Labour Advisory Board Report 2011-2012 - 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.

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 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, international labour Conventions 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 term 2011-2012 is as follows:

Chairman:

Deputy Commissioner for Labour (Labour Administration)

Members:

Three employer representatives from the Labour Advisory Board
Three employee representatives from the Labour Advisory Board
Assistant Commissioner for Labour (Development)

Secretary:

A Labour Officer of the Labour Department

The membership list of CIILS for the term 2011-2012 is at Appendix III.

6.4 Activities during the 2011-2012 Term

During the 2011-2012 term, CIILS undertook the following activities:

Reports on the international labour Conventions (ILCs)

In accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, the HKSAR is required to submit reports on the application of ILCs as requested by the International Labour Office. Reports on eight and seven ILCs were submitted respectively in 2011 and 2012. 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 2011-2012 term is at Appendix VII.

Consultations on the application of ILCs in the HKSAR

During the 2011-2012 term, CIILS provided advice on the application of ILCs in the HKSAR. It also discussed the legislative proposals for the implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 in the HKSAR and supported the legislative amendment exercise.

Application of ILCs in the HKSAR

As at 31 December 2012, a total of 41 Conventions were applied to the HKSAR. Among them, 28 were applied without modification (i.e. all provisions of a Convention were fully implemented) and 13 were applied with modification (i.e. a Convention was implemented with modifications in some provisions to suit local conditions).