PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (14 June 1994)

That this House congratulates the International Labour Organisation on its 75th anniversary being celebrated at its general conference taking place this June; records its appreciation of the solid work in advancing the cause of tri-partite discussion, negotiation and agreement that have led to the adoption of labour standards which are bench-marks for employers and employees all over the world; expresses appreciation of the role that the British Government played in 1919 and in 1945 in supporting first the creation and then the re-establishment of the ILO; regrets the mean-minded, isolationist and hostile attitude taken by the present Government to the ILO as evidenced by the refusal of the Secretary of State for Employment, alone among the world's leading Labour Ministers, to attend the Labour Ministers' Summit Meeting organised by the ILO on Friday 10th June; expresses its belief that ILO standards and conventions, notably those protecting trade union rights, collective bargaining and the elimination of child labour should be incorporated into the disputes procedure of the new World Trade Organisation; and calls upon the United Kingdom Government to join with its partners in Europe, the United States of America, Japan, South Africa and all other civilised democracies in supporting the work and principles of the ILO in the future.

Sponsored by:
Mr Denis MacShane (Labour)