ILO Activities

ILO activities with regard to the financial services sector and professional services have fallen mainly into the areas of tripartite meetings, research and publications. In recent years five major meetings were held of concern to the sectors. The themes selected included the social effects of structural change in banking (1993), recent developments affecting salaried employees and professional workers -- including their skills training and retraining required to match the new occupational profiles in commerce and offices (1994), productivity and employment in commerce and offices (1994), and women in management (1997).

The Tripartite Meeting on the Employment Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Banking and Financial Services Sector, held in Geneva in February 2001, brought together representatives from 18 Member States as well as 20 Employer and 20 Worker delegates. Representatives from a number of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations also participated as observers.

Recent publications include reports for and of the above-mentioned meetings, as well as a series of sectoral working papers on related themes. A document of particular interest to managerial and professional personnel is the Compendium of principles and good practices, which was drafted by a Tripartite Meeting in 1977. It provides guidelines for governments, employers and workers and their organizations for the adoption of policies, and reaffirms certain principles -- such as freedom of association and collective bargaining, participation in decision-making, security of employment, and equal opportunities between men and women -- as they relate to professional employment. Also of interest, Trade union rights of managerial staff: An international perspective provides an overview of law and practice regarding trade union rights in 30 countries. It is available in English, French and Spanish.