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General Council Report - Chapter 11

Issue date

chapter 11 international

11.1 Introduction

The General Council have continued to participate in the ICFTU campaign for the observance of human rights and labour standards by governments and companies worldwide. The next WTO Ministerial meeting, in Qatar in November 2001, provides a focus for current trade union activities. Work on the issues has also advanced in the ILO’s working party on the social dimension of globalisation and in relation to the new OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Through their work in the ICFTU and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, the General Council have promoted full economic and employment growth and action to eradicate poverty worldwide including debt write-off.

The General Council are deeply concerned at brutal attacks on trade unionists which take place in many countries. Together with the Commonwealth Trade Union Council they have supported the trade union Movement in Zimbabwe in particular. They have highlighted the situation in Colombia, and sought ways of bringing pressure on the regime in Burma in co-operation with the Global Unions network and through work in the ILO. The General Council have given attention to developments in China and pressed for the respect of human rights and basic labour standards there.

The TUC’s International Development Group has continued its work and held sessions on specific issues including child labour and company codes of practice.

The General Council are grateful for the generous contributions of affiliated unions and Trade Union Fund Managers to TUC Aid, in particular in response to their appeal following the earthquake in India in January.

11.2 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

The General Council have continued to work with the ICFTU in defending trade union rights around the world, campaigning for implementation of core and other international labour standards, tackling multinational companies, assisting trade union recruitment and organisation and promoting equality.

The Steering Committee and the Executive Board met in Brussels in November. Their debates focussed on a progress report by the General Secretary, including the outcome of a delegation to China in February 2000; on trade, investment and labour standards issues; on progress in the ICFTU Millennium Review process; and on developments in the ICFTU regions. They accepted recommendations of a mission to Russia in September, in which the TUC was represented, that three national centres there: FNPR, VKT and KTR, should be accepted into affiliation. They also accepted into affiliation the GTUA, Georgia, and the ATUC, Azerbaijan. The Executive Board appointed Mamounata Cisse as an ICFTU Assistant General Secretary.

The Steering Committee met in June, when the continuing campaign on labour standards, and financial reports were the main issues discussed. In July, a special Steering Committee meeting was called at which Lord Jordan gave notice of his intention to step down by the end of the year from the position of ICFTU General Secretary because of ill-health. They agreed procedures for the nomination of his successor, to be decided at the Executive Board meeting in November 2001.

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

The ICFTU has 156 million members, about a third of whom are women, in 221 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories.

General Secretary: Bill Jordan

President: Fackson Shamenda

General Council representatives on the Executive Board: John Monks with Jeannie Drake and Pat Hawkes as substitutes, and Sir Ken Jackson with Bill Morris and Roger Lyons as substitutes.

John Monks is a Vice-President and Member of the Steering Committee; Economic and Social Committee; Peace, Security and Disarmament Committee; and Human and Trade Union Rights Committee.

Jenny Ainsley is a member of the Women’s Committee, with Maureen Rooney as substitute.

ICFTU Millennium Review

The Durban Congress in April 2000 launched the Millennium Review into international trade union priorities, structure and strategies. This represented a major new initiative for the ICFTU family, requiring a wide ranging analysis of the existing structures and the ways in which they interact, as well as the development of proposals to promote unity and inclusiveness and to increase the strength of the trade union movement as an international campaigning and negotiating force.

A Progress Group comprising representatives from each of the ICFTU regional organisations, the ETUC, the Women’s Committee and International Trade Secretariats was set up to take the Review forward. It was agreed that the Progress Group should be structured around five key themes: trade union organising and strengthening democratic national trade union structures; tackling multinationals; transforming the global economy; constitutional and regional issues; and campaigning and communications.

A number of affiliates, including the TUC, made financial contributions to assist the participation of affiliates from developing and transition countries and to fund background research and other activities. Funding was also obtained from the Ford Foundation for a part of the review to be carried out with the participation of ILO/ACTRAV - the Bureau for Workers’ Activities at the ILO - which focuses on developing activities to strengthen workers’ organisations at the international, regional and national levels and promoting the ratification and implementation of ILO Conventions.

Research into priority topics identified for the Review by Congress was also initiated, concentrating on: global trends in labour markets and in levels of trade union organisation regionally and nationally; the gender and age composition of trade union membership around the world, along with involvement of migrant workers and those in precarious employment, including information on decision-making structures; information on affiliations to international, regional and sub-regional trade union bodies and the development of a comprehensive affiliations database; development of an inventory of resources and services of the international trade union movement including project funding; international instruments concerning the regulation of multinationals and international trade union action on multinationals including company campaigning; and arrangements for consultation and dialogue with the international and regional institutions that govern the global economy.

The Millennium Review will produce a Progress Group report which is due to be presented to the ICFTU Executive Board at its meeting in November 2001 and a Consolidated Millennium Review report which is due to be issued under the authority of the Executive Board in the official ICFTU languages in early 2002. The TUC’s International Development Group received an interim report on the Review in July.

Child Labour

The General Council continued to play an active role in the ICFTU campaign against child labour, which was relaunched in March. One priority was to prepare for the World Cup in 2002, to seek a tournament free of child labour products. Another was preparation for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the rights of the child, to be held in September 2001, to which the TUC General Secretary asked the Foreign Secretary to send a tripartite national delegation. The ICFTU sought to ensure that the General Assembly texts would refer explicitly to the relevant ILO Conventions, despite attempts by some governments and NGOs to ignore them and the obligations arising from their ratification, and the TUC drew the attention of the ILO Conference to this inconsistency in policy by ILO member states. The TUC publicised the on-line ICFTU petition against child labour, which is to be presented to the General Assembly, and placed a direct link on the TUC website. The TUC International Development Group devoted a meeting to a discussion of child labour.

The ICFTU supported the ILO campaign for universal ratification of Conventions 182 and 138 on minimum age for entry into employment which saw rapid progress during the year. By July, 88 member States, half the total, had ratified Convention 182, adopted in 1999, while 105 states had ratified Convention 138. The TUC sought the assistance of affiliates in identifying where the worst forms of child labour existed in the British labour market.

Close contact was also maintained with the ILO International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), with regard to preparations for the UN General Assembly and to the development of substantive activity to tackle child slavery in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire. ILO-IPEC, currently supported by some 25 donor countries, launched a new initiative at the ILO Conference. ‘Time-Bound Programmes’ - a concept first introduced in the preparatory work on Convention 182 by a TUC representative - will start in Tanzania, Nepal and El Salvador, and involve intensified efforts aimed at ending the worst forms of child labour in participating countries, in ten years or less. Several other countries are expected to join the initiative during the next two years.

11.3 Africa

Ethiopia

The General Secretary raised with the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary problems encountered by a fact-finding mission to Addis Ababa undertaken by Educational International. He expressed deep concern over the case of Dr Taye Woldesmiate, President of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association who is serving a 15-year prison sentence following a trial fraught with numerous irregularities, and over the continuing violations of trade union and human rights in Ethiopia. Peter Hain, then Minister for Africa, replied that the British Embassy had raised the issues with the Ethiopian authorities and that it was monitoring developments closely in consultation with other EU embassies. In May, the General Secretary wrote to Brian Wilson, Minister of State in the FCO, expressing dismay over attacks on student demonstrators by security forces in Addis Ababa that led to the death of a number of students, human rights activists and civilians. Mr Wilson replied that the he shared the TUC concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia and that he had raised the issue with Ethiopian authorities. The TUC arranged a meeting with FCO officials for a delegation led by Steve Sinnott, Deputy General Secretary, NUT, comprising members of the Ethiopian community in London.

In June, the ILO Workers’ g roup successfully opposed the nomination of Ethiopia to chair the Governing Body, because of grave and persistent anti-trade union repression there. The ILO Conference was deeply concerned by total lack of progress in ending government interference in trade union activity in Ethiopia, and at the imprisonment of Dr Woldesmiate. The Government was strongly urged to ensure teachers’ rights of association, free from state interference. It expressed the hope that the ILO Office in Addis Ababa could visit detained trade unionists.

Sudan

In June the International Labour Conference cited Sudan in a special paragraph for non-application of the Forced Labour Convention - for the fourth time since 1997 - highlighting the extreme gravity of the case, which affected fundamental human rights. The Conference noted the consensus among UN agencies and trade unions about the persistence and number of abductions and the extent of forced labour.

Swaziland

Following the house arrest of Jan Sithole, General Secretary of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions, the General Secretary expressed deep concern and requested the Government to urge Swazi authorities to lift the restrictions imposed on the movements of Mr Sithole and other leaders and allow the free exercise of their basic trade union and human rights without delay. Mr Hain replied that he shared TUC concerns over developments in Swaziland, that the British High Commissioner in Mabane had called on the Prime Minister of Swaziland to express disquiet over possible human rights abuses by security forces and called for an impartial inquiry into the allegations.

