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OCR for page 15
3
National Governments
YADIRA DEL CARMEN ADAME~OFFICE OF STATISTICS
AND CENSUSES, PANAMA
Ms. Adames gave a brief overview of the ILO Conventions that have
been ratified by Panama, adding that "permanent assessment" is required to
guarantee that compliance is being achieved. Statistics are a fundamental
element of this assessment, she said, and Panama has several agencies and
instruments that provide information relevant to monitoring the labor mar-
ket and working conditions. This information is made public through the
publication of annual bulletins, and it is accessible on the website of the
general controller's office. Box 3-1 shows the primary instruments and some
of their data elements.
Ms. Adames said that conceptions of how these statistics might be
used to determine compliance with labor standards may vary from country
to country and even within countries. For example, Panama considers as
employed those people who worked at least one hour during the week-of-
reference period, and this has been the subject of great debate internally. In
an effort to reach consensus and harmonize the concepts used in the House-
hold Survey, the Directorate of Statistics and Censuses meets regularly with
employer and worker representatives.
15
OCR for page 16
16
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Statistical Instruments nd Data Eiements in Panama
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Child Labor Survey
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ERICK BRIONES MINISTRY OF LABOR, Cost RICA
Mr. Briones discussed labor inspection in Costa Rica, a task that un-
derwent significant changes several years ago. In 2000 Costa Rica's system
of labor inspection was decentralized, and the task was assigned to six re-
gional offices coordinated by the National Directorate, which is located in
San Jose. The objectives of the new inspection system include
· a preventive approach,
· active participation of employers and workers in the inspection pro-
cess, and
· a high level of productivity in relation to the available resources.
Mr. Briones pointed out that in Costa Rica, the Ministry of Labor
OCR for page 17
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
17
cannot issue fines or sanctions directly, as can be done in other countries,
such as Spain. After identifying violations, the ministry must give the em-
ployer a warning, which can be followed by an application to the Labor
Court for a remedy. Mr. Briones explained that court rulings are monitored
in order to evaluate the impact and efficiency of inspection activities. "Ifwe
have accused 2,000 companies, and we only obtain 10 percent convictions,
only 10 percent are sanctioned, something wrong is happening. We are
failing to do our job Lbecause] we are not presenting enough evidence to
the court." In 1999 the percentage of court rulings against an employer was
35 percent. The following year, that rate increased to 46 percent.
Between 2000 and 2001, violations of occupational health standards
were the most common in Costa Rica. Mr. Briones said, "We are talking
specifically about companies that do not have occupational risk insurance
and those that have the minimum coverage and don't want to increase it."
HANS LEO C:ACDA~DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND
EMPLOYMENT, PHIOPPINES
Mr. Cacdac discussed the roles of the Bureau of Labor Relations in the
Philippines:
· serving as the central registry of unions and collective bargaining
agreements;
· adjudicating, or assisting in the adjudication of, intra- or inter-union
and representation disputes;
· acting as a secretariat of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council; and
.
managing the workers' training and scholarship fund.
He stressed the importance of administrative rule-making in the pro-
cess of ensuring respect for workers' rights within political systems that seek
a separation of powers. "The thin line separating enforcement and consti-
tutional and statutory norms for compliance with Conventions 87 and 98
will be the vast body of rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of
Labor." The Philippines has both a socially progressive constitution (drafted
after the end of the Marcos era) and comprehensive labor legislation guar-
anteeing the rights of association, which goes to the extent of criminalizing
interference with the exercise of that right. However, "the real core of labor
standards is enforcement, and the level of enforcement is in the executive
branch of the government.
,,
OCR for page 18
18
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
In addition to shedding light on compliance with international stan-
dards for external assessors, the monitoring of the government's regulatory
and enforcement efforts, through statistics and other means, can spur
changes in national policies. "The inclusion of simplified procedures For
registration of unions and collective bargaining agreements]," Mr. Cacdac
saicl, "was born out of statistical data showing numerous delays." The pro-
cess cycle for registration has now been reduced from 30 days to 10 days.
Similarly, the petition process for certification elections is clown to 45 days
from 90 days. Regional comparisons, Mr. Cacdac said, showed that in
Singapore, this process only takes 15 days, and "that is our dream at this
moment."
