Possible process for the submission of ILO Conventions and - PDF document

Possible process for the submission of ILO Conventions and Recommendations to the competent authority NOTE 1: ILO’s “Memorandum concerning the obligation to submit conventions and recommendations to the competent authorities” explains the obligation of submission, and contains a questionnaire for reporting. It is available at: http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/information- resources-and-publications/WCMS_087324/lang--en/index.htm. NOTE: 2: This document is intended to be an aid to assist establishing in a member State a process for submission of ILO Conventions and Recommendations, if there is none at the moment. The ILO is not requiring or suggesting to adopt any one of these, or to change the existing procedure to one of these. Each country is to establish its own process based on the national law, practice and mechanisms, taking into account the contents of the ILO Memorandum on submission. NOTE 3: In this note, the competent authority is assumed to be Parliament. Submission of ILO Conventions and Recommendations to the competent authority – possible steps Steps Details 1. Internal meeting in The meeting topics may be:  the labour Review of the request from the ILO concerning submission to department the Competent Authority (Sent to governments around August and September every year) - Note deadline and documents referenced.  Review of the Conventions/Recommendations in question to familiarize with the instruments. 2. Consultation with the The consultation points may be:  Labour Commissioner, The obligation for submission to the Competent Authority.  See ILO Constitution Article 19(5)-(7) Permanent Secretary,  or Minister The timeline for submission as set out in the ILO request letter  The Parliament as the Competent Authority  The procedures to be followed to fulfil the submission obligation.  At the end of this consultation, the Labour Commissioner / Permanent Secretary / Minister is to confirm the procedure to be followed (e.g. Steps 3-7) 3. Tripartite consultation Consultation may take place at the existing tripartite body (including to review the ILO a body for Convention No. 144), or tripartite meetings specifically for instruments this purpose if there is no such body. (See Part VII (page 5) and Report questions For this review, a discussion report may be prepared. For example, the following matters may be covered in the report: 1

Steps Details  Applicability of the provisions of instrument to the country V and X (page 7) of the  Provisions which would support development plans, or labour ILO Memorandum) policy and legislation  Gap analysis of between current law and the ILO instruments in question At the end of consultation, there should be recommendations to the Minister on the action to be taken (e.g. ratify the Conventions, amend the relevant laws, and/or develop necessary policies, etc.). 4. Preparation of an The contents may be, for instance:  instrument (e.g. a Brief Overview of ILO  Note for Cabinet) to Explanation of Conventions and Recommendations  seek its approval for Explanation of the obligation for submission to the competent submission to authority.  See ILO Constitution Article 19(5)-(7) Parliament  Executive summary of the Convention or Recommendations concerned.  Implications of submission to the competent authority  Timeframe for submission as set out in the ILO request letter  Implications of non-submission/late submission  Recommendations, which may be:  To submit to Parliament  To inform the Parliament of the recommendations from the tripartite consultation  Attachment: Report of the tripartite consultation, together with the recommendations from it (see Step 3 above) 5. Submission to Cabinet Labour Minister explains based on the Note for Cabinet. (if Cabinet approval is required prior to submission) 6. Laying in Parliament Labour Minister submits the ILO instruments officially to Parliament. Parliament is invited to consider the instruments. Any decisions taken by Parliament are to be communicated to the ILO in a report (see Step 7 below) 7. Reporting to the ILO The contents of the report is based on the questionnaire contained in pages 7-8 of the ILO Memorandum. Copies of the report must be sent to the employers’ and the workers’ organizations. 2

Workshop Exercise: Use of the Memorandum on Submission to the Competent Authority and ILO Constitution to respond to frequently asked questions Q1. What is a Convention? What is a Recommendation? How are they different? Convention: .............................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................. Protocol: ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... Recommendation: .................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... Difference between Conventions (Protocols) and Recommendations: ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... Q2. Why do I need to submit this to the Parliament? ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... Q3. How do we know that the Parliament is the “Competent Authority”? ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... Q4. What is the time frame for submission ...why can’t this be done next year? ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... 3