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Labour Advisory Board Report 2013-2014 - Chapter 6

Committee on the Implementation of International Labour Standards

6.1 Introduction

In 1976, the International Labour Conference adopted the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention (No.144) which aims to promote tripartite consultations among governments, employers and workers on matters related to the formulation, review and implementation of international labour standards. This Convention was applied to Hong Kong with modification in 1978. In relation to the application of this Convention, the Committee on the Implementation of International Labour Standards (CIILS) was set up in the same year on the advice of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB).

6.2 Terms of Reference

The committee is established to
  • advise on appropriate declarations to be made in respect of the application of International Labour Conventions (ILCs) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR);
  • advise on appropriate measures to be taken to promote the implementation of, or where appropriate, to improve the declarations in respect of, ILCs with the declaration of “applied with modification”;
  • advise on questions arising out of the reports to be made to the International Labour Office; and
  • advise on government replies to questionnaires concerning items on the agenda of the International Labour Conference and government comments on proposed texts to be discussed by the Conference.

6.3 Composition

Members of CIILS are appointed by the Commissioner for Labour. The composition of the committee for the 2013-2014 term is as follows:
The membership list of CIILS for the 2013-2014 term is at Appendix III.

6.4 Activities during the 2013-2014 Term

During the 2013-2014 term, CIILS undertook the following activities:

Reports on ILCs

In accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, HKSAR is required to submit reports on the application of ILCs as requested by the International Labour Office. Reports on seven and 19 ILCs were submitted respectively in 2013 and 2014. All the reports were forwarded to committee members for comment before they were communicated to the International Labour Office.

A list of reports on ILCs which were considered by CIILS during the 2013-2014 term is at Appendix VII.

Consultations on the application of ILCs in HKSAR

CIILS provided advice on the application of ILCs in HKSAR. As at 31 December 2014, a total of 41 ILCs were applied to HKSAR. Among them, 28 were applied without modification (i.e. all provisions of a Convention were fully implemented) and 13 were applied with modifications (i.e. a Convention was implemented in HKSAR with modification(s) in some provisions to suit local conditions).