Mr. Cacdac called for greater collaboration between administrative and
judicial processes. "There have been a series of decisions Fof the Supreme
Court of the Philippines] that appear to have undermined the right to self-
organization . . . because they try to snuffthe life out of a labor union at the
point of seeking a certification election." He said that departmental action
at an administrative level "without being disrespectful of the Supreme
Court"—was required in order to "adjust and align ourselves with the Con-
ventions." These adjustments came in the form of amendments to proce-
dural rules, removing some of the requirements that had been so strictly
interpreted by the court to the detriment of nascent unions.
Mr. Cacdac's third key point was that "compliance with the core labor
standards and a search for industrial peace go hand in hand." He said that
one of the difficulties the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
has encountered is "the mistaken notion that seeking compliance with the
core labor standards means seeking rights for the workers or ensuring that
the rights of workers are protected." He said that it is also important to
emphasize the "obligations and responsibilities Ethat go] hand-in-hand with
rights." Going beyond the rights-oriented approach is one way to "tran-
scend the core labor standards." As an example, Mr. Cacdac said that DOLE
is heavily involved in enforcing Article 241 of the Philippine Labor Code,
which covers rights and conditions of union membership. "This entrenches
a state policy to protect the worker from abuses that may be practiced by an
oppressive and corrupt union leadership." Furthermore, DOLE engages in
dialogue with the ILO "on principles that go beyond the mandate or the
wording of the Convention" in the hopes that "maybe it would show our
sincere desire to comply with the basic core Convention."
Mr. Cacdac concluded by saying, "All told, assessing our country's com-
pliance with core labor standards entails close attention to details~etails
OCR for page 19
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
19
as to how we have carried out the constitutional and statutory policies
relative to the right to self-organization; how we strive for industrial peace
in our country; how we desire to go beyond the basic tenets of freedom of
association and collective bargaining and into the realm of more intricate,
. . .. ..
comprenenslve compliance.
EUGENIO SOLANO GALDER0N MINISTRY OF LABOR,
Cost RIGA
Citing the ongoing trade negotiations between Central America and
the United States, Mr. Calderon, the director of labor affairs in Costa Rica,
focused his presentation on the incorporation of workers' rights provisions
into any future agreement. "There is no doubt that the increase in the
liberalization of trade has to be accompanied by measures to protect the
core labor standards," he said. "The explicit protection of labor standards
in the letter and spirit of the free trade agreements should be the first step
1 · 1 1 · · ',
taken in tnat direction.
Mr. Calderon discussed the important role of the ministries of labor in
the region, ''specifically in the areas related to the treatment and approach
of labor relations, the verification of standards compliance through labor
inspections, employment policies, and, in general, the administration of
work within the new concepts that are part oftoday's labor activities." Given
these critical and difficult roles, the provision of necessary human and teeh-
nologieal resources is required so that the ministries of labor are no longer
treated as "the Cinderella of national budgets."
Returning to the issue of labor in the pending regional agreement, Mr.
Calderon cited the criteria for free trade agreements developed by the Law-
yers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR). LCHR, a U.S.-based non-
profit human rights organization, states that free trade agreements must
meet the following minimum requirements:
· Negotiations must be conducted in a transparent way.
· Only governments that comply with eve labor standards should be
. . . ~
invited to sign.
· Basic labor rights must be an integral part of the agreement.
· Enforcement mechanisms for labor rights must be equal to enforee-
ment mechanisms for any other rights and obligations embodied in the
agreement.
· Trade remedies should be applicable to labor standards.
OCR for page 20
20
.
natory parties.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Labor rights must be enforceable in the entire territories of the sig-
· A permanent labor standards monitoring body must be part of the
agreement.
Mr. Calderon said that following this approach would "strengthen the
basic and legal protection of workers' rights in our region, having as a fun-
damental premise that an increase in international trade should not be
achieved at the expense of workers' rights."
VICE-MINISTER JOSE ECHEANDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOR, PERU
Vice-Minister Echeandia discussed the divergent trends relating to
capital and labor within the process of globalization. "Although there is an
unprecedented volume of capital and technology mobilization across bor-
ders," he said, "the utilization of labor is subjected to many obstacles. In
other words, the asymmetry between capital and labor expands global in-
equalities because the highly industrialized group of nations is in a position
to control the capital while the other group developing countries such as
ours—can only provide their labor force."
Turning to labor standards, Vice-Minister Echeandia discussed the sig-
nificant impact of unemployment and underemployment. While unem-
ployment in Peru was 8.1 percent in 2002, underemployment was nearly
56 percent. The underemployed included "workers who have no social se-
curity rights, no vacation rights, no overtime payment, no regulated work-
ing hours, etc." For those who are employed, the quality of employment
has steadily declined, he said, as part-time work—with reduced benefits-
becomes more common.
