Programme of the International Labour Conference
The 108th (Centenary) Session of the International Labour Conference will be held from 10 to 21 June 2019 in Geneva, in two locations, the Palais des Nations and the ILO headquarters.
For a schematic view of the tentative programme of work of the Conference, as recommended by the Governing Body, click here.
For a more detailed explanation of the programme of work of the Conference, you may consult the Programme overview below.
During the Conference, a Daily Bulletin containing information on the daily programme of all Plenary, Committee and Group meetings and their venues is made available in printed form at the Information and document distribution desk. It can also be downloaded as from 11 p.m. the preceding day on the Conference Website or through the ILO Events App. The daily meetings schedule may also be consulted in a calendar form in the ILO Events App.
The Conference is composed of a plenary and a number of committees set up to consider the standing items on the Conference agenda, and technical committees to deal with technical items. Details about each standing and technical committee are available on the page Committees on the agenda.
In order to allow committees to begin their substantive work on the first day of the Conference, provision has been made for the holding of preparatory meetings of the full Government, Employers’ and Workers’ groups either on Sunday, 9 June, or in the morning of Monday, 10 June, prior to the opening sitting, or both. It is at these meetings that the groups will elect their Officers, make proposals relating to the composition of the various committees and become acquainted with Conference procedure. Similarly, provision will be made for preparatory meetings for the groups in each of the technical committees, to be held as deemed appropriate by each group. The members of tripartite national delegations may therefore wish to arrive in Geneva in advance, so that they can take part in these meetings.
The time and venue of all group meetings will be announced in the Daily Bulletin.
The 108th Centenary Session of the International Labour Conference in 2019 will open at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, 10 June.
The opening sitting will take place in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations. It consists of the following elements, and will include an address by a representative of the host country, Swiss Federal Councillor H.E. Mr. Alain Berset:
To mark the celebration of the Centenary of the Organization, the Plenary will sit in a high-level section to receive the visits of several heads of State and Government. This section will be held in the Assembly Hall on the third floor of the Assembly Building of the Palais des Nations. It will start after the opening of the Conference on Monday, 10 June, and will continue all day on Tuesday 11 June and in the morning of Wednesday 12 June. The high-level section will resume on Wednesday 19 June and will continue on Thursday 20 June.
In the afternoon of Thursday, 20 June, former Directors-General Mr Juan Somavia and Mr Michel Hansenne, will engage in a conversation in the Assembly Hall, moderated by Director-General Guy Ryder, on the ILO’s contribution to peace and stability, examining what we can learn from the past as we look to the future world of work and the future of the ILO.
The Conference will also receive the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres, on its last day Friday, 21 June at 10.a.m. The address by the Secretary-General will be followed by the adoption of the various committees’ outcomes.
More information about the high-level visits will be announced in due course on the High-Level visits webpage, and during the Conference in the Daily Bulletin.
The plenary sittings of the Conference devoted to the discussion of the Reports of the Director-General and of the Chairperson of the Governing Body will also be held in the Assembly Hall on the third floor of the Assembly Building of the Palais des Nations.
The Director-General of the International Labour Office will present his Report to the Conference during the opening sitting. It will consist of the report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work. The Chairperson of the Governing Body will also submit during the opening sitting a report to the Conference on the work carried out by the Governing Body from June 2018 to June 2019.
The dates of these sittings devoted to the discussion of the reports of the Director-General and the Chairperson of the Governing Body are Wednesday 12 June, afternoon and full days on Thursday 13 June, Friday 14 June, Monday 17 June and Tuesday 18 June.
In order to speak in plenary on these reports, it is necessary to register in advance. For more details, consult the registration to speak in plenary webpage.
Committees will present the outcome of their deliberations to the plenary for debate and adoption throughout Friday 21 June, unless they can be made available earlier, as is likely to be the case with the report of the Finance Committee. The reports and outcomes of the various committees will be published as Provisional Records.
In accordance with the Constitution of the ILO, the adoption by the Conference of the Programme and Budget and of any international labour standard requires a two-third majority record vote, to be conducted by electronic means. The tentative dates for those votes are included in the schematic programme of work of the Conference.
The closing sitting will take place in plenary at the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations o Friday, 21 June 2019, in the afternoon, after the discussion of the last committee report.
For a schematic view of the tentative programme of work of the Conference, as recommended by the Governing Body, click here.
For a more detailed explanation of the programme of work of the Conference, you may consult the Programme overview below.
During the Conference, a Daily Bulletin containing information on the daily programme of all Plenary, Committee and Group meetings and their venues is made available in printed form at the Information and document distribution desk. It can also be downloaded as from 11 p.m. the preceding day on the Conference Website or through the ILO Events App. The daily meetings schedule may also be consulted in a calendar form in the ILO Events App.
OVERVIEW
The International Labour Conference is the ILO's highest decision making body. It meets annually, bringing together the tripartite delegations from the Organization’s 187 member States and a number of observers from other international actors to consider a series of topics placed on its agenda by the Governing Body of the ILO.The Conference is composed of a plenary and a number of committees set up to consider the standing items on the Conference agenda, and technical committees to deal with technical items. Details about each standing and technical committee are available on the page Committees on the agenda.