The Committee on the application of standards at the ILO Conference in June considered the matter. Despite some amendments, the law was still not in conformity with Convention 87, and convoluted ballot and notice requirements for protest actions were nullifying the right to strike. The Workers’ g roup, led by the TUC representative, and supported by the Swazi employer representative, called for the development of social dialogue as a way forward, which could be supported by ILO technical assistance. The Government said it would consider such an offer, but attacked the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions as the main democratic opposition in the country.

Tanzania

Following the dissolution of the Tanzania Federation of Trade Unions, the General Secretary expressed deep concern to the President of the Republic of Tanzania, stressing that government interference was a grave violation of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise which the Government of Tanzania was obligated to uphold as a member of the International Labour Organization.

Western Sahara

In June, the TUC raised concerns with Ben Bradshaw, Parliamentary Under- s ecretary in the FCO, over a plan to hold in abeyance the long-awaited UN-sponsored referendum which was to have enabled the Western Saharan people to decide on their own destinies. He replied in July reiterating the UK’s commitment to self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, and saying that any workable solution to this long-standing problem would have to provide for that right.

Zimbabwe

The General Council are deeply concerned at the violent attacks on the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, its affiliates and its members, by the authorities, which have increased during the year. Discussions have been held with the newly-elected ZCTU leadership about ways of assisting the ZCTU, which it is foreseen will come under further pressure in the run-up to the presidential elections scheduled for next year.

In June, the ICFTU expressed its 'utter dismay and frustration' in a letter to President Robert Mugabe, over the violation of trade union rights. The Congress of South African Trade Unions called for the resignation of President Mugabe given his indifference to the call for action to restore confidence amongst investors, and for early elections as the country was on the brink of collapse. These issues were raised by trade union representatives at the International Labour Conference in June, who insisted on full respect for workers’ and trade union rights, and demanded to see serious efforts by the government to end the violations of trade union rights that had further intensified during the past two years.

The General Secretary raised, with the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, the failure of the bank to reinstate the 365 employees belonging to the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers’ Union who had been sacked in 1997, in defiance of the rulings from the Zimbabwe National Employment Council and the Labour Relations Tribunal. The dismissals had also been condemned by the ILO. The Bank replied that it had complied with its legal obligation according to Zimbabwean law and that it would keep its doors open to meaningful dialogue.

In March, a delegation from the Movement for Democratic Change led by David Colthart, Shadow Minister for Justice, met TUC officials to brief them on economic and social developments in Zimbabwe and stressed the need for support from the international community in order to restore peace, economic stability and constitutional governance in Zimbabwe. The General Secretary met Morgan Tvsangirai, President of the MDC in July. They discussed the worsening crisis in the country, and support from the international community led by the Commonwealth, EU and United States. Mr Tsvangirai expressed his appreciation of the interest shown by British trade unionists in developments in Zimbabwe.

11.4 The Americas

Colombia

The General Council’s main concern in its relations with Latin American trade unions was the increasing violence against trade unionists in Colombia. From January to July some 60 trade unionists had been murdered and many more, particularly members of the CUT-affiliated teachers’ union, had received death threats. The General Secretary wrote to the Colombian authorities on several occasions during the year about these gross violations of basic trade union freedoms. TUC representatives in the ILO met with senior officials of the CUT, the main trade union centre, its affiliates and other centres, and the Colombian Labour Minister, on several occasions to discuss the situation and support that might be offered by British trade unions. The TUC has maintained close relations with Justice for Colombia, a group of unions in Britain committed to raising the profile of the crisis in Colombia and the need for solidarity action within the trade union movement.

The TUC held a seminar on trade union rights in Colombia, at Congress House in May. The discussion was led by a panel of expert speakers from the CUT, the ICFTU, the ILO and Justice for Colombia, and was addressed by the General Secretary. Participants heard how the US-sponsored Plan Colombia, which is opposed by the Colombian trade unions and the ICFTU, was intensifying the climate of violence as US military aid was used to combat the main guerrilla groups. The TUC has also taken up with the Home Office issues relating to temporary Colombian refugees, and this is reported below. The ICFTU has continued to coordinate the international trade union solidarity campaign on Colombia, and supported a Trade Union Conference for Peace, organised by the Colombian national centres, during a week for peace being organised by the Colombian peace movement in September.

In June, the ILO Conference agreed to strengthen the ILO presence in Colombia to provide substantial technical assistance to the social partners and the Government and judiciary to help establish an environment in which freedom of association, conformity of legislation with ILO standards, security of trade unionists and the promotion of social dialogue could be guaranteed.

Cuba

Congress in 2000 welcomed UK and EU support for the overwhelming condemnation by the United Nations General Assembly of United States policy towards Cuba and its repeated calls for the lifting of the US blockade. Officials of the CTC, the official Cuban national trade union centre, were guests of Congress in 2000 and talks were held on matters of common concern, including trade union responses to globalisation.

USA

Regular exchanges of information with the AFL-CIO were maintained about the conduct of multinational enterprises in Britain and the USA and ICFTU campaigns. John Monks and Bill Morris addressed the AFL-CIO Executive Board and International Affairs Committee in Los Angeles in January, where they heard the concerns of American trade unionists about the prospects of a Bush presidency. In May, Ed Sweeney addressed a seminar in Washington on unions and workforce development. The TUC and ICFTU responded to the request of the AFL-CIO and its affiliates to support the campaign of workers and academics at Yale University for an end to anti-union intimidation by the university authorities and recognition of the right to organise. A picket was held in July at St Paul’s cathedral in London on the occasion of an event for the University.

Venezuela

An ICFTU delegation visited Venezuela in November to protest against the Government’s violation of trade union rights. Since coming to power, President Chavez has sought to replace existing independent trade union structures with organisations dominated by his undemocratic administration. Despite the protests of the Venezuelan trade unions and the ICFTU, and opposition from the ILO, he called a referendum of all citizens - not just trade union members - to pursue these aims. 78 per cent of the electorate abstained and of those who voted only two thirds supported the proposal to remove trade union leaders from their posts and call new union elections.

The ILO Conference in June condemned in a special paragraph these anti-trade union moves by the Government. The Conference expressed profound concern at a state-imposed referendum and urged the Government to bring its national legislation and practice fully into conformity with ILO Conventions. The Government of Venezuela agreed to a direct contacts mission.

11.5 Asia and the Pacific

Burma

The General Council’s support for the international trade union campaign to end forced labour in Burma was raised with Ministers and pursued in the ILO, ICFTU, ITS and TUAC. The ILO noted claims by the Burmese regime that it had changed the relevant legislation, but there was no evidence that forced labour had ended and the ILO Governing Body pursued implementation of the resolution adopted by its Conference in 2000. This called on all ILO constituents to review their relations with Burma to ensure that they did not foster the continuance of forced labour. Contact was maintained with the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma.

The ILO Conference in June made further efforts to pursue the resolution and moved to send a High-Level Team to Burma and the border regions of neighbouring states in October to assess the situation. The Team will report to the ILO Governing Body in November. In the debate, the workers noted that Norway had been the only government to take serious action on trade relations in pursuance of the Article 33 resolution.

The ICFTU and the British Government supported the inclusion on the agenda of the UN Economic and Social Committee, in July, of an item on forced labour in Burma, with a view to strengthening UN action.

At a Conference in Tokyo in March, the ICFTU developed a plan of action on Burma, based on clear evidence that forced labour, accompanied by gross violations of other human rights was still endemic and that all commercial or economic links helped the junta to perpetuate it. The ICFTU, TUAC and the ITS, under the Global Unions banner, wrote to those companies operating in Burma urging them to end these business relationships. Publication of the list, which included companies in the energy, textile and tourism sectors, was delayed while talks were sought with the companies concerned. At the meeting of the OECD Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises in June, two Burmese workers, one from the FTUB, denounced slave labour and the practices of multinational enterprises which received support of the junta. The TUAC pressed the CIME to consider how the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises could be used to contribute to the elimination of forced labour in Burma in a concerted fashion.

China

The ICFTU Executive Board, in November, endorsed the recommendation of a delegation led by Bill Jordan which had visited China in February 2000 that dialogue with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) should be maintained and extended. In recommending that policy, the delegation urged that ICFTU policies and principles should be projected and defended in any contacts, and that the policy of promoting independent trade unionism should continue. The decision was also taken in the light of the expectation that China will soon join the World Trade Organisation.

