. Parra Gaona, Mr. Barak,Mr. Sandrasekere, Mr. Sukhbaatar, Mr. Tilahun.