[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 63 (Monday, May 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S5029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT 105-45

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following 
treaty transmitted to the Senate on May 18, 1998, by the President of 
the United States:
  ILO Convention (No. 111) Concerning Discrimination (Employment and 
Occupation) (Treaty Document No. 105-45.)
  I further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the 
first time; that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the 
President's messages be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The message of the President is as follows:

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.  
  The White House, May 18, 1998.

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