John Monks, Rodney Bickerstaffe, Tom Jenkins, Professor Bob Fryer - University of Southampton, Professor Theo Nichols - University of Cardiff, and Natalie Cade - Great Britain/China Centre (GB-CC) visited Beijing in February, primarily to participate in a seminar organised by the China Labour College, the ACFTU and the GB-CC on the Role of Trade Unions in a Market Economy. The delegation also held meetings with ACFTU representatives, the Vice-Chair of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the Minister of Labour and Social Security and HM Ambassador in Beijing. Some members of the delegation went on to visit Chongqing and Shanghai.

Issues discussed during the visit included the consequences of China’s fast economic development over the last decade following the introduction of policies aimed at attracting foreign investment and at restructuring the state-owned sector - particularly for trade unions, the collective bargaining role of which was being enhanced. Labour unrest including the number of reported strikes had increased and the links, enshrined in the Constitution and labour legislation, between trade unions and the Chinese Communist Party had been brought into debate. In various discussions, members of the delegation urged compliance by China of Core Labour Standards, and in particular ratification of ILO Conventions on Freedom of Association and the Right to Bargain Collectively. Mr Monks raised with the ACFTU Vice-President, and subsequently with the Minister of Labour and Social Security, cases of individuals imprisoned for trade union activities. Documentation was handed over, relating to the cases of Xu Jian, who had been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in June 2000 for, among other charges, attempting to set up an independent trade union; and Cao Maobing, who had been detained in a psychiatric hospital since December 2000 following his attempts to register an independent trade union. The British Embassy also undertook to bring the TUC’s concern about the cases to the attention of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was reported in July that Mr Cao had been released.

The visit coincided with meetings of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress whose discussions included the contentious issue of Chinese ratification of the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and in particular of its Article 8, enshrining trade union rights. At the meeting with the NPC Standing Committee Vice-Chair, John Monks expressed the hope that the Covenant would be ratified without reservations. She replied that when examining such international instruments they acted in the national interest; at the same time they took a very responsible approach to the international community. China subsequently ratified the Covenant, while declaring that Article 8 would be dealt with in line with relevant provisions of the Constitution, Trade Union Law, and Labour Law. The EU and associated States welcomed the decision to ratify the Covenant, but expressed concern at the declaration about the right to form and join a trade union of one’s choice. In July, Tom Jenkins acted as an expert in a UK/China Working Group on the Covenants which met in Beijing to discuss reporting procedures and obligations, including areas subject to reservation by the Government.

The General Council agreed that contacts with the ACFTU should be pursued in line with the approaches agreed by the ICFTU Executive Board. They noted that UK Ministers welcomed British trade union involvement in China and suggested that consideration be given to the institution of a Labour Attaché post in the Embassy in Beijing. John Monks met John Battle, Minister of State at the FCO, in March. Both welcomed the role of the GB-CC, which is funded by the FCO, in promoting trade union contacts. TUC representatives were involved in the programme of a Study Visit to the UK by senior ACFTU regional representatives to discuss trade union law and collective bargaining, organised by the GB-CC in April.

In April, Hang Dong Fang of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, imprisoned for two years for his leading role in the formation of the first independent trade union in China and released in 1991, was received in Congress House for an exchange of views on trade union and human rights developments in China. Mr Hang, currently in charge of the China Labour Bulletin in Hong Kong and accompanied by Ms Trini Leung, former Executive Director of the ICFTU Hong Kong Liaison Office, briefed the General Secretary on the growing unrest among workers in China and hoped that the international trade union movement would back them in their efforts to form independent and democratic unions truly representative of their interests. The ICFTU Steering Committee in June gave consideration to re-launching the Liaison Office, first set up in 1997.

Fiji

Mahendra Chaudhry, Prime Minister of Fiji, addressed the General Council in Congress House in September following his release from detention after the coup d’état. In his address, Mr Chaudhry expressed his gratitude for the support received from the TUC and the British trade union movement and sought support from the international community, notably the Commonwealth, European Union and the international trade union movement, for the restoration of the 1997 Constitution, reconvening of Parliament and establishment of a Government of National Unity with a view to achieving peace, reconciliation and racial harmony in Fiji. The TUC assisted in the organisation of a rally in Congress House for the Fijian community in London, which was addressed by Mr Chaudhry.

The General Secretary wrote to Ratu Josefa Lloilo, President of Fiji, condemning the illegitimate regime installed after the forcible removal of the democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Chaudhry and expressed dismay over the persistent denial of democratic rights of the Fijian people. He re-affirmed that the TUC, in co-operation with the ICFTU and CTUC, would do its utmost to support the Fiji Trades Union Congress in its struggle to restore democracy under the 1997 Constitution.

India

In January, the General Council expressed to the High Commissioner for India their great sadness at the massive loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake which hit the State of Gujarat and pledged support through for emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of families affected by it. The TUC Aid appeal is reported below.

In June, the ILO Conference expressed regret at the lack of progress, 25 years after the adoption of the Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act, in identifying, freeing and rehabilitating bonded workers. The Indian Government was urged to undertake a valid statistical survey in co-operation with the social partners and relevant human rights organisations and institutions. While noting efforts to eradicate child labour in collaboration with the ILO, insufficient improvement had been achieved in the situation of bonded child labourers. The Conference hoped that the Government would continue endeavours systematically to apply child labour legislation and eradicate child labour, particularly in informal work and hazardous work. It asked for further information on the sexual exploitation of children and on the measures taken to free and rehabilitate the victims.

Indonesia

The TUC continued to support the ILO workers education project for Indonesia during the course of the year. The TUC National Education Centre provided ACTRAV with training materials to help develop resources for trade union education programmes in that country.

Korea

The continued repression of trade union rights in Korea was highlighted in discussions in TUAC, whose affiliates expressed their deep concern and condemned the new round of imprisonment of finance union officials. In a consultation meeting with the OECD Secretary General, Donald Johnston, senior staff and many ambassadors, they called upon the OECD to press the Korean Government for the immediate release of imprisoned trade unionists and insisted that the Government brought forward legislation to reform Korean labour law in line with the Freedom of Association principles of the ILO. A number of groups of Korean trade unionists were received in Congress House during the year.

Sri Lanka

In June, the TUC expressed concern to Price’s Patent Candle Company Limited, over working conditions at their factory in the Export Promotion Zone at Biyagama, pointing out that employers and the government were obligated to uphold universally recognized core labour standards enshrined in ILO Conventions ratified by Sri Lanka.

11.6 Europe

The General Council have maintained close relations with national trade union centres in Europe, in particular through work in the ETUC, the ICFTU, TUAC and the ILO, and through bilateral contacts.

ICFTU Central and Eastern Europe Coordinating Committee

The ICFTU committee has continued to support the development of independent trade unionism in Central and Eastern Europe. The Committee has also launched a programme aimed at improving the capacity of unions in the region to recruit and organise new members. The TUC has offered training assistance to the programme, which will commence in October. The CEE Women’s network is very active, and in July published a report on the promotion of gender specific policy in unions in the region. The ETUC has also continued its work, principally working with affiliated organisations in the EU accession countries (see Chapter 3).

Belarus

Grave violations of trade union rights in Belarus intensified. In September the ICFTU and three Russian confederations sent a joint message of support to the Belarus Federation of Trade Unions whose third Congress took place in October. The ILO Workers’ group raised the issues at the ILO European conference in December, and in June the ILO Committee on the application of standards expressed grave concern at instructions by the presidential administration to ministers and chairs of government committees in Belarus to interfere in the elections of branch trade unions, and urged the Government to put an end to such interference.

Georgia

The TUC has continued to work, in conjunction with the ICFTU, the GTUA confederation in Georgia. A further seminar was held under the TUC DfID-funded project, to assist the GTUA with restructuring its industrial organisations. Assistance was also given to support the preparation and translation of a research report into the role of multinationals in the Georgian economy. Based on the experience gained in earlier work, training materials on organising were prepared which, it is hoped, may also prove useful in other CEECs.

Poland

TUC support was provided in sending a European Works Councils expert to a seminar arranged by Solidarnosc to look at proposals regarding transposition of the EWC Directive. The TUC also fostered direct contacts between British and Polish union officials in a British food processing company planning to expand into Poland.

Serbia

One of the key events in the region was the fall of Slobodan Milosovic, following elections in September. The ICFTU affiliate Nezavisnost played a prominent role and, in the aftermath, experienced a surge in membership, rising to an estimated 500,000. An appeal has been launched by the ICFTU to assist the union in responding to the challenge posed by such a rapid increase.

ILO European Regional Meeting

The digital divide and the emerging skills gap in Europe’s information and communications technology was a major theme for discussion at the ILO European Regional Meeting in December. The meeting noted the large number of workers in Europe and Central Asia killed or injured at work or suffering from occupational illness and the need for greater prevention and protection, including workplace training and innovation and effective legislation and inspection. On the future of social protection in the region, the ILO was urged to provide assistance to reforming social security systems through a process based on solid social consensus that respected fundamental rights of insured persons and beneficiaries, while remaining financially sustainable.