Employers in Peru have also been able to manipulate the rules appli-
cable to trainees in the workplace, Vice-Minister Echeandia said. "The
implementation of very extensive labor apprenticeship programs and
preprofessional practicum has allowed companies to improve labor costs
and to mock their legal labor obligations." The current administration has
issued an order to reduce the percentage of these workers in each company
from a maximum of 40 percent to only 10 percent. This has advantages as
well as disadvantages. Although this reduces the number of workers-in-
training who do not receive full benefits, small and medium enterprises
OCR for page 21
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
21
that have fewer than 10 workers are now unable to legally hire apprentices
or offer this method of skills development.
The reduction of employment opportunities has led to an increase in
labor migration and in the informality of the Peruvian economy, with con-
comitant declines in job quality as the labor supply continues to outpace
formal demand. In the face of these problems, which are exacerbated by
"external debt, recession, and leniency of labor laws," Peru has undertaken
several policy initiatives. First, the current economic policy is now oriented
toward! controlling inflation and promoting economic growth. The govern-
ment has also implemented a program called A Trabajar (Let's Work) that
has given jobs to 125,000 workers in its first 20 months. The National
Labor Council is revising labor legislation with the aim of"unifying and
reorienting Ethe law] with the purpose of making it more viable and flex-
ible." This includes a proposal for a law pertaining to micro- and small
enterprises that would allow these enterprises, which have trouble comply-
ing with labor law because of low competitiveness, to observe lower stan-
dards than larger enterprises while still maintaining core ILO principles.
GERMAN LEITZELAR—MINISTER OF LABOR, HONDURAS
Minister Leitzelar said that international labor standards have been
incorporated into the national legislation of Honduras since the 1 950s. He
said that looking at the comprehensive protections found in the Labor
Code—issued in 1959 following a strike in the banana sector might make
us say "that we live in a labor heaven because everything regarding the
minimum standards is duly regulated, but when we compare this situation
with reality, we find that the legislation is not sufficient to be able to talk
about the application of these labor standards." He pointed to "enormous
problems" in two areas: (1) the control, supervision, and monitoring of
child labor and (2) the health of the economy.
Minister Leitzelar linked these problems to the growth of the informal
economy, where 1.3 million of the 2.4 million economically active people
in Honduras now work "outside every legal framework of social security,
occupational safety, and, above all, with no compliance to the minimum
labor standards of ILO Conventions." He added that this problem is likely
to continue to grow; every year 80,000 people ages 14 to 24 seek to enter
the Honduran job market, which provides only 20,000 formal-sector jobs
annually.
OCR for page 22
22
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Addressing these problems will require bridging the gap between the
framework of labor rights and current economic policies because "decisions
in the economic arena are almost exclusively taken totally divorced from a
national social policy." This challenge may be particularly difficult, Minis-
ter Leitzelar concluded, without the involvement of the union movement.
Currently, only 7 percent of the economically active population is affiliated
with trade unions, down from an estimated 15 percent in the 1960s. As a
result, the union movement "is constantly losing legitimacy in the frame-
work of defense of social and labor rights."
HONORABLE ASHRAF QURESHI HIGH COMMISSIONER
FOR PAKISTAN IN SRI LANKA, PAKISTAN
Mr. Qureshi gave an overview of the Pakistani government's commit-
ment to compliance with core international labor standards. In 2002 Paki-
stan announced a new labor policy based on the premise that "industrial
growth, higher productivity, competitiveness, and decent working condi-
tions can only be achieved through harmonious industrial relations." He
referred to the formation of the Workers-Employers Bilateral Council of
Pakistan (WEBCOP)~iscussed by Mr. Siddiqui in Chapter 5 as a "pio-
neering and positive development" in terms of encouraging dialogue and
building trust among the social partners.
Pakistan is also in the course of consolidating its labor legislation. Re-
flecting a point made by several speakers throughout the three regional
forums, Mr. Qureshi explained, "The existing labor legislation unfortu-
nately is voluminous, overlapping in its coverage, and anomalous in defini-
tion and scope." The result of the planned changes will be a consolidation
of laws into six categories:
1. industrial relations
2. employment conditions,
3. wages,
4. human resource development,
5. occupational safety and health, and
6. labor welfare and protection.
