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1947 NEW ZEALAND
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION ON THE PREPARATORY ASIAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, NEW DELHI, INDIA, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER, 1947
Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave
INDEX PAGE 1. Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 2. Regional Organization Generally .. .. .. .. .. 4 3. Representation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 4. The Agenda op the Conference .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 5. Opening Proceedings—(l) Election of Presidents and Vice-presidents .. .. .. .. ..6 (2) Organization and Procedure .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 (3) New Zealand Representations on Committees .. .. .. .. 7 6. Proceedings oe Committees — (1) The Selection Committee — (a) " Steering" Functions .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 (b) Examination of Credentials .. .. .. .. .. 7 (c) Resolutions .. .. .. .. .. . . .. 7 (2) T3ie Committee on Social Security .. .. .. .. .. 9 (3) The Committee on Labour Policy .. .. .. .. .. 10 (4) The Committee on " Programme of Action " .. .. .. . . 11 7. Acceptance of Membership by Pakistan .. .. .. .. .. .. 12 8. Acknowledgments .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 12 Appendix I—Resolutions submitted by the Selection Committee .. .. 13 Appendix ll—Resolution on Social Security .. .. .. .. .. 22 Appendix lll—Resolutions on Labour Policy .. .. .. .. .. 28 Appendix IV —Resolutions on " Programme oe Action " .. .. .. .. 40
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Department of Labour and Employment, Sir, — Wellington, 12th January, 1948. The Preparatory Asian Regional Conference of the International Labour Organization was held in New Delhi, India, from 27th October, 1947, to Bth November, 1947, both dates inclusive. The New Zealand Government delegates have the honour to present this, their report on the proceedings of the Conference. We have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servants, E. B. Taylor, L. S. Dixon, Delegates. The Hon. the Minister of Labour.
REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION The Government delegates to the International Labour Organization Preparatory Asian Regional Conference in New Delhi have returned greatly impressed by the proceedings of the Conference and its potentialities. New Zealand, in spite of its position almost on the 180 th meridian, has cultural, economic, and social ties with Europe so urgent and intimate that New Zealanders think almost entirely in Western terms, with the result that the ancient Eastern civilizations are virtually unknown. It is not generally recognized that the Asian nations cover one-third of the surface of the earth and comprise about a thousand million people, or more than half of the human race. Nor, perhaps, is full importance attached to the social and political changes which are going on in Asia, changes aptly described by the Secretary-General of the Conference, Mr. Jef Rens, in these words : "At present a strong wind of liberation is blowing through the whole of this vast and ancient continent." India, Pakistan, and Burma are Sovereign nations, and Ceylon will shortly follow them into independence. Side by side with and forming part of the continent-wide upsurge of progressive thought is a vigorous movement towards social freedom and security—a stirring from a centuries-old subjection to disease, ignorance, squalor, idleness, and want. These " five giants on the road " (as they were named by Sir William Beveridge) are being recognized as no longer inevitable, no longer insuperable. This recognition was illustrated by Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, when he said at the Conference that his Government was faced with many grave problems, of which the most important was the " problem of poverty, of unemployment, of semi-starvation for large numbers of people, of low standards of living of vast numbers. 5 ' Similarly, Mr. Pao Hua-Kuo, the Government delegate of China, said that the standard of living in Asia was pitiably low, and expressed the intention of his Government of securing higher living standards as a first step towards the creation of social order in Asia and as a prelude to world peace.