The meeting noted that inter-European labour migration would grow, but was often accompanied by clandestine and illegal migration, poor working conditions and lack of protection for migrant workers, including intolerable forms of migration, especially trafficking in women. Policies were needed both in countries of origin and in destination countries to deal effectively with the protection of the rights of migrant workers in conformity with ILO Conventions.

Well-functioning tripartism and social dialogue were deemed essential tools for stable economic and social development in the region and post-conflict reconstruction. All activities aiming to increase access of the social partners to the workings of the Stability Pact in South-Eastern Europe and of tripartite consultations at the regional level were to be encouraged. Good governance, including the fight against corruption, was essential to consolidating economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The meeting, noting several serious conflicts jeopardizing economic and social cohesion, called on the ILO to continue rehabilitation programmes in crisis-affected countries, and to contribute during and after conflicts to the protection of displaced persons, in particular workers and their families. The ILO and the EU were invited to develop a concerted approach on international social matters as foreseen by the European Council in Nice.

Bilatral contacts

In July, the General Secretary and Dieter Schulte, President of the DGB, discussed matters of common interest. They issued a statement on the G8 Summit and on European Policy, calling for the full account to be taken of the need for universal respect of core labour standards and for a social dimension to globalisation, drawing attention to the need for concerted measures to prevent recession, promote growth and employment worldwide, including action at EU level, and in the light of US rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, for action to reverse global warming. The two leaders led discussions on the future of social Europe at a High Level Round Table hosted by the TUC and organised with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Foreign Policy Centre.

Gloria Mills represented the General Council at the congress of the FNV, Netherlands, in June. Dave Prentis addressed the Congress of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on behalf of the General Council in July.

11.7 Middle East

Following the bridge-building seminar for Histadrut and the PGFTU hosted by the TUC and affiliates reported to Congress last year, preparations were made for a TUC delegation to visit Israel and Palestine in November 2000. However, the visit was postponed following the resumption of widespread conflict and the closure of borders. The General Secretary wrote to the Foreign Secretary, expressing concern at the breakdown of the peace process and in support of an ICFTU statement calling for full application of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and of the commitments made in Oslo - particularly those dealing with the termination of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and of the settlements policy, urging the Government and the EU to continue to support resumption of constructive dialogue and peace negotiations.

The crisis prevented the TUC and UNISON from launching, in co-operation with the PGFTU, the third stage of a DfID-funded project to support the development of a health service workers union in Palestine. Restrictions on free movement reduced the number of meetings with Palestinian colleagues, but PGFTU and TUC officials met in June to discuss options for further capacity building support. The General Council expressed their profound sadness at the sudden death in January of Yousef Alan, representative of the PGFTU in Britain, who had maintained close contacts with the British trade union Movement and assisted in advancing the bridge-building project.

A special session of the ILO Conference in June examined a report by the Director General on the conditions of workers in Palestine and in the other Occupied Arab Territories, highlighting the grave employment and economic hardships resulting from the political crises affecting the region since October 2000. The Deputy General Secretary of the ICFTU said that peace required full guarantees for both Israelis and the Palestinian people that they would be able to enjoy freedom, dignity and human rights in their own independent and sovereign States, based on the realisation of self-determination. An ICFTU delegation to the occupied territories in May had witnessed the devastating impact of widespread military occupation. The border closures had left hundreds of thousands of Palestinian workers and their families without income and the measures were having a disastrous effect on both the Palestinian and the Israeli economies. The ICFTU had appealed to the Israeli Government to end the stranglehold on the Palestinian economy and, while aware of the security issues, to restore the rights and conditions of Palestinian migrants who were employed in Israel until September last year.

The President of Histadrut blamed the violence on fanaticism on both sides but, on border closures, said that terrorists entered Israel among the thousands of Palestinian workers. He said he had instructed Histadrut officials to continue providing support and protection to the Palestinian workers. But, he said, while only a negotiated peace could solve the problems, as long as the acts of terror continued, he could do less and less. He called on the General Secretary of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions - who was unable to attend the conference - to fight against terrorism, and on trade union leaders from Jordan and Egypt to fight terrorism instead of fighting the peace agreement.

Iran

The General Council have continued to monitor developments in Iran where, despite hope for progress raised by the presidential elections, anti-trade union repression continued. In November, the General Secretary wrote to the Foreign Secretary about the detention in Iran of bakers’ trade union leader Mahmood Salehi and concerns about his health. The Government raised the case with the Iranian authorities and Mr Salehi received medical treatment while in prison and was released in April. The ICFTU also strongly protested over methods aimed at silencing trade unionists and urged the government to set an example of good will by releasing Mr Salehi, thus respecting the internationally-recognised right of trade unions to carry out their activities in full freedom and security.

11.8 Campaign for core labour standards

The General Council have continued to promote respect for core labour rights on a variety of fronts. During the course of the year, the General Secretary met with Pascal Lamy, the European Trade Commissioner, and Mike Moore, Director General of the WTO, to put the case for a social clause within the multilateral trading system. TUC representatives also met with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Minister for Trade to discuss the forthcoming 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, and participated in the DTI’s Trade Policy Consultative Forum (a series of meetings on international trade issues) as well as other meetings related to trade matters.

The need for the international trading system to incorporate a social dimension and to address development concerns as a matter of urgency was raised with the Government. The fact that freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, freedom from forced and child labour and discrimination, formed some of the basic building blocks for democracy and for the empowerment of marginalised groups was highlighted. Attention was also drawn to developing country concerns, such as the need for special and differential treatment when necessary; improved access to developed country markets; access to life saving drugs for diseases such as HIV/AIDS; food security; the protection of traditional knowledge; and extension of the Uruguay Round implementation deadlines.

The TUC was invited by the Government to nominate a representative to participate in the official UK delegation attending the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference 9-13 November 2001. It was uncertain what the content of a new trade round would be or whether one would be launched at the Conference. In any event, the TUC continues to follow its current strategy of promoting workers’ rights in a variety of national and international fora. In July the ICFTU Steering Committee called on affiliated organisations to highlight trade union demands in relation to the WTO Ministerial by taking actions suitable to their national conditions in a Day of Action on 9 November 2001.

Work on the issues has continued in the ICFTU, which has taken the lead through its Trade and International Labour Standards Group, which also acts as an email network. With the election of President Bush, the position of the US became much less supportive of trade union concerns, and attention focussed on the EU’s attitude. The ETUC raised with Mr Lamy trade union concerns that trade liberalisation should promote the respect, and not the disrespect, of fundamental human rights at work as codified in the ILO, and sought assurances that the EU had not retreated from the negotiation mandate adopted for the failed Seattle negotiations in 1999. This committed the EU to supporting the protection of core labour rights and to advocating enhanced co-operation between the WTO and the ILO and their secretariats, and the creation of a Joint ILO/WTO Standing Working Forum on trade, globalisation and labour issues which, as an early step, would prepare for a ministerial-level in 2001. Mr Lamy confirmed the Commission’s continuing commitment to promoting the respect of core labour standards. It was working to ensure that the Forum, also involving other relevant international organisations, would meet as planned this year before Qatar. The Commission was, however, having to face the fact that opposition to the WTO having any role on labour standards remained strong among some developing country governments, and for this reason the Commission was investigating all possible ways forward. In July, the Commission adopted a Communication proposing an EU strategy to promote core labour standards and social governance globally.

The ETUC welcomed the Commission’s ‘Everything but Arms’ initiative which was designed to open virtually completely the EU market to the least developed countries. This would help create a fairer world order which should be a basic objective of a new WTO Round. The Commissioner confirmed that the same arrangements as in Seattle would also be made for Qatar to ensure a close involvement of the European Social Partners and civil society representatives in the Commission’s delegation. The ETUC also insisted that trade unions and civil society representatives going to Qatar should be able to enjoy full freedom of assembly and expression. Mr Lamy said that the Commission had received guarantees that this would be the case. The TUC made representations to the British Government along the lines of the ETUC’s approach. The European Parliament has been supportive of trade union positions on the issues.

11.9 International Labour Organisation

Lord Brett has continued to represent the General Council in the ILO Governing Body and to chair its Workers’ Group. Discussions this year were dominated by the consolidation of the decent work agenda; the future of standard setting and possible review of ILO supervisory machinery; promotion of core labour standards, including greater attention to informal employment; perspectives for the ILO’s work on the social dimension of globalisation and its relationships with other UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions; and developing a high profile for ILO work on HIV/AIDS. The grave situations in Burma and Colombia were given special attention and some of that work is reported above, as is that on child labour.