Acknowledging that Pakistan has often been the subject of criticism-
which he said has been "unfair to a large extent" for child labor, Mr.
Qureshi discussed the work the country has been doing with the ILO's
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NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
23
IPEC (International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour). The
national action plan consists of several interrelated strategies:
· progressive elimination of child labor from all sectors of employment;
· immediate elimination of the worst forms of child labor;
· coordination of child labor eradication efforts with other policy
measures such as provision of universal primary education, poverty allevia-
tion, and expansion of social safety nets;
· awareness-raising and dissemination of information related to child
labor; and
· regular monitoring of implementation of the national action plan.
.
Since Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with the ILO-
IPEC in 1994, 25,000 children have directly benefited from the action
plan. Progress has also been made, he said, in developing a national consen-
sus list of hazardous occupations through tripartite consultations and plan-
ning research studies and baseline surveys to gauge children's involvement
. . 1
in various employment sectors.
As for forced and bonded labor, Mr. Qureshi said that the scale and
scope of the problem "has not been determined in a very consistent man-
ner," but current programs may give more accurate measurements. With
ILO support, the Ministry of Labor has convened a Bonded Labor Re-
search Forum, and researchers have been conducting rapid assessments
throughout the country. Mr. Qureshi cautioned that "without taking a ho-
listic approach to tackle Child labor and forced labor], there is little chance
of success. Prescriptive solutions coupled with punitive action often create
more problems than they ... solve."
Mr. Qureshi conduded by discussing human resource development as an
important part of Pakistan's labor policies. To improve the provision
of traders,, there has been a restructuring of the National Training Bureau
and decentralization of vocational training to the provinces where
employer-led skill development councils are being supported and encouraged.
BRIGADIER GENERAL M. MOFIZUR RAHMAN-
BANGLADESH EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES AUK HORITY,
BANGLADESH
Mr. Rahman described the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Au-
thority (BEPZA), an autonomous government body responsible for the
OCR for page 24
24
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
promotion of investment and generation of employment within its zones.
Currently, there are 174 industries operating in the Export Processing Zones
(EPZs) of Bangladesh, employing more than 120,000 workers and produc-
ing almost 18 percent of the country's exports. Mr. Rahman noted that 61
percent of the EPZ workforce is female; certain industries, such as electron-
ics and camera lens production, prefer women because "they concentrate
more, and the quality of work is better, and rejection Of products because
of quality control issues | is less."
In the early 1980s, as EPZs were being established in Bangladesh, all
labor laws were made applicable to these zones. However, in the late 1 980s,
workers "carried out strikes and other unruly activities," Mr. Rahman said,
and the flow of foreign direct investment was "seriously interrupted." He
attributed these events to the "instigation of the outsiders." As a result, the
government suspended the application of certain labor laws within the
EPZs, including the Factories Act of 19ti5, the Employment of Labor Act
of 1965, and the Industrial Relations Ordinance of 1969. As an alternative
measure, the BEPZA issued a series of regulations covering working condi-
tions in the EPZs, which Mr. Rahman described as the best approach for
ensuring "reasonable wages, fair treatment of workers, and provision of
reasonable facilities for workers." He added, however, that the government
of Bangladesh has agreed to reapply the national labor laws to the EPZs as
of January 2004. The challenge is to make that transition smoothly as cer-
tain rights such as freedom of association and the right to organize are
introduced. Currently, workers are not allowed to form unions, but Work-
ers' Welfare Committees (WWCs) are being formed at the enterprise level,
Mr. Rahman said. Five workers from each factory represent the workers in
resolving disputes with management, and a Labor Relations Tribunal has
been established to handle disputes that cannot be settled by the WWC.
After his presentation, Mr. Rahman was asked to identify the "outsid-
ers" he had referred to as instigators of the problems leading to the suspen-
sion of labor laws in the EPZs. He responded by saying that he believed
that the majority of workers, whether inside or outside of the EPZs, are
"very good, very docile, very gentle. They don't want to lose their jobs."
However, he added, the problems were caused by a "small group of people
who want more than they deserve" and were "multiplied because of the
instigations from the people outside, including the unions outside."
OCR for page 25
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
EDITHA RIVERA- DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND
EMPLOYMENT, PHIMPPINES
25
Ms. Rivera's presentation complemented that of her colleague, Leo
Cacdac, providing additional information on labor standards in the Philip-
pines in a paper titled "Labor Statistics as Indicators of Compliance to
International Labor Standards." She gave an overview of the coverage and
sources of labor statistics in the Philippines. In general, she said, DOLE
gathers information on
· manpower development and employment promotion,
· workers' welfare and protection, and
.
maintenance of industrial peace.