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The raising of living standards is primarily an economic problem, and the Asian countries are fully aware of the necessity for economic development. Thus a draft resolution, submitted during the Conference by the Chinese Government delegation, contained the words " Whereas it is desirable that . . . Conference . . . formulate for consideration by the appropriate national and international authorities their views in regard to the economic policies necessary for the attainment, in the Asian countries, of the social objectives of the Organization . . . "* The Industrial Revolution in Europe was accomplished at the cost of untold human suffering, and the Governments of Asia are determined to avoid the misery which has heretofore been a concomitant of rapid industrialization. The prevention of the ill effects of industrialization lies within the sphere of the International Labour Organization. In 1938 Sir Harold Butler, then President of the International Labour Office, was able to state that " the incipient labour codes of every Asiatic country bear plain traces of the inspiration derived from Geneva." The Organization, that is to say, has for many years played an important part in raising standards in Asia, and it is not surprising, therefore, that at this Conference the " strong wind of liberation " should be felt in the singularly unified outlook of the Asian delegations and their determination to use the resources of the Organization as fully as possible for the benefit of the Asian peoples. Not only were the aims of workers' delegates publicized, but also employers' and Government delegates showed themselves ready and willing to raise the standards of life of the newly independent peoples, and to do this as far as possible through and with the assistance of the Organization. The discussion on the report of the Director-General brought out emphatically the fact that the International Labour Organization is held in high esteem and that much is expected of its work in Asia. New Zealand has a place at Asian Conferences, and this is fully appreciated not only by the Organization, but by the Asian countries themselves. The Honourable Shri Jagjivan Ram, Minister for Labour in the Government of India and President of the Conference, said, in his Presidential address : We are also happy to welcome representatives of Great Britain and other European countries who have had an historic association with Asia and representatives of the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. These countries are pioneers in developing techniques of economic and social democracy. Their collaboration should prove of great value, and we shall be grateful for their assistance. In this connection it may be noted particularly that a New Zealand Government delegate (Mr. E. B. Taylor) was chosen to be the Chairman of one of the Committees of the Conference. As a further illustration of opinion in the East towards the participation of this country in the proceedings of the Conference the delegates feel that the following extract from the Eastern Economist of the 14th November, 1947, may be of interest:— Though Asia's efforts for international collaboration are generally welcomed in the rest of the world, they have been misrepresented by a certain party propagandists in the Western countries. Whenever the representatives of the Asian people meet together it becomes an eyesore to those who still think in terms of colonial domination. Perhaps their motives obstruct their vision when even in innocent Asian Conferences they see the beginning of a Pan-Asian movement led by India. Such a baseless charge was made against the Asian Relations Conference, which scrupulously precluded political issues from its deliberations. We hope that similar nightmares will not be conjured up with regard to the Preparatory Asian Regional Conference. For its work has testified that the Asian people are motivated by no other desire than to build up an international brotherhood working for world peace and prosperity. The way in which the delegates from Australia and New Zealand have behaved at the Conference is highly commendable, and the grateful feelings that it has evoked in the hearts of the Asian people fully justify the hope that the 1.L.0. can play a significant role in blending the ideals of the East and the West. It is necessary, however, that New Zealand be no disinterested spectator of the changing Asian scene. In the first place, the Dominion is bound by the principles of the " Philadelphia Declaration " of the International Labour Organization, which states,
* The italics are the writers,
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inter alia: " The war against want requires to be carried on with unrelenting vigour . . . and by continuous and concerted international effort The whole Declaration, in effect, lays upon member States the obligation to promote freedom from want, wherever and whenever want occurs. In addition, it may be noted that if the Asian countries could attain even a moderate level, by Western standards, of the industrialization with which they are preoccupied the whole economy of the world would require adjustment, while rising standards of living would open up enormous markets to other countries. These are not unreal possibilities, and they may not be ignored. Regional conferences of the Asian countries are of deep concern to New Zealand. 