USCIB Applauds ILO’s Breakthrough in Campaign to Respect Workers’ Rights
For Immediate Release Contact: Christina Shevchik 212-703-5043
New York, June 19, 1998
-- A major breakthrough assuring respect for fundamental workers’ rights in a globalizing economy was made at the 86th International Labor Conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which concluded in Geneva on June 18.
Delegates adopted the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which commits all of the Organization’s members to respect the following core labor standards:
· freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
· the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor;
· the effective abolition of child labor; and
· the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
“This is a major achievement for the ILO,” said Abraham Katz, President of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB). “For the first time, the ILO has articulated a set of basic principles for workers’ rights to which every member country of the ILO must adhere by virtue of membership.”
USCIB is the U.S. affiliate of the International Organization of Employers (IOE). IOE participates with governments and trade unions in the tripartite ILO. The USCIB and its colleagues in the IOE have been instrumental for some years in advocating a Declaration of Principles with an effective follow-up mechanism. The Declaration was also supported at the just concluded International Labor Conference by the International Confederation of Trade Unions, as well as the majority of governments.
The Declaration provides ILO with a new policy dimension in its efforts under its constitution to promote social justice. It will thus position the ILO apparatus as a credible alternative to the “social clause” -- i.e. the use of trade sanctions to enforce labor standards. U.S. business has long been opposed to the introduction of a social clause in the rules of the trading system because of the danger that it will be used for protectionist ends, be disruptive to the trading system, and have negative consequences for workers. In 1996, the IOE General Council affirmed this position and pointed out that the ILO “is the international organization with the mandate to seek to improve worldwide working conditions through standard-setting, technical cooperation, dialogue and example.” This view was unanimously endorsed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting in Singapore in December 1996.
The Declaration of Principles and follow-up mechanism will enable the ILO to expose countries with repeated failure of policy with regard to the principles, bringing the full weight of the organization’s opinion and public censure to bear on specific countries and situations. The ILO will also provide technical assistance to countries to overcome their persistent shortcomings.
The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) advances the global interests of American business both at home and abroad. The USCIB has a membership of over 300 global corporations, professional firms, and business associations. It is also the American affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD. As such, it officially represents U.S. business positions in the main intergovernmental bodies, and vis-ŕ-vis foreign business communities and their governments.