The sources for these statistics include censuses, surveys, administrative
reports, and research reports and studies.
Ms. Rivera noted that the administrative records supply the largest
portion of the available data. There are two types of these records: manda-
tory reports and transaction records. Mandatory reports are required of
DOLE's "clients," which include establishments and labor organizations.
The transaction reports are submitted by DOLE's 16 regional offices
throughout the archipelago; they include statistics from inspection reports,
accident investigations, labor relations cases, and registration of unions and
collective bargaining agreements.
The data collected from the various sources are included in the Statisti-
cal and Performance Reporting System of the DOLE, which is "conceived
to be the Edepartment's] mechanism ... Efor monitoring] the implementa-
tion of its programs." Statistics have been used to assess compliance rates in
certain establishments or sectors, Ms. Rivera said, as well as to determine
the allocation of departmental resources. The data received have also been
used, for example, to identify regions in which labor inspection targets are
not being met so that the department can redeploy inspectors from other
regions as necessary.
EMILIA ROGA MINISTRY OF LABOR, ARGENTINA
Ms. Roca said that Argentina shares the common concerns of the re-
gion, such as the deterioration and informalization of the employment
market. In this context, she discussed the impact of policies recommended
OCR for page 26
26
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
by international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank. She referred to several fundamental laws that
were passed in the 1990s in order to restructure the Argentinean labor
market. Although legislation covering terms of employment, contracts, oc-
cupational safety, and family welfare was adopted, the results were ques-
tionable.
The National Law of Employment of 1992 incorporated more lenient
rules for hiring ant! firing and reduced employers' compensation programs
and contributions to social security. Ms. Roca said that two serious issues
arose from this: First, there was a great deal of employment turnover as
''fixed-time'' contracts became more prevalent, and, second, "there was also
a change in the pension regime that meant a transfer of important resources
to private capitalization that, to a certain extent, had an impact on the
public deficit problems that led to the crisis in Argentina." Other changes
affected occupational safety and labor inspection as monitoring of work-
place accidents fell increasingly under the purview of insurance companies
rather than the state.
Ms. Roca said that data for Argentina in the 1 990s raise many ques-
tions about the impact of these efforts at reform. Unemployment rose
from 6 or 7 percent in the early 1990s to 21.5 percent in 2002; more than
50 percent of Argentina's population live in poverty, and approximately
25 percent suffer from malnutrition even though Argentina is a food-
producing country. With 3.5 million Argentineans continuing to receive
pensions, reductions in employer contributions represented about 50 per-
cent of Argentina's new debt in the 1990s.
Ms. Roca concluded her presentation with a description of a
government-sponsored program called Jefes y Jefas die Hogar Desocupados
(Unemployed Heads of Households). This program currently provides fi-
nancial assistance to more than 450,000 workers who have lost formal-
sector jobs. However, Ms. Roca added, the benefits offered to these work-
ers intended to be the income equivalent of what they would have earned
in the labor market are decreasing. She also discussed an interesting find-
ing from this program: Providing this income only served to reduce the
poverty rate by eight percentage points. "This means that poverty is not
due to unemployment; it is due to poor quality of employment. It is a
problem of the precarious jobs people in the poor sectors have. It is a
problem of the constant transition between employment and unemploy-
ment, which does not allow them to have enough money to support their
r ·1. ''
tamllles.
OCR for page 27
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
27
SERGIO BECERRIL SEGOVIA—DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND
SOCIAL SERVICES, Mexico
Mr. Segovia presented an overview of Mexico's adoption of interna-
tional labor standards and the information sources available to assist in
monitoring compliance with those standards. Mexico has ratified six of the
eight fundamental ILO Conventions, and in order to comply with report-
ing requirements, information is drawn from a variety of surveys the Na-
tional Employment Survey in particular and from administrative records.
While these sources provide a great deal of information for ILO reporting,
Mr. Segovia said that there have been difficulties in responding fully to
areas of concern, "especially those that have to do with the observations
from the ECommittee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and
Recommendations (CEACR) I about very specific issues."
