[Senate Treaty Document 105-45]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                              Treaty Doc.
                                SENATE

 2d Session                                                      105-45
_______________________________________________________________________


 
  ILO CONVENTION (NO. 111) CONCERNING DISCRIMINATION (EMPLOYMENT AND 
                              OCCUPATION)

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  FROM

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              TRANSMITTING

  ILO CONVENTION (NO. 111) CONCERNING DISCRIMINATION (EMPLOYMENT AND 
OCCUPATION), ADOPTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE AT ITS 42ND 
                   SESSION IN GENEVA ON JUNE 25, 1958


 


 May 18, 1998.--Convention was read the first time and, together with 
the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
          and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate.


                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                     The White House, May 18, 1998.
To the Senate of the United States:
    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the 
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith a certified copy of 
the Convention (No. 111) Concerning Discrimination (Employment 
and Occupation), adopted by the International Labor Conference 
at its 42nd Session in Geneva on June 25, 1958. Also 
transmitted is the report of the Department of State, with a 
letter dated January 6, 1997, from then Secretary of Labor 
Robert Reich, concerning the Convention.
    This Convention obligates ratifying countries to declare 
and pursue a national policy aimed at eliminating 
discrimination with respect to employment and occupation. As 
explained more fully in the letter from Secretary Reich, U.S. 
law and practice fully comport with its provisions.
    In the interest of clarifying the domestic application of 
the Convention, my Administration proposes that two 
understandings accompany U.S. ratification.
    The proposed understandings are as follows:

          The United States understands the meaning and scope 
        of Convention No. 111 in light of the relevant 
        conclusions and practice of the Committee of Experts on 
        the Application of Conventions and Recommendations 
        which have been adopted prior to the date of U.S. 
        ratification. The Committee's conclusions and practice 
        are, in any event, not legally binding on the United 
        States and have no force and effect on courts in the 
        United States.
          The United States understands that the federal 
        nondiscrimination policy of equal pay for substantially 
        equal work meets the requirements of Convention 111. 
        The United States further understands that Convention 
        111 does not require or establish the doctrine of 
        comparable worth with respect to compensation as that 
        term is understood under United States law and 
        practice.

    These understandings would have no effect on our 
international obligations under Convention No. 111.
    Ratification of this Convention would be consistent with 
our policy of seeking to adhere to additional international 
labor instruments as a means both of ensuring that our domestic 
labor standards meet international requirements, and of 
enhancing our ability to call other governments to account for 
failing to fulfill their obligations under International Labor 
Organization (ILO) conventions. I recommend that the Senate 
give its advice and consent to the ratification of ILO 
Convention No. 111.

                                                William J. Clinton.


                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                       Washington, October 2, 1997.
The President:
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you, with the 
recommendation that it be transmitted to the Senate for advice 
and consent to ratification, a certified copy of the Convention 
(No. 111) Concerning Discrimination (Employment and 
Occupation), which was adopted by the International Labor 
Conference at its 42nd Session in Geneva on June 25, 1958.
    This Convention obligates ratifying countries to declare 
and pursue a national policy aimed at eliminating 
discrimination in respect to employment and occupation. For 
these purposes, discrimination is defined to include any 
distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, 
color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or 
social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing 
equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or 
occupation. Interested departments and agencies have determined 
that the United States is in compliance with the terms of this 
Convention. The Secretary of Labor, in his enclosed letter of 
January 6, 1997, provides additional details concerning how 
U.S. law and practice comport with its provisions.
    In the interest of clarifying the domestic application of 
the Convention, the Secretary of Labor has proposed that two 
understandings accompany U.S. ratification. These 
understandings (the first of which we have modified slightly 
with the Secretary's concurrence) would have no effect on our 
international obligations under Convention No. 111.
    The proposed understandings we propose are as follows:

          The United States understands the meaning and scope 
        of Convention No. 111 in light of the relevant 
        conclusions and practice of the Committee of Experts on 
        the Application of Conventions and Recommendations 
        which have been adopted prior to the date of U.S. 
        ratification. The Committee's conclusions and practice 
        are, in any event, not legally binding on the United 
        States and have no force and effect on courts in the 
        United States.
          The United States understands that the federal 
        nondiscrimination policy of equal pay for substantially 
        equal work meets the requirements of Convention 111. 
        The United States further understands that Convention 
        111 does not require or establish the doctrine of 
        comparable worth with respect to compensation as that 
        term is understood under United States law and 
        practice.

    I am pleased to join with the Secretary of Labor in 
recommending that the Convention be transmitted to the Senate 
for advice and consent to ratification. Ratification of this 
Convention would be consistent with our policy of seeking to 
adhere to additional international labor instruments as a means 
both of ensuring that our domestic labor standards meet 
international requirements and of enhancing our ability to call 
other governments to account for failing to fulfill their 
obligations under ILO conventions. All interested departments 
and agencies concur in that view.
    Respectfully submitted,
                                                     Strobe Talbot.





                               
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