General Federation of Trade Unions - Statement by the GCTU

GCTU URGES IPA TO GET ILO STANDARDS RATIFIED
20 May 2004

The General Confederation of Trade Unions called on the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA) of the Commonwealth of Independent States to promote a rapid ratification by the CIS countries of another series of key ILO conventions the unions believe important. In a letter to Chairman of the IPA Council Sergey Mironov, GCTU President Mikhail Shmakov and General Secretary Vladimir Scherbakov stressed the ratification was “vital for the protection of CIS workers’ socio-economic rights and interests in the specific conditions of building a market economy and respective social and labour relations”.

Mr Sergey Mironov
Chairman of the Council
Inter-Parliamentary Assembly
of the Member-States
of the Commonwealth of Independent States

St.Petersburg, Russia

Mr Chairman,

Solving the most acute social problems is currently a top priority for all CIS member-states; without accomplishing this task, we do not believe they will be able to ensure optimum economic growth and secure social and political stability. In this context, it is particularly important for the states to observe the universally accepted international labour standards as formulated in the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

In 1996, the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU) called upon the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA) to recommend the Commonwealth countries to ratify the basic ILO conventions.

The initiative won the support of the Assembly, which has produced positive results. By now, practically all the ILO conventions recommended at that time by the Assembly have been ratified by an absolute majority of CIS states.

In the present-day situation, we find it expedient for us to approach the IPA with a new request for further measures be taken for immediate ratification by all the Commonwealth countries of an additional number of key ILO conventions that are vital for the protection of CIS workers’ socio-economic rights and interests in the specific conditions of building a market economy and respective social and labour relations.

We propose these conventions should be as follows:

Convention No.97 concerning Migration for Employment;

Convention No.102 concerning Minimum Standards of Social Security;

Convention No.117 concerning Basic Aims and Standards of Social Policy;

Convention No.131 concerning Minimum Wage Fixing;

Convention No.132 concerning Annual Holidays with Pay

Convention No.135 concerning Protection and Facilities to be Afforded to Workers’ Representatives in the Undertaking

Convention No.144 concerning Tripartite Consultations to Promote the Implementation of International Labour Standards

Convention No.154 concerning the Promotion of Collective Bargaining

Convention No.168 concerning Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment

Convention No.173 concerning the Protection of Workers’ Claims in the Event of the Insolvency of their Employer

Convention No.183 concerning the Revision of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised) of 1952

We would be much obliged if you could refer this proposal of ours to a forthcoming plenary session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and recommend that the parliaments of all the CIS countries give positive consideration to the issue of ratifying the above mentioned international labour standards.

Yours sincerely,

Mikhail Shmakov Vladimir Scherbakov
President GCTU General Secretary GCTU