[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S714-S716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1--EXPRESSING CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR 
   THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION'S DECLARATION ON FUNDAMENTAL 
                     PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK

  Mr. MOYNIHAN submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                             S. Con. Res. 1

       Whereas the International Labor Organization (in this 
     resolution referred to as the ``ILO'') was created in 1919 by 
     part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles for the purpose of 
     improving labor conditions worldwide;
       Whereas for 79 years, the ILO has provided an avenue for 
     nations to improve labor standards in a manner that does not 
     erode their competitive advantage in world commerce;
       Whereas the United States has long recognized the linkage 
     between the ILO and world trade, having joined the ILO in 
     1934, the same year that President Roosevelt and Secretary of 
     State Cordell Hull launched the Reciprocal Trade Agreements 
     program;
       Whereas the increasing integration of the global economy 
     has drawn renewed attention to the question of how best to 
     improve labor standards in an economic environment 
     characterized by intensified international competition;
       Whereas in 1994, at the conclusion of the first Ministerial 
     Meeting of the World Trade Organization in Singapore, Trade 
     Ministers issued a declaration which reaffirmed the 
     commitment of World Trade Organization members to observe 
     internationally recognized core labor standards and 
     identified the ILO as the ``competent body to set and deal 
     with'' these standards;
       Whereas the 174 members of the ILO have recognized the 
     following 7 conventions as protecting core labor standards: 
     Convention No. 29 on Forced Labor (1930), Convention No. 87 
     on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to 
     Organize (1948), Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organize 
     and Collective Bargaining (1949), Convention No. 100 on Equal 
     Remuneration (1950), Convention No. 105 on the Abolition of 
     Forced Labor (1957), Convention No. 111 on Discrimination in 
     Employment and Occupation (1958), and Convention No. 138 on 
     Minimum Age (1973);
       Whereas in June 1998, at the conclusion of the 86th 
     International Labor Conference, the ILO adopted the 
     ``Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work'', 
     which declares the core labor standards embodied in the 7 
     conventions to be essential to membership in the ILO; and
       Whereas an essential element of the 1998 Declaration is its 
     ``Follow Up Mechanism'', which provides for the monitoring of 
     ILO member countries' compliance with the core labor 
     standards: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the International Labor Organization's Declaration on 
     Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work is an important 
     achievement that may help advance core labor standards in a 
     competitive global economy; and
       (2) the President should use all means at the President's 
     disposal to ensure that the Declaration and its Follow Up 
     Mechanism evolve into an effective means of monitoring 
     worldwide compliance with core labor standards.

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a resolution that 
notes with approval the International Labor Organization's new 
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was 
agreed in June 1998 at the 86th International Labor Conference. This 
resolution simply urges the prompt and effective implementation of this 
important Declaration and its monitoring mechanism.
  The impact of globalization on working conditions and, indeed, on 
workers' rights in general, has arisen as an important, and somewhat 
difficult, issue in the debate over the direction of America's trade 
policy. In 1997, I suggested to the Administration that they might look 
to the International Labor Organization for assistance in addressing 
this matter. After all, the ILO was established in 1919 for the express 
purpose of providing governments that wanted to do something to improve 
labor standards with a means of so doing--international conventions--
that would not compromise their competitive advantages. I worked with 
the Administration to incorporate into the President's 1997 fast track 
proposal language recognizing the important role of the ILO, and in 
September 1997, the distinguished Chairman of the Finance Committee 
agreed to include the ILO provisions in his own fast track bill. In 
July 1998, the Finance Committee updated the bill to reflect its 
approval of, and hopes for, the new Declaration on Fundamental 
Principles and Rights at Work and its monitoring mechanism.
  In essence, the ILO has bundled together, in a single declaration, 
four sets of fundamental rights--the core labor standards embodying the 
broad principles that are essential to membership in the ILO. Having 
declared that those rights are fundamental, the document then provides 
for a monitoring system--a ``follow-up'' mechanism, to use the ILO 
term--to determine how countries are complying with these elemental 
worker rights.
  The four sets of fundamental rights are: 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.
  These rights flow directly from three sources. First, from the ILO 
Constitution itself, which was drafted by a commission headed by Samuel 
Gompers of the American Federation of Labor and became, in 1919, part 
XIII of the Treaty of Versailles. Second, from the immensely important 
Declaration of Philadelphia, which reaffirmed, at the height of World 
War II, the fundamental principles of the ILO, including freedom of 
expression and association and the importance of equal opportunity and 
economic security. Adopted

