Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant will this weekend lead a tripartite South African delegation to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting at the International Labour Conference (ILC), held every year in Geneva, Switzerland. Oliphant is also expected to chair sessions/committees of this year’s event.
The 105th Session of the ILO’s ILC is held under the theme: “Building a future with Decent Work”. The Conference is held annually in the month of June. This year’s gathering will be held from 30 May to 10 June. It will bring together Government, Employers’ and Workers’ representatives from 187 member States to discuss a series of world of work issues including:
- Decent work for peace, security and disaster resilience
- Decent work in global supply chains;
- as well as the impact of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization and also consider amendments to the Code of the Maritime Labour Convention and review the report of the Director-General on poverty.
The Conference is composed of a plenary and of technical committees. The plenary sits in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations. The Conference opens and closes in plenary sitting.
The World parliament of labour as the Conference is often called performs several main tasks such as:
- The Conference also supervises the application of Conventions and Recommendations at the national level.
- The crafting and adoption of international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations.
- Examining the reports which the governments of all member States are required to submit, detailing their compliance with obligations arising out of ratified Conventions, and their law and practice in respect of Conventions and Recommendations (ratified or not) on which reports have been requested by the Governing Body of the ILO.
- Examine the Global Report prepared by the Office under the follow-up procedure required by the Declaration.
- The ILC offers a forum where social and labour questions of importance to the entire world are discussed.
- The Conference also passes resolutions that provide guidelines for the ILO's general policy and future activities.
The South African delegation to the ILC conference will also include the Department of Labour’s Director-General, Thobile Lamati; Department of Labour Deputy Director-General of Labour Policy and Industrial Relations, Virgil Seafield and senior officials of the department from various business branches. The South African delegation is expected to also include delegates from organised business; and organised labour.
The ILO was founded in 1919 as a specialised agency of the United Nations to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men. Its a tripartite structure gives an equal voice to workers, employers and governments to ensure that the views of the social partners are closely reflected in labour standards and in shaping policies and programmes. The agency’s main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.
The organisation is currently pursuing 2030 Agenda, which embraces the three dimensions of sustainability – economic, social and environmental. It has 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will build on the progress achieved under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) . It was formally adopted by world leaders gathering at a United Nations special summit in September 2015 in New York.
The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development puts people and planet at its centre and gives the international community the impetus it needs to work together to tackle the formidable challenges confronting humanity, including those in the world of work.
The tenth Director-General of the ILO Guy Ryder from the (United Kingdom) is expected to deliver the closing address on the last day of the conference.
Enquiries:
Sithembele Tshwete
Labour Ministry: Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 071 675 9849
Email: Sithembele.Tshwete@labour.gov.za