Group meetings
In order to allow committees to begin their substantive work on the first day of the Conference, provision has been made for the holding of preparatory meetings of the full Government, Employers’ and Workers’ groups either on Sunday, 9 June, or in the morning of Monday, 10 June, prior to the opening sitting, or both. It is at these meetings that the groups will elect their Officers, make proposals relating to the composition of the various committees and become acquainted with Conference procedure. Similarly, provision will be made for preparatory meetings for the groups in each of the technical committees, to be held as deemed appropriate by each group. The members of tripartite national delegations may therefore wish to arrive in Geneva in advance, so that they can take part in these meetings.The time and venue of all group meetings will be announced in the Daily Bulletin.
Opening sitting
The 108th Centenary Session of the International Labour Conference in 2019 will open at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, 10 June. The opening sitting will take place in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations. It consists of the following elements, and will include an address by a representative of the host country, Swiss Federal Councillor H.E. Mr. Alain Berset:
- formal opening by the Chairperson of the Governing Body;
- election of the President of the International Labour Conference;
- election of the Vice-Presidents of the Conference;
- nominations of the Officers of the groups;
- constitution and composition of standing committees and committees for items on the agenda;
- proposals for suspension of certain provisions of the Conference Standing Orders and other formalities necessary to set the Conference in motion. As last year, and pending the adoption of amendments to the Standing Orders of the Conference, these proposed suspensions will be presented in a Provisional Record published prior to the Conference, to avoid announcing them at length during the opening sitting; delegation of authority to the Officers of the Conference;
- opening remarks by the Director-General of the ILO;
- presentation by the Chairperson of the Governing Body of his report to the Conference;
- opening addresses by the Employers’ and Workers’ group Chairpersons;
- address by Swiss Federal Councillor H.E. Mr. Alain Berset;
- closing of the sitting.
Conference committees
Most Conference committees begin their work soon after the opening sitting and will continue to sit until the middle of the second week of the event. Conference committees meet concurrently, and work throughout the Conference, before finalizing their reports, conclusions or any instruments they may have drafted, which are then submitted to the plenary for adoption. With the exception of the Committee on the Application of Standards, all other Committees are expected to finish their work by Thursday, 20 June, by lunch time.
High level section of the Plenary
To mark the celebration of the Centenary of the Organization, the Plenary will sit in a high-level section to receive the visits of several heads of State and Government. This section will be held in the Assembly Hall on the third floor of the Assembly Building of the Palais des Nations. It will start after the opening of the Conference on Monday, 10 June, and will continue all day on Tuesday 11 June and in the morning of Wednesday 12 June. The high-level section will resume on Wednesday 19 June and will continue on Thursday 20 June.
In the afternoon of Thursday, 20 June, former Directors-General Mr Juan Somavia and Mr Michel Hansenne, will engage in a conversation in the Assembly Hall, moderated by Director-General Guy Ryder, on the ILO’s contribution to peace and stability, examining what we can learn from the past as we look to the future world of work and the future of the ILO.
The Conference will also receive the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres, on its last day Friday, 21 June at 10.a.m. The address by the Secretary-General will be followed by the adoption of the various committees’ outcomes.
More information about the high-level visits will be announced in due course on the High-Level visits webpage, and during the Conference in the Daily Bulletin.
Plenary discussion of the Reports of the Director-General and of the Chairperson of the Governing Body
The plenary sittings of the Conference devoted to the discussion of the Reports of the Director-General and of the Chairperson of the Governing Body will also be held in the Assembly Hall on the third floor of the Assembly Building of the Palais des Nations.
The Director-General of the International Labour Office will present his Report to the Conference during the opening sitting. It will consist of the report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work. The Chairperson of the Governing Body will also submit during the opening sitting a report to the Conference on the work carried out by the Governing Body from June 2018 to June 2019.
The dates of these sittings devoted to the discussion of the reports of the Director-General and the Chairperson of the Governing Body are Wednesday 12 June, afternoon and full days on Thursday 13 June, Friday 14 June, Monday 17 June and Tuesday 18 June.
In order to speak in plenary on these reports, it is necessary to register in advance. For more details, consult the registration to speak in plenary webpage.
Thematic forums
On the occasion of the Organization’s centenary, the Governing Body also decided that a number of thematic forums connected to the future of work will be held during the Conference, between Thursday 13 June and Tuesday 18 June, in room XX at the Palais des Nations. For more details, click here.
Adoption of the Committee outcomes
Committees will present the outcome of their deliberations to the plenary for debate and adoption throughout Friday 21 June, unless they can be made available earlier, as is likely to be the case with the report of the Finance Committee. The reports and outcomes of the various committees will be published as Provisional Records.
In accordance with the Constitution of the ILO, the adoption by the Conference of the Programme and Budget and of any international labour standard requires a two-third majority record vote, to be conducted by electronic means. The tentative dates for those votes are included in the schematic programme of work of the Conference.
Closing ceremony
The closing sitting will take place in plenary at the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations o Friday, 21 June 2019, in the afternoon, after the discussion of the last committee report.