[[Page S715]]

in 1944, the Declaration of Philadelphia was formally annexed to the 
ILO Constitution two years later. And, not least, these four groups of 
core labor standards flow from the seven ILO conventions that are 
recognized as Core Human Rights Conventions.
  These seven conventions are not the highly technical agreements that 
make up the vast majority of the ILO's 181 conventions. Rather, they 
directly address the rights of working people. They are Convention No. 
29, the Forced Labor Convention of 1930; Convention No. 87, the Freedom 
of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention of 
1948; Convention No. 98, the Right to Organize and Collective 
Bargaining Convention of 1949; Convention No. 100, the Equal 
Remuneration Convention of 1951; Convention No. 105, the Abolition of 
Forced Labor Convention of 1957; Convention No. 111 on Discrimination 
in Employment and Occupation, which was done in 1958; and Convention 
No. 138, the Minimum Age Convention of 1973.
  They are extraordinary conventions. The Social Summit in Copenhagen 
in 1995 identified six of these ILO conventions as essential to 
ensuring human rights in the workplace: Nos. 29, 87, 98, 100, 105, and 
111. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has 
classified them as ``International Human Rights Conventions.'' The 
Governing Body of the ILO subsequently added to the list of core 
conventions Convention No. 138, the minimum age convention, in 
recognition of the importance of matters relating to child labor. These 
conventions embody the broad principles that are basic to membership in 
the ILO.
  The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Renato 
Ruggiero, was solidly behind the ILO's efforts, as we discussed at 
length in Geneva during a visit in January 1998. In the end, the 
tenacity of Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and her able Deputy Under 
Secretary for International Labor Affairs Andrew Samet, Abraham Katz, 
President of the United States Council for International Business, and 
John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO, paid off: the Declaration was 
approved in June 1998 by an overwhelming margin.
  The Declaration can play a useful role in advancing core labor 
standards if it is carried out with energy and determination. The key 
will be its follow-up mechanism, and the extent to which that tool 
evolves into an effective means of monitoring compliance with these 
fundamental worker rights and securing their enforcement. This may take 
a period of years, but much good could come of it. The resolution I 
have introduced today recognizes both the significance of the 
Declaration and the useful role it could play in addressing workers' 
concerns about the global economy.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the 
Declaration and its follow-up mechanism be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 [From the International Labour Conference, 86th Session, Geneva, June 
                                 1998]

      ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

       Whereas the ILO was founded in the conviction that social 
     justice is essential to universal and lasting peace;
       Whereas economic growth is essential but not sufficient to 
     ensure equity, social progress and the eradication of 
     poverty, confirming the need for the ILO to promote strong 
     social policies, justice and democratic institutions;
       Whereas the ILO should, now more than ever, draw upon all 
     its standard-setting, technical cooperation and research 
     resources in all its areas of competence, in particular 
     employment, vocational training and working conditions, to 
     ensure that, in the context of a global strategy for economic 
     and social development, economic and social policies are 
     mutually reinforcing components in order to create broad-
     based sustainable development;
       Whereas the ILO should give special attention to the 
     problems of persons with special social needs, particularly 
     the unemployed and migrant workers, and mobilize and 
     encourage international, regional and national efforts aimed 
     at resolving their problem, and promote effective policies 
     aimed at job creation;
       Whereas, in seeking to maintain the link between social 
     progress and economic growth, the guarantee of fundamental 
     principles and rights at work is of particular significance 
     in that it enables the persons concerned to claim freely and 
     on the basis of equality of opportunity their fair share of 
     the wealth which they have helped to generate, and to achieve 
     fully their human potential;
       Whereas the ILO is the constitutionally mandated 
     international organization and the competent body to set and 
     deal with international labour standards, and enjoys 
     universal support and acknowledgement in promoting 
     fundamental rights at work as the expression of its 
     constitutional principles;
       Whereas it is urgent, in a situation of growing economic 
     interdependence, to reaffirm the immutable nature of the 
     fundamental principles and rights embodied in the 
     Constitution of the Organization and to promote their 
     universal application;
       The International Labour Conference,
       1. Recalls: (a) that in freely joining the ILO, all Members 
     have endorsed the principles and rights set out in its 
     Constitution and in the Declaration of Philadelphia, and have 
     undertaken to work towards attaining the overall objectives 
     of the Organization to the best of their resources and fully 
     in line with their specific circumstances;
       (b) that these principles and rights have been expressed 
     and developed in the form of specific rights and obligations 
     in Conventions recognized as fundamental both inside and 
     outside the Organization.
       2. Declares that all Members, even if they have not 
     ratified the Conventions in question, have an obligation 
     arising from the very fact of membership in the Organization, 
     to respect, to promote and to realize, in good faith and in 
     accordance with the Constitution, the principles concerning 
     the fundamental rights which are the subject of those 
     Conventions, namely:
       (a) freedom of association and the effective recognition of 
     the right to collective bargaining;
       (b) the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory 
     labour;
       (c) the effective abolition of child labour; and
       (d) the elimination of discrimination in respect of 
     employment and occupation.
       3. Recognizes the obligation on the Organization to assist 
     its Members, in response to their established and expressed 
     needs, in order to attain these objectives by making full use 
     of its constitutional, operational and budgetary resources, 
     including by the mobilization of external resources and 
     support, as well as by encouraging other international 
     organizations with which the ILO has established relations, 
     pursuant to article 12 of its Constitution, to support these 
     efforts:
       (a) by offering technical cooperation and advisory services 
     to promote the ratification and implementation of the 
     fundamental Conventions;
       (b) by assisting those Members not yet in a position to 
     ratify some or all of these Conventions in their efforts to 
     respect, to promote and to realize the principles concerning 
     fundamental rights which are the subject of those 
     Conventions; and
       (c) by helping the Members in their efforts to create a 
     climate for economic and social development.
       4. Decides that, to give full effect to this Declaration, a 
     promotional follow-up, which is meaningful and effective, 
     shall be implemented in accordance with the measures 
     specified in the annex hereto, which shall be considered as 
     an integral part of this Declaration.
       5. Stresses that labour standards should not be used for 
     protectionist trade purposes, and that nothing in this 
     Declaration and its follow-up shall be invoked or otherwise 
     used for such purposes; in addition, the comparative 
     advantage of any country should in no way be called into 
     question by this Declaration and its follow-up.

                  Annex--Follow-Up to the Declaration


                           i. overall purpose

       1. The aim of the follow-up described below is to encourage 
     the efforts made by the Members of the Organization to 
     promote the fundamental principles and rights enshrined in 
     the Constitution of the ILO and the Declaration of 
     Philadelphia and reaffirmed in this Declaration.
       2. In line with this objective, which is of a strictly 
     promotional nature, this follow-up will allow the 
     identification of areas in which the assistance of the 
     Organization through its technical cooperation activities may 
     prove useful to its Members to help them implement these 
     fundamental principles and rights. It is not a substitute for 
     the established supervisory mechanisms, nor shall it impede 
     their functioning; consequently, specific situations within 
     the purview of those mechanisms shall not be examined or re-
     examined within the framework of this follow-up.
       3. The two aspects of this follow-up, described below, are 
     based on existing procedures: the annual follow-up concerning 
     non-ratified fundamental Conventions will entail merely some 
     adaption of the present modalities of application of article 
     19, paragraph 5(e) of the Constitution; and the global report 
     will serve to obtain the best results from the procedures 
     carried out pursuant to the Constitution.