In 2003, for example, the CEACR asked for additional information
on reports of discrimination against pregnant women including preg-
nancy testing prior to recruitment or denial of benefits particularly in the
EPZs (maquiladora industry3. The CEACR also requested additional infor-
mation on child labor, citing estimates providecl by the International Con-
fecleration of Free Trade Unions that there are approximately five million
working children in Mexico, two million of whom are under 12. On these
two issues, Mr. Segovia said that the National Employment Survey "does
not deal with issues such as discrimination toward job applicants, Land]
there are no sources aimed at obtaining information about the worst forms
of child labor because they are illegal."
Mr. Segovia noted several data problems that impact compliance as-
sessments more generally:
Some sources of information do not include variables of interest or don't do
so with the detail required to draw conclusions about situations as required
by the Conventions. Some other sources of information have the problem
that their coverage is temporary and insufficient, which causes a lack of data
that does not allow making comparisons over time. In addition, no com-
parisons can be made at an international level because of methodological
differences.
Mr. Segovia provided several examples of Mexico's "methodological
differences" in studying the labor market. One divergence from interna-
tional recommendations is to include people who are "about to start a new
job and those suspended temporarily from their jobs and ... expecting to
return" among those classified as employed. He conduded by saying that
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28
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
employment and unemployment indicators are being revised through a
technical committee on labor statistics and that the Secretariat plans to
implement a "labor information service that can be accessed easily and that
has a flexible consultation process that will make the information more
transparent."
Responding to a question from the audience about the impact of the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the levels and quality
of employment, Mr. Segovia said that the National Survey on Salaries, Tech-
nology and Training in the Manufacturing Sector may be useful for this
purpose. The most recent survey, which was carried out in 1999, "will con-
tribute important information" for carrying out such an analysis.
JUSTICE BERNARI)O VAN DER LAAT—SUPREME COURT,
Cost RICA
Despite the proliferation of law schools in Costa Rica (over 50 institu-
tions for a population of four million), Justice van der Laat said that knowl-
edge of international labor standards is lacking. "We assume that all justice
operators know about them Lbut] I seriously doubt this is the case." In his
30 years of teaching law, Justice van der Laat has found that "students
would probably not consider labor law as an economically rewarding pro-
fession," and the curricula of law schools reflect this; very few courses deal-
ing with labor law—particularly international standards are available on
Costa Rica's campuses.
According to Justice van der Laat, Costa Rica's 1943 Labor Code in-
cluded the provision that ratified ILO Conventions were equivalent to na-
tional law. This was followed by a 1968 amendment to the constitution
that stipulated that Conventions approved by Congress would have a higher
standing than national law. While Justice van der Laat attributes this
amendment to Costa Rica's desire to join the Central American Common
Market, rather than a desire to elevate ILO standards, the amendment did
provide "important support for Conventions such as those ofthe ILO to be
legally enforced."
However, this legal framework has not necessarily provided results, as
Justice van der Laat explained.
For instance, Convention 87 and Convention 98 were ratified in 1960, yet I
am sure that for about 30 years, the Costa Rican union movement has com-
plained about persecution against trade unions and about the fact that the
provisions in the Conventions were not being complied with. Something
OCR for page 29
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
important was happening. We had regulations, we amended the constitution,
we ratified important Conventions, but they were not being enforced.
29
One milestone in the effort to improve enforcement, Justice van der
Laat said, was the creation of the Constitutional Court in 1989. In a fa-
mous 1993 ruling, the court held that persons dismissed as a result of anti-
union persecution must be reinstated with full payment of lost salaries.
AcIditionally, the court established the presumption that union workers
laid off with severance pay were fired for anti-union reasons, and conse-
quently the action was nullified. Since that ruling, the Constitutional
Court has applied that line of thought in numerous cases. Justice van der
Laat's Second Chamber of the Supreme Court has also applied these stan-
dards, ordering payment of lost wages for up to four years after an unlaw-
ful dismissal.
Justice van der Laat sail! that the higher courts have an important role
to play in training other judges and lawyers on international labor stan-
dards. Application of these standards in the higher courts "will surely force
lower courts to make similar decisions because of the risk of having their
rulings overturned." Similarly, these standards will be conveyed to the at-
torneys handling the cases. In this way, Justice van der Laat said, the "judi-
cial schools" complemented by occasional ILO seminars for judges will
be able to offer the training that law schools are not currently providing.
