The 91st Session of the International Labour Conference was held in Geneva between June 3 and 19. Approximately 3,000 government, employer and worker delegates and advisers from 176 member states took part in the conference.
FOI Human Resources and Social Policy Working Group member Emanuel Said and FOI administration manager John B. Scicluna participated as employers' advisers within the Malta delegation.
In an attempt to develop effective security from terrorism and ensure that the world's 1.2 million seafarers will be given the freedom of movement necessary for their well-being and professional activities, the conference approved a new Convention on Seafarers' Identity Documents.
The new Convention replaces the ILO Convention No. 108, adopted in 1958, and establishes a more rigorous identity regime for seafarers. It sets out the basic parameters and allows the details in its annexes, like the precise form of the identity document (ID), to be easily adapted subsequently to keep up with technological developments.
A major feature of the new ID will be a biometric template based on a fingerprint. A resolution accompanying the Convention requests the ILO Director-General to take urgent measures for the development of "a global interoperable standard for the biometric, particularly in co-operation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)".
It also makes provision for the facilitation of shore leave and transit and transfer of seafarers, including the exemption from holding a visa for seafarers taking shore leave.
To avoid the risk of an ID being issued to the wrong person, the Convention also requires ratifying member states to maintain a proper database for international consultation by authorised officials and to have and observe adequate procedures for the issue of IDs.
Delegates also reached an unprecedented agreement on a global strategy on occupational health and safety, which calls for "coherent and focused" worldwide action to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and disease among workers.
This strategy, approved by government, employer and worker delegates, should be implemented through an action plan based on a strategy with two fundamental pillars: the first involves the introduction of a "preventive safety and health culture" which calls for guarantees of the right to a safe and healthy working environment by all through the agreement of the ILO social partners to a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties with prevention as the highest priority.
The second pillar is aimed at developing an integrated ILO occupational safety and health "tool box" to help tripartite constituents to transform the goals of the global strategy into reality.
The main tools include the elaboration of a promotional instrument designed to put safety and health higher on the agenda of member states, and a structured use of technical assistance and co-operation focused on the establishment and implementation of national OSH programmes by governments in close collaboration with employers and workers.
The conference also held a first discussion on a new international labour standard on human resources development (HRD). This new instrument is expected to replace ILO Recommendation No. 150 on HRD, which was adopted in 1975.
In its conclusions on the contents of a future Recommendation, the HRD conference committee recognised HRD as a key component of the response needed to facilitate lifelong learning and employability and calls for the involvement of social partners and a renewed commitment of governments, the private sector and individuals, to education, training and lifelong learning.
The conference also discussed issues concerning poverty; Palestinian workers; the employment relationship; application of standards on the use of forced labour and equality of treatment in the area of social security; as well as discrimination and child labour.