ILO/95/24
GENEVA (ILO News) - Tripartite dialogue between Governments, trade unions and employers is essential to the success of the transition towards a market economy in Central and Eastern Europe and, as such, is "fundamental to the construction of a reunited Europe", said Mr. Michel Hansenne, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), in Warsaw today.
"There is no single model of tripartism and even less so today than in the past", acknowledged Mr. Hansenne. But, he added, "institutions and procedures matter less (...) than the commitment to preserve the independence of the social partners and the recognition by each one of the role which the others must be allowed to play".
This holds true, he said, for all European countries, "but particularly those for which the existence of free and autonomous organizations of employers and of workers are recent phenomena. In this regard," emphasized Mr. Hansenne, "I wish especially to underline the importance of strong and well structured employers' associations in formerly communist countries."
Held in Warsaw from 20 to 27 September and chaired by Mr. Leszek Miller, Polish Minister of Labour and Social Policy, the Conference was attended by 445 delegates - including 23 Ministers - from 38 European countries. Special sittings of the Conference took place on 25 September to hear addresses by Mr. Josef Oleksi, Prime Minister of Poland and by Mr. Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission.
This marked the first time that a European Regional Conference of the ILO was held outside Geneva. The choice of Warsaw was described by numerous speakers as highly symbolic and appropriate on account of the pioneering role played by Poland in the democratic transformations which have swept through Central and Eastern Europe.
But, warned Mr. Hansenne in a reference to events in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere, "no country is immune to a breakdown or even a reversal of this process."
Pursuant to the Conference agenda, the participants also shared information on their respective social protection systems and discussed the financial strains under which all are operating, albeit to different degrees. In its conclusions, the Conference recognized "that social protection systems will need to change" and foresaw "an enlarged role for the individual and for non-public institutions, including the social partners."
Pointing out that "the only durable response to the situation of the unemployed lies in their reinsertion into good jobs with stable and reasonable earnings", the Conference emphasized "the need for employment-intensive growth, retraining, employment services and other aspects of active labour-market policies as indispensable adjuncts of policies of social protection."
"That being said, and recognizing that current levels of unemployment - in both halves of the region - are unlikely to be quickly reduced, the Conference equally emphasized the need for income support for those unable to find employment."
The Conference however was unable to reach a unanimous conclusion as to the financing of unemployment insurance and social assistance benefits. Several among the employers' delegates taking the floor suggested that "benefit levels offered to the unemployed needed to be restructured in a way which enhanced incentives, first to participate in retraining schemes, and secondly to accept employment, even if not at the former level of earnings."
This view was not shared by workers' representatives for whom "unemployment benefits were designed to secure a decent existence for the unemployed, allowing them to maintain their occupational level by granting time to find adequate jobs."
The Conference "strongly endorsed the request of the participants from Central and Eastern Europe for a strengthening of ILO Social Security activities towards countries in transition." The needs identified concern "the development of institutional capacity, good governance in a tripartite context, and especially the training of managers and technical analysts."
At the same time, the dramatic economic, political and social changes which have taken place in Europe since 1989 underscore the need for the ILO "to develop effective programmes, in consultation with its constituents, that accord priority to labour law reform based on international labour standards, the setting up and strengthening of labour institutions and administrations, the promotion and strengthening of independent employers' and workers' organizations, social security reforms, development and reform of labour statistics, local labour market restructuring, management development and small enterprise promotion."
The Conference called for a reinforcement of ILO technical cooperation activities throughout Central and Eastern Europe and asked that special attention be paid to Transcaucasian and Central Asian countries which are not at present covered by ILO technical teams in the field.
Finally, the Conference underlined that "the ratification and application of the core standards respecting human rights and the other Conventions considered as priority instruments (...), as well as the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 ( No. 138), should be amongst the major objectives of member States in the region".
"Europe has recently experienced an impressive evolution towards more freedom and more democracy", said Mr. Hansenne in his concluding remarks. "One and other should in time stimulate economic growth in the eastern part of the continent and favour exchanges throughout the region for the greater benefit of all. The challenge lies in promoting the positive factors of these transformations while limiting the social problems and the unacceptable suffering which they imply for the most vulnerable groups among the populations concerned."