Following his presentation, Justice van der Laat responded to a ques-
tion on the mechanisms available in Costa Rica for workers or unions to
file complaints alleging labor standards violations. He noted that the Labor
Code allows workers to petition the court, either hiring a lawyer or—as is
most often the case representing themselves to pursue the case, but there
is a limitation on the direct intervention of unions. This approach differs
from that of Panama, which was described by Luis Leon of the General
Independent Worker's Union of Panama. When Panamanian workers pur-
sue a case with the tripartite Conciliation and Decision Boards, an attorney
will be assigned free of charge or if the worker belongs to a union the
union will assume the fees. Given the complexity of legal procedures in
Costa Rica, Justice van der Laat said, without legal assistance "a worker will
probably lose." Therefore, reforms are being considered in Costa Rica that
would allow more direct involvement of unions in individual labor dis-
putes. Additionally, after a recent dispute that affected 120,000 public-
sector workers, the Ministry of Labor and the Supreme Court are engaging
with unions to study possible reforms that may pave the way for class ac-
tion suits to be filed in Costa Rica.
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30
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
::
,
: :: ::
::
: \
~:~ ~ :: ~ aft: all: ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~~::~ :: ~~ ~:~ :: ~~ ~~ ~~:~ :~Box:~342:~ ~~ : ~~ ::~ if; ~~ : ~ ~~ ~~:~
: Data on: Chi~ldren~(Ages~ 5 Extol ~1~8):~from~ Multipurpose
~Permanent~:~Household~:Survey'~Honduras~(2002;)~::
:~:: ::~
: :: ::::
:: ::~ :::
:~: ::::
::
~~;~ ;~;~;~ ;;: ~ ~~ ~~ ~;~ ;~::~
~ - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I.
Tothl population of ~~HondLi~ras ~~
Number of ~~c~hildre~n~ages: into 1~B
:P~ercentage of ch~ildren~rking
Percentage of children No attending School: :
~e~rage~n:umbe~r~of~schooling yearly
fur Working ch ildren: (ages ~ 1 :6~to ~1~8) ~ If: ~ ~~ ~~
Merge :~schooiing years~for nonworking
~~.~: ~~ ~
I, ~7
~ ~~ ~-:~ch:i~Idren ~~ ~~
;~ ~6~697~91~6:
2,54483 ~
~15:~: ::: ~~ ~~ :; :: :~
:~34~:~:; :~ ~ ~ ~~ :~ :::~:
5.6
~:::~8.6:
: :::
GLORIA LIZZETTE VEI~QUEZ~
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS, HONDURAS
: ~
Ms. Velasquez focused her presentation on monitoring child labor in
Honduras through the use of the Multipurpose Permanent Household Sur-
vey (MPHS). The overall purpose of this survey is "to produce a flow of
integrated, timely, and reliable statistical data to prepare policies, formulate
plans, and execute projects for the economic and social development of
Honduras." In addition to providing general information on population
characteristics, poverty, housing, employment, and education, the MPHS
has been used to analyze the nature and extent of child labor. Selected
statistics on child labor are provided in Box 3-2.
Ms. Velasquez emphasized the detrimental effects on children, as well
as on the future of the labor market, when they sacrifice education for early
entry into the labor force. "This is of great concern because if this situation
continues, we will not have children trained for the new demands, and they
will be young adults who will work in nonproductive activities or activities
with little production Land] will not participate in the country's growth."
TATIANAVELAZCO—MINISTRY OF LABOR, PERU
Ms. Velazco said, "One of the most outstanding characteristics of
EPeru'sl labor market is the relative importance that the private salaried
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NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
31
worker has." Private salaried workers represent 40 percent ofthe labor force,
public-sector employees account for 10 percent, and "independent work-
ers, self-employed persons, and workers who work for relatives without pay,
which almost reaches 8 percent," make up the remaining 50 percent. As in
other countries, about half of Peru's workers are not covered by national
labor legislation. This reality, Ms. Velazco said, is an important consider-
ation when one is trying to understand the application of standards in
Peru.
To gather information on the labor market in Peru, the Ministry of
Labor conducts several surveys, the "most important" of which is the Na-
tional Household Survey. Ms. Velazco said that this survey is applied "di-
rectly," that is, no information is accepted from third parties. Each member
of the household who participates in the labor market must fill out the
survey form independently. Ms. Velazco said, "This is an important issue
because the information is usually biased when the mother or some other
relative responds for the person who should be doing so."