2. REGIONAL ORGANIZATION GENERALLY The basic structure of international organization is functional, and not regional• The United Nations, acting through the Economic and Social Council, is assisted by the Commissions which it establishes under Article 68 of its Charter. It is generally accepted that these Commissions are to be world-wide in extent, and to have specialized functions allocated to them. While, in fact, two regional Commissions have been established, it is understood that functional organization is to be preferred. The International Labour Organization is a functional institution, and it might be thought that regional conferences contravene the principle expressed above. It is admirably demonstrated, however, in the Report of the Director-General, that the International Labour Office has a completely responsible and far-seeing attitude towards the co-ordination of its regional and general activities. In the first place, three regional Conferences (of the North and South American States) have already been held, in accordance with Article 19 of the original Constitution of the Organization. Again, the proposal to hold an Asian Regional Conference was first put forward in the early " thirties " and has been repeatedly renewed in the years between. The basic impetus towards a regional approach to Asian problems comes from the fact that economically and socially, in religious and secular thought and custom, the East differs greatly from the West, and while the International Labour Organization has heretofore concentrated on the problems of industrial Europe, many of the results of its work have been somewhat unreal when applied to Asian conditions. It is by no means intended that separate standards should develop for the two great groups of nations, but it is very necessary that the Asian peoples should raise the standards of their industrial law and of its enforcement up to the level, at least, of the International Labour Code. The Director-General also pointed out that it was the main function of this Preparatory Conference to survey social and economic development from several angles and to refer its resolutions to the Governing Body: — " This ensures," he said, " that the resolutions adopted will not remain the expression of mere pious hopes, but that the governing body will examine what are the appropriate steps which can be taken to secure for them practical application, whether, for example, by referring them for action to the International Labour Conference under its constitutional powers, or by authorizing the Office to undertake such studies or inquiries as occasion may require. The governing body is thus an essential link between the regional conferences and the action of the Organization as a whole, and its coordinating function immensely strengthens the actions of the conferences in question and their potentialities. Moreover, the action of the governing body is not now confined to action only within the framework of the International Labour Organization. The International Labour Organization has been recognized as a specialized agency by the United Nations; and, while it maintains its complete independence, it has undertaken to co-ordinate its work with the United Nations and with the other specialized agencies. Under the agreement with the United Nations, approved on the one side by the International Labour Conference and on the other by the Assembly of the United Nations, the two institutions are represented at each others meetings and may request the insertion of items on the agenda of such meetings. Thus a much wider and more effective co-ordination of international effort becomes possible under the segis of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations than hitherto." " The purpose of regional conferences of this kind," the Director-General also stated, " is to devote particular attention to the special problems of the region and to consider ways and means of raising existing social standards to the level of the general international standards embodied in the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conferences."
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3. REPRESENTATION The ordinary methods of representation were not followed at the Conference. The Governing Body wished to secure adequate representation of the non-metropolitan territories of South-east Asia, which have a large measure of autonomy in respect of labour policy and occupy an important place in world economy on account of their production of valuable raw materials. As a result of negotiations with the metropolitan States members concerned it was decided that Burma, Ceylon, the Malayan Union and Singapore would be represented by their own delegations. Similarly, separate delegations came from France, and from the territories of the French Union in Asia —namely, Cambodia, Laos, Cochin China, Indo-China and the French Settlements in India and New Caledonia, The Netherlands Government indicated that in the composition of the delegation representing the Netherlands Union the regional nature of the Conference would be taken into account. The following territories were therefore represented:— Afghanistan. United States of America. Australia. Burma. Cambodia. Ceylon. China. Cochin-China. French Union. French Establishments in India and New Caledonia. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. India. Indo-China. Laos. Malayan Union. Nepal. Netherlands Union. New Zealand. Pakistan. Siam. Singapore. The total number of delegates present (according to provisional records) was 58 (30 Government, 14 employers', and 14 workers'). Advisers, substitutes, special representatives, and observers totalled 128 (72 Government, 26 employers', and 30 workers'). Two representatives of the United Nations and one representative of the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization also attended the Conference. The New Zealand delegation was— Representing the Government — Mr. Edward Bellamy Taylor, Assistant Secretary, Department of Labour and Employment. Mr. Lindsay Stewart Dixon, Research Officer, Department of Labour and Employment. Representing the Employers — Mr. John Roland Hanlon, Assistant Secretary, New Zealand Employers' Federation. Representing the Workers — Mr. Archibald Brewster Grant, Secretary of the Canterbury Trades Council &c.