The Governing Body proposed a budget and programme for 2002-2003, adopted by the June Conference. The budget discussion had been based on zero real growth despite the significant new areas of work in the last decade including those on globalisation, corporate social responsibility, HIV/AIDS, and the follow up to the 1998 Declaration. The TUC pressed the British Government to support an end to this financial stagnation, but it replied that efficiency savings could fill the gap, also pointing out a DfID Partnership agreement for £15million of extra-budgetary funds over the next three years. The TUC and the Workers’ g roup remained concerned that increasing extra-budgetary funds while the core budget stagnated could cut across the competence of the elected Governing Body. The Workers’ Group emphasised the integrity of standards and resisted a drift from treaty obligations to promotional soft law.

The Director-General launched a campaign to have a poster proclaiming the fundamental rights embodied in the ILO Declaration posted in every workplace in the world, to which the TUC drew the attention of affiliates.

The Governing Body’s Working Party on the Social Dimension of Globalisation established a programme to examine certain issues in depth, the first being trade liberalisation and employment. It agreed that the Working Party should offer a permanent forum for exchange of views and dialogue, and to pursue creation of a world commission to prepare an authoritative report on the social dimension of globalisation. The Workers’ Group expressed their support for the rapid establishment of a commission and for further consultations on how to take up the important issue of corporate codes of labour practice.

The Governing Body adopted an ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work to be launched at the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June. The Code of Practice - focusing on the workplace - provides workers, employers and governments with new global guidelines, based on ILO standards, to address HIV/AIDS and its impact at enterprise, community and national levels. It should boost efforts to prevent the spread of HIV, manage its impact, provide care and support for the 23 million workers infected worldwide and to stop the stigma and discrimination which arise from it.

ILO Conference

Lord Brett was the British worker delegate to the 2001 International Labour Conference, held in Geneva in June, and chaired the Conference Workers’ Group. Pat Hawkes and Penny Holloway of the General Council, Barry Leathwood, National Secretary of the T&G Agriculture Trade Group, Roger Poole, former UNISON Assistant General Secretary and Simon Steyne (EU&IRD) were advisors.

The Conference Plenary debated the Director General’s Report proposing strategies to integrate the labour standards and developmental agenda into active national policy implementation. The Conference held special sessions on the conditions of workers in Palestine and in the other Occupied Arab Territories; and on child labour, with the President of Tanzania as guest of honour, both of which are reported elsewhere in this Chapter. It also held a special discussion on forced labour as part of the follow-up to the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The Conference adopted the first Convention and Recommendation on Safety and Health in Agriculture, one of the most hazardous sectors worldwide. Barry Leathwood represented the General Council, and was vice-chair of the Workers’ Group in the Committee negotiating the Convention, which obliges ratifying member states to establish an adequate, and adequately resourced, system of inspection for agricultural workplaces. The Convention excludes from its scope subsistence farming, agro-industries, the forest industry and certain undertakings and categories of workers, which are to be determined after tripartite consultations. The Recommendation provides for progressive extension of the Convention’s protections to self-employed farmers and sets out guidelines for implementation of national policy on health and safety.

The Conference adopted the conclusions of a Committee on the Promotion of Co-operatives, in which the General Council was represented by Roger Poole. A first discussion on a new Recommendation proposed a new definition of cooperatives stressing their autonomy and entrepreneurial character, with a strictly normative and promotional role of the State, in order to create a conducive operating environment.

Pat Hawkes and Penny Holloway represented the General Council in a Committee which held a general discussion on Social Security, which concluded that highest priority should be given to policies and initiatives to extend it to those currently unprotected.

The Committee on the Application of Standards, in which the General Council was represented by Simon Steyne, examined 24 country cases and held a special sitting on the application by Burma of Convention 29 on forced labour. It cited in special paragraphs five countries - Belarus, Colombia, Ethiopia, Burma, and Venezuela - for consistent and serious violations of the freedom of association Conventions, and Sudan for its grave and persistent breach of Convention 29 on forced labour. Some of these discussions are reported under country headings, above.

A survey by the Committee of Experts on the application of Convention 29 on forced labour, concentrating on trafficking in persons and prison labour, was discussed. The TUC and AFL-CIO representatives, aided by an ICFTU report of prison labour regimes in both ratifying and non-ratifying member States, led the workers in the discussion on prison labour, in which the Committee of Experts had wholly vindicated the Workers’ position. While some governments were prepared to enter a constructive dialogue about how private companies might provide decent, rehabilitative work for prisoners, in line with the protective criteria laid down by the Experts, the employers and some governments, including the UK, questioned the Experts’ interpretation. The UK maintained that its practice was in conformity with the Convention and that the Experts’ interpretation was at fault. The employers repeated their view that the Experts did not have the authority to interpret Conventions beyond the parameters of discussions when a Convention was adopted, arguing, in effect, that the Convention provided no restrictions on the exploitation of prison labour in modern prison regimes. The employers also refused to accept any conclusions on country cases which made explicit references to the right to strike, which they claimed was not inherent in Convention 87 - contrary to the consistent view of the ILO Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association. The ICFTU agreed to undertake detailed preparatory work on the question to support the trade union representatives at the 2002 Conference.

The Conference Committee discussed a survey on night work of women. The Workers stressed that appropriate regulatory frameworks were needed as night work harmed all workers regardless of gender; that in general women continued to bear the additional load of family responsibilities and were consequently more affected by these harmful consequences; that the key issue was to guarantee both equality and protection; and that ratification of Convention 171 on Night Work should be promoted. They emphasised the exploitative working conditions facing women workers in export processing zones, where a total lack of social protection was endemic, and where they often had no choice but to accept unsocial and excessive working hours.

The Conference also reviewed the report of the Seventh Session of the joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the application of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. Pat Hawkes intervened in the debate to highlight the problems of teacher shortage in Britain and the continued denial of collective bargaining rights to teachers in England and Wales.

Application of ILO Conventions in the UK

In regard to Convention 87 on freedom of association, the ILO Committee of Experts, noting that the 1999 Employment Relations Act amended several provisions of the 1992 TULRA, about which it had commented for several years, welcomed the abolition of the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members and the Commissioner for Protection Against Unlawful Industrial Action, and of the requirement that unions should name employees when giving notice of a ballot for industrial action. The Experts found that outstanding incompatibilities in British law and practice included the remaining ban on all solidarity action and the restrictions on the rights of unions to enforce democratically decided rules, where the law perceived them as 'unjustifiable discipline'.

Congress 2000 expressed its severe condemnation of private custody companies. The General Council has continued to support the findings of the ILO’s Committee of Experts on prison labour - which had vindicated the TUC’s position - that prisoners may only work for the benefit of private companies where free consent, effective supervision by public authorities and the approximation of a free employment relationship obtain. The Government continued to reject the ILO supervisory bodies’ jurisprudence on the Convention: the Home Secretary - after the Experts’ report was published in March - said that the Government and the TUC would have to agree to differ. The Office wrote to the new Home Secretary in July, asking for resumption of a dialogue that might find a solution in conformity with the Convention.

The Committee of Experts reminded the Government that Convention 17 on workmen’s compensation (1925) required that all victims of occupational injury should be exempt from prescription charges for medication arising from that injury. With regard to application of Convention 44 on unemployment provision, the Experts, having previously expressed concern about the change in rules affecting jobseekers who could now be disqualified from receiving benefit for having refused a job 'without good cause' as opposed to unsuitable employment, asked for information about measures to ensure that unemployment benefit was paid at least for 13 weeks, as required by the Convention, and about the criteria used by the Employment Service in making offers of employment to jobseekers. The Experts expressed satisfaction that, following observations by the TUC regarding the inadequacy of legislation in connection with application of Convention 81 on labour inspection, laws and regulations on the minimum wage, health and safety at work and reporting of injuries, diseases and accidents had been adopted, and asked the Government to indicate how it envisaged that labour inspectors would be able to perform effectively the duties arising from the new legislation.

Congress 2000 expressed support for further measures to address the regulatory inadequacies that help to support the continued existence of substandard shipping; and called for action to combat the flag of convenience system and for new initiatives to improve the social and welfare conditions of seafarers. In June, the United Kingdom ratified the1996 Protocol to ILO Convention 147 on minimum standards in merchant shipping, thus extending its obligations to cover, as a minimum, the accommodation of Crews (Supplementary Provisions) Convention and the Seafarers’ Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention. The Government continued to convene meetings of relevant ministries, the International Maritime Organisation and Bureau and the social partners in the industry to address the growing threat of piracy to vessels and seafarers. In January, the General Secretary wrote to the Government about the continuing exclusion of seafarers from employment rights legislation when outside UK waters. A meeting was held with the TUC’s maritime affiliates in February to examine the employment of ratings. The Government said it would examine, with the social partners in the industry, whether changes should be made to UK employment legislation affecting seafarers.