Other valuable sources of information, Ms. Velazco said, include com-
pany surveys and the ministry's administrative records, which cover items
such as strikes, lockouts, and collective bargaining agreements. One of the
fundamental issues measured through the company surveys is the labor
turnover, which is analyzed by looking at indicators on hiring rates, dis-
missals, and contract modes. This information on transitions within the
labor market is supplemented by the household surveys. Ms. Velazco said
that her office has noticed "very interesting results" when workers' activities
are analyzed over a one-year period. Only 50 percent of the population
remains employed throughout the year, while 25 percent are "always inac-
tive," and the remaining 25 percent move in and out of employment, with
some (8 percent) managing to avoid becoming "unemployed" as officially
defined. For those who do become unemployed, the duration is "very short
[and] informal employment is like a refine for thn.se neonle who art Inok-
· r · ~ ,,
1ng tor a loo.
-ODE - r--r-
During the discussion period following her presentation, Ms. Velazco
elaborated on the statistics that are gathered concerning union membership
and the efforts to ensure consistency of the information received from ad-
ministrative records and that collected from company surveys. She noted
that the data from both demonstrate that only 8 percent of salaried em-
ployees are affiliated with a trade union. In terms of salaries, she said, the
statistics indicate that workers who are covered by collective bargaining
agreements receive higher pay. Additionally, 96 percent of workers in for-
OCR for page 32
32
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
mal establishments with 10 or more employees receive more than the mini-
mum wage. In smaller companies "where precariousness is the norm"-
Ms. Velazco recommends the use of mixed surveys, "not only for issues
related to contracts, salaries, but also to understand the context in which
the companies operate Including examination ofl labor costs, company's
sales, and labor productivity."
A.P. WICKREMASINGH~
DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR, SR! LANKA
Mr. Wickremasinghe, the deputy commissioner for labor standards in
Sri Lanka, presented an overview of that country's experience with core
labor standards. Sri Lanka has ratified all eight fundamental ILO Conven-
tions, but issues of implementation particularly with regard to the na-
tional legal framework remain before full compliance is achieved. He said
that Sri Lanka's Trade Unions Ordinance has "a lot of small problems" with
freedom of association; for example, judicial and prison officers and mem-
bers of agricultural cooperatives are prohibited from forming trade unions.
Earlier problems of freedom of association in Free Trade Zones have been
resolved, Mr. Wickremasinghe said, explaining that restrictions on the en-
try of trade union representatives were only being imposed "for security
reasons." Additionally, because the Trade Unions Ordinance stipulates that
union members must be at least 16 years of age and the minimum age for
employment in Sri Lanka is 14, amendments are being considered that
would enable these young workers to join unions.
As for forced labor and compliance with Convention 29, Mr.
Wickremasinghe acknowledged that the government needed to address the
lack of a penal sanction for the illegal imposition of forced labor and that
legal amendments would be completed "very soon." Additional issues of
concern identified by Mr. Wickremasinghe were restrictions on resignation
of military officers and the use of certain types of prison labor, but these
too, he said, have been the subject of recent legislative and administrative
action. Mr. Wickremasinghe also noted legislative measures relating to the
worst forms of child labor and an amendment to the Industrial Disputes
Act, making it mandatory for employers to recognize for collective bargain-
ing purposes a union representing 40 percent of the workers.
Following his presentation, Mr. Wickremasinghe was asked whether
labor inspectors may enter the Free Trade Zones unannounced. He re-
sponded by saying that in all establishments—whether inside or outside
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NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
33
the Zones prior notice is requires! "in order to avoid problems at the
workplace and not to interrupt their business systems." Anton Marcus of
the Free Trade Zone Workers Union asked Mr. Wickremasinghe to com-
ment on a new law that extends overtime from 100 hours per year to 60
hours per month. Mr. Wickremasinghe responded by saying that overtime
is voluntary in Sri Lanka and that disciplinary measures could not be taken
against a worker who refused to work the additional hours. These matters,
he saicl, were often handled through mutual understanding and coopera-
tion between workers and employers. Mr. Marcus disagreed on whether
this provision was mandatory and could result in termination of workers.
During the open forum, William Conklin of the Solidarity Center in Sri
Lanka returned to this issue, saying, "What happened! was that the phrase
'with consent of the workers' was taken out Lof the legislation], which can
lead to ~ facto mandatory overtime." Mr. Conklin also challenged the as-
sertion that there were mutual unclerstandings between workers and em-
ployers, noting that there were very few unions in the garment industry to
engage in any meaningful negotiations.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
child labor