  II. Annual follow-up concerning non-ratified fundamental Conventions

     A. Purpose and scope
       1. The purpose is to provide an opportunity to review each 
     year, by means of simplified procedures to replace the four-
     year review introduced by the Governing Body in 1995, the 
     efforts made in accordance with the Declaration by Members 
     which have not yet ratified all the fundamental Conventions.
       2. The follow-up will cover each year the four areas of 
     fundamental principles and rights specified in the 
     Declaration.

[[Page S716]]

     B. Modalities
       1. The follow-up will be based on reports requested from 
     Members under article 19, paragraph 5(e) of the Constitution. 
     The report forms will be drawn up so as to obtain information 
     from governments which have not ratified one or more of the 
     fundamental Conventions, on any changes which may have taken 
     place in their law and practice, taking due account of 
     article 23 of the Constitution and established practice.
       2. These reports, as compiled by the Office, will be 
     reviewed by the Governing Body.
       3. With a view to presenting an introduction to the reports 
     thus compiled, drawing attention to any aspects which might 
     call for a more in-depth discussion, the Office may call upon 
     a group of experts appointed for this purpose by the 
     Governing Body.
       4. Adjustments to the Governing Body's existing procedures 
     should be examined to allow Members which are not represented 
     on the Governing Body to provide, in the most appropriate 
     way, clarifications which might prove necessary or useful 
     during Governing Body discussions to supplement the 
     information contained in their reports.


                           III. Global report

     A. Purpose and scope
       1. The purpose of this report is to provide a dynamic 
     global picture relating to each category of fundamental 
     principles and rights noted during the preceding four-year 
     period, and to serve as a basis for assessing the 
     effectiveness of the assistance provided by the Organization, 
     and for determining priorities for the following period, in 
     the form of action plans for technical cooperation designed 
     in particular to mobilize the internal and external resources 
     necessary to carry them out.
       2. The report will cover, each year, one of the four 
     categories of fundamental principles and rights in turn.
     B. Modalities
       1. The report will be drawn up under the responsibility of 
     the Director-General on the basis of official information, or 
     information gathered and assessed in accordance with 
     established procedures. In the case of States which have not 
     ratified the fundamental Conventions, it will be based in 
     particular on the findings of the aforementioned annual 
     follow-up. In the case of Members which have ratified the 
     Conventions concerned, the report will be based in particular 
     on reports as dealt with pursuant to article 22 of the 
     Constitution.
       2. This report will be submitted to the Conference for 
     tripartite discussion as a report of the Director-General. 
     The Conference may deal with this report separately from 
     reports under article 12 of its Standing Orders, and may 
     discuss it during a sitting devoted entirely to this report, 
     or in any other appropriate way. It will then be for the 
     Governing Body, at an early session, to draw conclusions from 
     this discussion concerning the priorities and plans of action 
     for technical cooperation to be implemented for the following 
     four-year period.


                       IV. It is understood that

       1. Proposals shall be made for amendments to the Standing 
     Orders of the Governing Body and the Conference which are 
     required to implement the preceding provisions.
       2. The Conference shall, in due course, review the 
     operation of this follow-up in the light of the experience 
     acquired to assess whether it has adequately fulfilled the 
     overall purpose articulated in Part I.
       The foregoing is the ILO Declaration on Fundamental 
     Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up duly adopted 
     by the General Conference of the International Labour 
     Organization during its Eighty-sixth Session which was held 
     at Geneva and declared closed the 18 June 1998.
       IN FAITH WHEREOF we have appended our signatures this 
     nineteenth day of June 1998.
                                  The President of the Conference,
     The Director-General of the International Labour Office.

                          ____________________