The Government rejected the view of the TUC General Secretary that the wide range of ILO matters of joint concern to the social partners and the Government indicated the need for a national tripartite ILO committee, common practice in many member States. However, DfID agreed to regular reviews of its partnership agreement with the ILO and the Government will be obliged to establish tripartite consultations on the implementation in Britain of Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour. The TUC has maintained close relations with the ILO Office in London.

Joint Maritime Commission

Brian Orrell led the Seafarers’ group at the 29th session of the Joint Maritime Commission in January, which concluded ‘the Geneva Accord’ designed to improve safety and working conditions in the maritime industry. The JMC agreed to update the ILO minimum wage for seafarers from $435 to $450 from 1 January 2002 and to $465 as of 1 January 2003. The meeting resolved that the emergence of the global labour market for seafarers had transformed the shipping industry into the world’s first genuinely global industry, which required a global response with a body of global standards. The session agreed that the existing ILO maritime instruments should be consolidated and brought up to date through a new, single ‘framework Convention’ on maritime labour standards.

The meeting recommended an institutional basis for a review of all aspects of shipping and expressed concern that qualification of ships as sub-standard had so far been based only on requirements established by the International Maritime Organisation. It requested that measures be taken to ensure that applicable social and labour standards were given due consideration. With a view to ensuring acceptable standards of working and living conditions for seafarers of all nationalities and in all merchant fleets, a more logical and flexible structure for maritime labour instruments and for keeping them up-to-date were envisaged. The JMC called on the ILO Governing Body to authorise a programme of tripartite meetings to prepare for an ILO Maritime Conference in 2005 to adopt the anticipated new ‘framework Convention’.

11.10 Trade Union Advisory Committee to OECD

The TUAC Administrative Committee meeting and Plenary Session took place in May, chaired by John Sweeney, AFL-CIO. Roger Lyons represented the TUC. Items discussed included: affiliation questions; developments in recent OECD member states, notably the repression of trade union rights in Korea, reported elsewhere in this section; TUAC input to the ICFTU Millennium Review; the regulation of multinational companies; labour rights, trade and development; the OECD Growth Project; employment and technology issues; climate change and sustainable development; representing trade union views at the OECD Ministerial Council and the G8 Genoa Summit; main lines of TUAC work and TUAC accounts for 2000.

OECD Ministerial Council and Environment Ministers’ Meeting

The OECD Ministerial Council and parallel OECD meetings on 16-17 May, were dominated by the position of the new US Administration on three issues: the launching of a new trade round at the WTO Ministerial in Qatar in November; withdrawal of support for the Kyoto Protocol on climate change; and withdrawal of support for the OECD work to outlaw tax havens. This detracted from a sense of urgency on the deteriorating economic situation, the need to stimulate growth and a broader discussion on sustainable development. However, TUAC welcomed the fact that the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the meeting restated the 2000 Ministerial meeting theme of ‘shaping globalisation’ which was significant in that it is focussed on the governance of global markets as opposed to simple deregulation. In addition, the communiqué stated that governments were committed to doing this for ‘the benefit of all, and ensuring that the poorest are not left behind.’

There was substantial trade union participation at the meetings. The TUAC Statement to the meeting was presented at the social partner consultation session with the Ministers. The TUAC Vice Chair had the opportunity to make a formal presentation to the Ministerial Council session on economic growth.

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

The newly revised Guidelines, which are the only multilaterally-endorsed framework of rules governing the activities of multinational enterprises, were agreed at the 2000 OECD Ministerial and have been adopted by Argentina, Brazil and Chile as well as OECD members. They go beyond employment and industrial relations issues to cover general policies for good corporate behaviour including contributing to sustainable development and respecting human rights; disclosure of information by multinational enterprises; the environment; corruption; consumer interests; science and technology; competition; and taxation.

The TUC has worked with the UK National Contact Point (NCP) on promoting and implementing the Guidelines in the UK. The UK was the first OECD member to have produced an NCP Information Booklet to promote the Guidelines, particularly amongst business leaders, and to explain the role of the NCP. The TUC was consulted on the content of the booklet which makes it clear that 'The UK Government expects companies operating in the UK, and UK companies investing overseas, to act in accordance with the principles set out in the Guidelines and to perform to at least the standards they suggest'. The Minister for Trade met with the General Secretary and CBI representatives to discuss the Guidelines on 27 March 2001, the launch date of the Booklet. It was agreed that the Guidelines were a positive step forward and that the UK government’s support for them was welcome. The challenge will be to promote the Guidelines and to ensure their proper implementation.

The British government has also promoted the Guidelines through creating a web page for the UK NCP; using a hyper-link with the InvestUK website to draw the attention of inward investors to the Guidelines; issuing a request to all British Posts overseas asking for their active participation in promoting the Guidelines to UK investors (existing and potential) in their respective countries and to host Governments; and a hyper-link with the Export Credit Guarantees Department website to reach companies seeking overseas investment insurance from the government. The TUC website provides introductory information on the Guidelines and links to the OECD, TUAC, DTI and CBI websites for further information. A seminar for affiliates is planned for the autumn. This is the first step in a process to ensure that trade union officials are aware of the Guidelines and their potential as a tool for bargaining and campaigning purposes. We also see the Guidelines as a policy instrument, the principles of which should be implemented throughout government policy.

The first OECD Annual Meeting of NCPs took place on 18 June, including consultations with BIAC, TUAC and NGOs. The TUC participated in the TUAC delegation. Issues discussed included the functioning of NCPs and implementation of the Guidelines with regard to companies operating in Burma. The TUC is supporting the case French colleagues have brought under the new Guidelines against Marks and Spencer and is engaged in preparing a case against a UK multinational in conjunction with the International Metalworkers’ Federation.

G8 Summit in Genoa

A high level trade union delegation, including John Monks, met the host of the Genoa Summit, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, at a meeting organised by the Italian trade unions on the eve of the G8 Summit on 19 July. The delegation submitted the trade union statement to the Genoa Summit which was drawn up by TUAC, in co-operation with the ICFTU, WCL and ETUC. The trade union leaders called upon the G8 to take, as a matter or urgency, co-ordinated measures to raise industrialised countries growth in 2001-2002 above three per cent to put the global economy back on the path to full employment based on ‘decent work’. They also highlighted the importance of comprehensive development policies, including debt write-off, reform of the International Financial Institutions, significant increases in bilateral aid, protecting vital public services and reinforcing the work of the ILO to guarantee core labour standards. Other key issues raised were the need to harness effectively information and communications technology for the benefit of all and the need to bridge the digital divide; the need for massive investment in education and skills; and the need to re-regulate international financial markets. G8 governments had to ensure that growth was economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

11.11 Migration issues

Work Permits

Congress last year adopted a resolution calling for the restoration of the right of trade unions to be consulted on matters relating to the granting of work permits to enable non-EU nationals to work in the UK.

Following earlier consultation with the TUC, the Overseas Labour Service of the DfEE approached the TUC in September 2000 to inform unions of further proposed changes in the rules governing the issue of Work Permits. Of particular note was the alteration of the skills thresholds such that post-graduate experience was no longer needed for occupations in short supply; the setting up of a pilot system allowing selected multinationals to ‘self-certify’ for in-house transfers of senior staff; and the extension of the maximum length of a permit from four to five years. The service was also re-named Work Permits UK.

A further consultation was held in February with entertainment unions to discuss particular issues associated with Work Permits in that sector. Discussions were also held with the DfEE on further developments, including the possible establishment of a system for monitoring the way in which work permits were used following their issue. Also discussed was the possibility of there being ‘sector panels’ (in which relevant unions would participate) to consider the labour market situation in the particular sectors thought to be suffering skill shortages. Sector panels have been established to cover IT and health and schools. The TUC has written to Work Permits UK to remind them of the need to include trade unions, and to request that they are included in existing panels as well as those to be set up in the future (e.g. entertainment).

The list of occupations defined as ‘Shortage Occupations’ has been extended to include more IT professionals, teachers in Greater London, and audiologists and audiological scientists. The number of successful applications for Work Permits has increased by 70 per cent, according to the most recently available statistics. The number of applications handled in one year is currently about 150,000. After the General Election in June, Work Permits UK was transferred from the DfEE to the Home Office, reporting to Lord Rooker.

Portuguese Workers Project

Following earlier discussions with the CGT-Portugal and affiliated unions in the UK, a joint protocol between the CGTP and TUC was signed in February. This committed the two organisations to a two-year project involving the establishment of an organising committee in the UK to increase the level of membership amongst Portuguese workers here, to provide assistance and advice to members of unions belonging to each organisation, and to producing materials in Portuguese explaining employment rights in Britain.

