320th session of the Governing Body

Luc Cortebeeck: “A major step forward was taken at this Governing Body session”

The 320th session of the ILO Governing Body drew to a close on 27 March 2014 in Geneva. In this interview, Workers’ Group Chair Luc Cortebeeck looks at several of the issues discussed during this session. Major topics included the application of international labour standards, ILO engagement with the private sector, seafarers’ rights, and migrant workers – in the context of the ILO’s chairing the UN system’s Global Migration Group (GMG).

News | Genève | 04 April 2014
Mr.Luc Cortbeeck,Chair of the Workers’ Group in the ILO Governing Body
ACTRAV INFO: The 320th session of the ILO Governing Body ended on 27 March 2014. For the Workers’ Group, what’s your assessment of this session?


This session was difficult, but a major step was taken concerning the standards. On the other hand, it’s a pity we didn’t make any headway in the discussion on enterprises, and more particularly on the role of employers’ organizations and multinationals. For the moment, no solution has been found there. So that’s still a challenge for the ILO. We in the Workers’ Group are convinced that the ILO needs to head down that path, towards the multinationals, while respecting the tripartite framework. These days, multinationals play a major role worldwide, and they have an impact on workers’ rights in many countries. Nonetheless, these multinationals must respect international labour standards if they want to be part of the ILO. And that will be a big step forward for the ILO. We hope this issue will be resolved in the near future.

On the case of Bahrain, where thousands of workers had been dismissed following demonstrations and strikes, we’re happy to note that a solution has been found. These workers have now been reinstated, thanks to an agreement between the unions, the government and the employers. This is a historic success for the ILO, which has been very much involved in resolving this Bahrain case.

But there are still problems, notably in Guatemala where the agreement reached between International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the government is not evolving sufficiently. As to Venezuela, we conducted a tripartite mission there following a complaint from employers, although the workers have also been suffering in that country recently. Finally, there’s the case of Fiji, where the situation is still very difficult, and the next Governing Body will decide to set up a commission of enquiry, if the ILO Mission has not taken place.
The Workers'Group of ILO Governing Body (2011-2014)


One last point – this session was the last under the current mandate of the Governing Body members. So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues in the Workers’ Group, who have spared no effort to defend workers’ rights. The members of the Workers’ Group have contributed a great deal, thanks to the experience they’ve built up in their home countries and to their lucidity in discussing problems at the international level, across frontiers.

ACTRAV INFO: The Governing Body referred to follow-up on the events surrounding the International Labour Conference’s Committee on the Application of Standards, during the ILC’s 2012 session. What’s the position of the Workers’ Group on this matter?


An important point to note is that the employers and governments agreed to the experts’ mandate. That’s an important gain made during this Governing Body session, because in 2012, no agreement was reached on the experts’ mandate. Now, it has been recognized that the experts can give important opinions, but that these opinions and recommendations are non-binding. Nevertheless, the committee’s technical role and moral authority are widely recognized. I think that, overall, important steps for the whole future of the ILO were taken during this session, because if the supervisory mechanisms stopped working and there was no agreement on that issue, it would be a very bad thing for our Organization.

On disputes or problems of interpretation among the constituents concerning the Conventions, there are two possibilities. Either a preliminary ruling could be sought from the International Court of Justice in The Hague, or a tribunal could be established within the ILO to decide on interpretations. Currently, there’s more and more willingness to envisage both options – so, also the solution involving a tribunal within the ILO - but no decision has been taken yet, including within the Workers’ Group. In November 2014, the Director-General will give more information on the modalities, conditions and procedures for setting up this tribunal, and a decision will be taken at that time.
Incidentally, the Governing Body mentioned the possibility of discussing 25 cases during the next ILO conference, in June 2014, and we hope to make progress on this issue very soon.

ACTRAV INFO: The question of the ILO’s engagement with the private sector was raised during this session. What’s your view on this?

I think the ILO has no choice. It must engage with the multinationals. Of course, this engagement won’t be unconditional. The multinationals must also respect the international labour standards. This is about broadening out the ILO’s work to take account of the globalized economy. We’ll have to find the right structures and procedures to facilitate this ILO engagement with the multinationals.

ACTRAV INFO: Turning to respect for seafarers’ rights, the Governing Body discussed international cooperation on the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (No. 185). How do you see this issue?


The Conventions on seafarers’ rights (C185 and MLC 2006) are very important, as seafarers aren’t resident in one given country. These are workers who travel a lot. They often face problems with visas and security when they arrive in a port. So IDs for seafarers are an important issue, even if governments do have legitimate questions about it. A meeting with experts will be organized soon, in order to study the issue more thoroughly before taking a decision.

ACTRAV INFO: Finally, this year the ILO is chairing the UN system’s Global Migration Group (GMG). What position does the Workers’ Group take on this?

We’re very happy that the ILO is chairing this Group this year. It will reinforce the ILO’s major role and mandate in the international debates on migration. We strongly hope that the ILO will take this opportunity to promote its decent work agenda, particularly the protection of migrant workers’ rights, and the ILO Conventions on migration.
It’s also very important that the ILO should promote cooperation and social dialogue with the social partners in the international debates on migration, as well as in the development of policies on migration at the national and regional levels. This cooperation with the social partners is very important, as the social partners are very often not involved in the debates conducted within the other international organizations.

And then there’s an important role for the ILO to play on the issue of recruitment agencies and the very serious abuses they inflict on migrant workers. The fair recruitment initiative to be launched by the ILO in order to establish directives will be a highly important, urgent job.

So we expect the ILO and the Director-General to play a very active role in order to draw the maximum benefit from this year in the Chair.