The resulting bi-lingual leaflet proved very popular, and the first run of 2,000 had to be re-printed within two months. The organising committee, consisting of affiliated unions, the TUC and a group of British-based Portuguese trade unionists, decided that there should be a mapping exercise aimed at establishing the sectors and areas with a significant Portuguese presence. A phone line was made available on which Portuguese-speakers could leave messages regarding employment problems, as well as an e-mail address. A series of advice surgeries was organised in London, and advertised widely across the Portuguese community. In June, a cultural event was arranged in London.

Dozens of approaches were received from Portuguese speakers and from trade unions wanting materials in Portuguese, or assistance and advice. Groups of Portuguese workers, many with serious employment difficulties, were located across Britain, from Scotland to Cornwall. Many were in agriculture and food manufacture, but also in cleaning, catering and other industries. At the time of writing, the first recruits to unions were coming through - in printing, food packaging, sandwich-making, baking and health. The difficulties included low pay, inadequate health and safety provision, non-payment of expenses, excessively long working hours,
absence of written contracts, difficulties with National Insurance and poor hygiene at work.
In several cases, Portuguese workers were found to be working alongside workers from many
other countries, who had similar, or worse problems.

The establishment of a similar committee in the Channel Islands, the translation of individual union recruiting materials into Portuguese, and the establishment of some direct links between unions organising in companies with operations in both countries are to be considered in the next phase of the project.

Migration project

The discussions taking place in the ETUC regarding mobility of labour following EU enlargement (reported in Chapter 3), the extension of the Work Permit system and the experience gained in the Portuguese Workers Project have all pointed to the need to examine further the way in which improved co-operation between sister confederations can support organising initiatives amongst migrant workers in Britain. This has been emphasised by statements from the Home Office immediately following the election regarding the need to open up the UK labour market to more workers from overseas, including unskilled workers.

The TUC has been successful in obtaining funds from the European Commission, supplementing finance from the TUC’s Development Fund, to support the production of a trade union handbook on organising migrant workers, including basic rights and sources of advice in Britain and overseas. This will be accompanied by a conference to be held in December 2001 in London.

Colombian refugees

The General Council have been concerned about the grave dangers facing trade unionists in Colombia, as described above, and discussions have been held with CUT representatives about the provision of brief periods of respite abroad to ensure the safety of individuals particularly threatened. Such periods might be linked to English language training which would enhance the CUT’s international work. Some neighbouring states, and the USA and Canada have made provision to accept endangered colleagues as temporary refugees. The General Secretary wrote to the Home Secretary in June to seek a similar arrangement in Britain, where the exile Colombian community would be able to provide a welcome to colleagues under threat. The Home Secretary responded that the legislation did not provide for such an arrangement. The matter will be pursued further with the Home Office. It was clear that Colombian colleagues who sought visas to visit Britain for trade union meetings, but admitted to receiving death threats, might be refused a visa on the grounds that they might apply for asylum once they had arrived.

11.12 Commonwealth Trade Union Council

The General Council continued to support the Commonwealth Trade Union Council in its activities aimed at protecting and promoting trade union and human rights and strengthening trade union structures and democratic institutions in member countries.

In February, the General Council endorsed plans to assist the CTUC to reduce its recurrent expenditure, following a review of its structures and core functions, undertaken in November 2000, in order to overcome financial difficulties. In addition, they agreed to increase the TUC affiliation fee from £26,000 to £38,500 per year and write off the debt owed to the TUC, enabling it to wipe out its long-standing deficit. The CTUC Steering Committee that met in Geneva on 17 June recorded its appreciation of the contribution made by the TUC to support the organisation in its efforts to achieve long-term financial stability. Annie Watson, CTUC Director, underscored the importance of securing adequate core funding in the long-term and pointed out that the CTUC attracted considerable funds from a variety of government and institutional sources for its training and educational activities in member countries. The General Secretary told the Steering Committee that the Commonwealth and its institutions had undergone significant change over the years and that the sustainability of the CTUC needed to be ensured through a collective endeavour by all member countries.

The 22nd Annual Conference of the CTUC, chaired by Gibson Sibanda, CTUC President and former President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), held in June in Geneva, was attended by John Monks and members of the TUC delegation to the ILO Conference. In an overview of CTUC activities during the year, the Director stressed that project activities sought to address identified needs of trade union organisations and foster democracy and social justice, that noteworthy progress had been made in the campaign for observance of core labour standards and that globalisation posed new challenges to trade unionists.

Delegates expressed gratitude to the CTUC for its various initiatives to strengthen the capacity of their organisations though provision of technical support and emphasised that there was a persistent need for continuity of training and educational activities in member countries due to the intensification of globalisation process with its far-reaching effects on workers’ rights. Mr Richard Howitt MEP, addressed the Conference on the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions.

11.13 International Development

International Development Group

The TUC International Development Group, established last year as an informal forum open to all affiliated unions for exchange of information about trade union development and solidarity work, has continued to meet during the Congress year, chaired by Ed Sweeney. The four meetings have discussed standing items - reports on projects and grant applications; on ICFTU, ILO, WTO, ETI, CTUC and TUAC developments - and held seminar sessions on a number of issues, with invited guests. The DfID White Paper on globalisation and the TUC’s response were also discussed, as was the ICFTU Millennium Review. Reports on the situation in Zimbabwe were also received. The IDG sought to encourage greater participation of affiliates in the activities of the Ethical Trading Initiative. A substantive discussion, based on agreed ICFTU policy, has begun on trade union relationships with non-governmental organisations and joint work and campaigns on development and trade union solidarity issues. In July, the IDG discussed trade union/NGO relationships, concluding that a number of NGOs close to the trade union movement should be invited to the IDG to discuss matters of joint concern.

The October meeting was devoted to a discussion on codes. Dwight Justice (ICFTU) spoke on the new codes of conduct and challenges and opportunities for trade unions; Brian Revell (T&GWU, and IUF Coordinator in Britain) spoke on framework agreements; Dan Rees, Manager of the Ethical Trading Initiative, introduced the work of the ETI, especially its pilots; Roy Jones (TUAC) gave a presentation on the OECD Guidelines for m ultinational e nterprises; and Lord Brett, Chair of ILO Workers’ Group, reported on the debate on voluntary social initiatives in the ILO and prospects for further work. The IDG held a special session in February to discuss child labour, led by a panel of experts from the ICFTU, ILO-IPEC, Education International, and Anti-Slavery International. A special meeting on Colombia is reported elsewhere in this Chapter of the Report.

DFID Globalisation White Paper

The Department for International Development published its second White Paper on International Development Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor in December. The General Council responded to the House of Commons International Development Committee’s call for evidence on the content of the paper by submitting a joint memorandum with the ICFTU.

The General Council welcomed the White Paper’s reaffirmation of the Government’s commitment to meeting the International Development Targets and its acknowledgement of the need to manage globalisation so that it did not lead to the further marginalisation and impoverishment of millions of the world’s poorest people.

However, the efficacy of the White Paper’s approach to poverty elimination was questioned. The Government’s strategy was still deeply rooted in open markets and liberalisation. The White Paper was over optimistic about the benefits of globalisation and asserted that there was no evidence to link globalisation with growing inequality. This approach was challenged and criticised in the joint TUC-ICFTU memorandum which highlighted the need for the special and differential treatment of developing countries, enabling them to take tariff-freezing, tariff-raising and import limiting measures when necessary. The memorandum also argued that countries should be able to safeguard strategic service sectors, particularly in the case of publicly provided social services. This was consistent with the White Paper’s own acknowledgement that 'only the state can ensure the provision of key public services'. The memorandum also challenged misconceptions about the trade union campaign for labour standards in the WTO.

Campaign for debt cancellation

The General Council have continued to support the campaign in favour of cancellation of unsustainable debt owed to developed countries and international financial institutions by the poorest of developing nations. The TUC backed the ICFTU initiatives to heighten the awareness of the need for cancellation of debt within the international trade union movement and in G7 countries and submitted to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer the TUAC Statement to the 2001 OECD Ministerial Council and the Genoa G8 Economic Summit which stressed the importance of enhanced debt relief for all developing nations. The General Secretary was co-opted to the Board of the Jubilee Debt Campaign - successor to the Jubilee 2000.

Development co-operation assistance

Stage II of the Health and Safety Education for Street Cleaners in Local Authorities in Sri Lanka Project was successfully completed in September 2000. The Project, launched in 1997 in response to a request from the Samastha Lanka Local Government Trade Union Federation (SLLGTUF) with a view to raising awareness of health hazards associated with garbage collection and providing education and training in basic occupational health and safety and hygiene, benefited some of the most vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups in underdeveloped areas in Sri Lanka. Some 1,500 street cleaners from a number of local authorities attended 36 non-residential training and education workshops held in different parts of the Island, received locally made personal protection equipment and had medical check-ups conducted by a local NGO working in close collaboration with the SLLGTUF. An in-depth evaluation of the Project was submitted to DfID in December 2000.

Activities of the Occupational Health and Safety Project designed to equip health professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary for diagnosis of asbestosis among ex-miners in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa began in autumn 2000. In February, a preparatory workshop was held in Ekulindeni in collaboration with the Ekulindeni Asbestos Committee in order to enlist the support and co-operation of all stakeholders including trade unions, National Occupational Health Directorate, the Department of Health and the Department of Labour. Plans are underway for the training of health professionals, notably hospital doctors and nurses, in the diagnosis of the disease as well as for the development of relevant education and training material.

Six African national trade union centres took part in activities in Stage II of the AFRO Negotiating Skills for Women Project successfully completed in 2001. Women negotiating officials from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZTUC), Zimbabwe, National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU), Uganda, Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), Kenya, Organizaçao dos Trabalhadores de Moçambique (OTM), Mozambique, and National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), South Africa, received training in negotiating skills and labour laws in workshops organized under the Project.

The TUC was represented by Bandula Kothalawala (EU&IRD) at the fifth meeting on Co-ordination of Trade Union Assistance Programmes in Africa organized by the ICFTU-AFRO, held in Nairobi, Kenya in March. A set of policy guidelines on co-ordination of trade union assistance programmes in Africa was adopted with a view to ensuring that all assistance programmes were geared to the achievement of well-defined objectives without duplication of effort or wasteful dispersion of scare resources. The meetings also provided the opportunity to review significant social and economic developments in member countries with particular emphasis on industrial relations and trade union and human rights situation and exchange information on trade union development co-operation initiatives in Africa. The TUC representative advised the meeting of the TUC pilot initiative aimed at raising awareness of the need for action by trade unionists to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, alleviate the suffering of its victims and combat discrimination and stigma attached to it. Participants were informed that the Project, estimated to cost £60,000 over two years and to be partly funded by the Department for International Development, was a response to a request from the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions for technical and financial assistance to carry out an education and information campaign as part of a trade union strategy to fight the disease. The project was also drawn to the attention of the Prime Minister in the context of the G8 discussions in Genoa. He replied in July that he wholeheartedly agreed with the need to address and reduce stigma and discrimination. Trade unions in the UK and abroad had helped to mobilise attention and resources to fighting HIV/AIDS and he hoped that the TUC would remain in contact with DfID about the project.

The ICFTU Projects Committee met in Brussels in May, attended by representatives of the ICFTU regional organisations, affiliates including the TUC, international trade secretariats and the Commonwealth Trade Union Council. It provided the opportunity for a comprehensive survey of trade union development co-operation activities and for an assessment of their impact on the beneficiaries in the context of the Millennium Review Process and discussed the possibilities for a high-level conference on trade union development co-operation to be held in Brussels towards the end of 2001. Participants also evaluated the effectiveness of campaign strategies on core labour standards, forced labour and child labour and considered ways and means of optimising their impact.

11.14 TUC Aid

TUC Aid, a registered charity established by the TUC General Council in 1988 with a view to raising funds for humanitarian relief, provision of technical expertise through education and training activities and long-term development, continued its activities. In response to a request from the Fiji Trades Union Congress, TUC Aid paid for the purchase of a workstation and a printer to be used in the education campaign for restoration and preservation of democracy in Fiji.

Following the devastating earthquake that hit the State of Gujarat in India in January, TUC Aid made an appeal to its affiliates for funds for emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of families affected by it. A total of £33,800 was made available to two national trade union centres - Hind Mazoor Sabha (HMS) and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), which carried out emergency relief operations in Gujarat. Umroamal Purohit, General Secretary, HMS, expressed his gratitude to the British trade union movement for their exemplary gesture of solidarity with the people of Gujarat. In collaboration with their affiliate - Western Railway Employees’ Union - HMS took the initiative to accommodate a large number of school children whose schools had been destroyed in the quake in temporary shelters where they could have lessons with tutors and educational material provided by the union.

The construction of houses funded through the TUC Aid Appeal for funds for long-term rehabilitation of flood victims in Mozambique is underway. The Housing Project that consists in building eight two-bed-roomed housing units, implemented in collaboration with Organizaçao dos Trabalhadores de Moçambique - national trade union centre - in Mozambique is expected to be completed by the end of 2001. TUC Aid made a donation to Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) to be used in their campaign for justice for victims of asbestos-related diseases in South Africa. Substantial donations from affiliates and the TUUT Charitable Trust made it possible for TUC Aid to sustain its emergency relief as well as trade union training and education activities during the year.

11.15 Ethical trade

The Ethical Trading Initiative, supported by DfID, has continued its work, and company membership in the two main sectors of food and clothing and footwear continues to grow. The ETI held a major international conference in November, addressed by Fackson Shamenda, ICFTU President, and other representatives from the ICFTU, ITS, the TUC and several affiliates. The TUC is represented in the ETI Board by Simon Steyne (EU&IRD), who has also chaired its South Africa wine industry pilot. The ITS have been represented by Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the ITGLWF and the ICFTU by Dwight Justice. Ron Oswald, IUF General Secretary, has been the trade union substitute Board member. The Board has continued to oversee existing pilots and taken steps to launch new ones. The Board’s key objectives for the next three years are to identify and promote good practice, consolidate and increase membership, and build strategic alliances and relationships. ETI Secretariat and Board members have promoted the concept in a number of countries. An ETI Norway was established, discussions took place in Ireland, Canada, Germany and Italy, and the Secretariat met representatives of the New Zealand Government. The TUC Board member is advising the ILO on work on supply chain management. ILO-IPEC has joined the ETI’s Child Labour Task Group.

The ETI has had discussions with UK-based chocolate manufacturers who sought advice about corporate responsibility in the sourcing of cocoa from Côte D’Ivoire, in the light of reports of child slavery on plantations. Discussions, which include the IUF and key companies, about a strategy to seek effective resolution of the problem are now being pursued at the international level by both the ILO and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Brian Revell, T&G National Secretary for Food and Agriculture and UK IUF Coordinator, and Simon Steyne took part in a meeting on the cocoa industry organised by the FCO in July.

The Zimbabwe horticulture pilot resulted in a sectoral agreement on monitoring between the sectoral union and the employers association and a reduction in the standard working week from 51 hours to 48. The experimental phase of the South Africa wine pilot was completed and the impact of the pilot inspections on the labour practice of each employer will be assessed. After long negotiations with Costa Rican companies, trade unions and NGOs, all parties have agreed to a programme of inspections of four banana plantations against the ETI Base Code. Meanwhile, Chiquita has signed an agreement with the IUF and its Latin American banana affiliates. The Sri Lanka pilot on garment manufacture is still in its foundation period, and will be chaired by Neil Kearney. The ETI Secretariat is reviewing the experience of the China pilot, where multistakeholder approaches proved impossible. The Board has agreed to establish some 18 further pilots over the next three years. Discussions are under way about the establishment of a pilot on gang labour practices in British agriculture. The trade union side, emphasising the indivisibility of core labour standards, has cautioned against pilots artificially restricted to examining single issues.

The centrality of trade union rights to the sustainable implementation of the ETI Code has been stressed consistently by the trade union side and there is evidence that member companies’ attitudes to social dialogue is, in general, developing positively. Increasing recognition of the role of trade unions and the indivisibility of core labour standards as key motors for sustainable improvement and development may offer new opportunities for recruitment and organisation to trade unions operating in ETI member companies’ supply chains. They also place increasing demands on trade unions in the two sectors.

11.16 Arms control

Congress last year adopted a resolution calling on the Government to introduce new legislation on Strategic Exports Controls, including the strengthening of provisions outlined in a White Paper published in July 1998, to ensure that UK sales of arms and equipment do not contribute to human rights abuses abroad. The Government announced, in the Queen’s Speech following the June General Election, that its Export Control and Non-Proliferation Bill would replace legislation that has not fundamentally changed since 1939. The Bill is intended to enable the Government to modernise existing export control legislation and enable controls to be placed on arms brokers, intangible transfers and technical assistance. The Bill sets out to tackle accountability and transparency issues by setting out, in the legislation, the purposes for which export controls may be imposed; providing Parliamentary scrutiny of secondary legislation made pursuant to the Bill; making the production of an annual report on export controls a legal requirement and establishing powers to require exporters to supply information, which would enable the UK to meet its international reporting commitments. The Bill seeks to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of strategic export controls, including providing powers to introduce new controls on the trafficking and brokering of weapons-related equipment; new controls to prevent trafficking and brokering to embargoed destinations; new controls to prevent trafficking and brokering torture equipment to any destination; and an increase in the maximum penalty for export control offences from seven to ten years.

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