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4. THE AGENDA OF THE CONFERENCE The agenda for the Preparatory Asian Regional Conference was drawn up to include a comprehensive range of subjects covering the large field of social and economic background, which required to be surveyed in preparation for a regional conference of a more particularized nature. The items 011 the agenda, for each of which the Office prepared a preliminary report r were —- (1) Problems of Social Security : (2) Labour Policy in General, including the Enforcement of Labour Measures : (3) Programme of Action over a Period of Years for the Enforcement of Social Standards embodied in the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference, but not yet ratified by the Countries concerned : (4) The General Economic Background of Social Policy, including Problems of Industrialization : (5) Report of the Director-General. No attempt was to be made to arrive at recommendations or conventions. The decisions reached were to be expressed in the form of resolutions. 5. OPENING PROCEEDINGS (1) Election op President and Vice-presidents The Conference was opened by Sir Guildhaume Myrrddin-Evans, Chairman of the Governing Body, and addressed by Pandit Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. On the motion of Mr. Pao Hua-kuo (Government delegate, China) Supported by Mr. Khan (employers' delegate, Pakistan) and Dr. R. De Silva (workers' delegate, Ceylon), the Honourable Shri Jagjivan Ram, Minister for Labour, India, was unanimously elected President of the Conference. The following were unanimously elected Vice-Presidents of the Conference : Mr. Pao Hua-kuo (Government delegate, China). Mr. L. Cresson (employers' delegate, Singapore). Dr. A. M. Malik (workers' delegate, Pakistan). (2) Organization and Procedure The Conference, having been addressed by the President, the representative of the United Nations and the representative of the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization devoted morning sessions to discussion of items (4) and (5) of the agenda, and broke up in the afternoons into three Committees to discuss the other items. There was, in addition, a Selection Committee to perform steering functions, to examine credentials, and to consider any draft resolutions arising from items (4) and (5) of the agenda. The composition of the Committees was as follows, the members of Government, employers' and workers' representatives being shown in parentheses in the order mentioned: — (1) Selection Committee (6, 6, 6). Chairman : Mr. S. Lall (Government, India). Three members of the Governing Body also participated in the work of this Committee. (2) Committee of Social Security (15, 10, 10). Chairman : Dr. I. C. Fang (Government, China). (3) Committee on Labour Policy (12, 12, 12). Chairman : Hon. Mahn Wim Maung (Government, Burma). (4) Committee on " Programme of Action " (15, 10, 10). Chairman : Mr. E. B. Taylor (Government, New Zealand).
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(3) New Zealand Representation on Committees New Zealand was represented on Committees as follows : Committee on Social Security : Mr. L. S. Dixon, Mr. J. R. Hanlon (substitute). Committee on Labour Policy : Mr. A. B. Grant. Committee on Programme of Action : Mr. E. B. Taylor. 6. PROCEEDINGS OF COMMITTEES (1) The Selection Committee (a) £c Steering " Functions The Selection Committee met regularly, and reported frequently to the plenary session. It recommended that the other three Committees be set up, and it examined the formidable list of draft resolutions (forty-eight in number) submitted by delegates, and allotted these to the Committees. (b) Examination of Credentials Objections were received to the credentials of the workers' delegates of India, Ceylon, and the French Settlements in India. The Selection Committee in its report stated that the Conference had not been given power by the Governing Body to reject credentials, and that neither the terms of the invitation to Governments, nor the Standing Orders of the Conference, envisaged such action. While some members of the Committee felt grave doubts as to the proper nomination of certain delegates, it was felt that no purpose would be achieved by a detailed examination of the objections which were submitted. The Committee suggested that full provision for the examination of credentials be made in the Standing Orders of future regional conferences. The Selection Committee also considered the question whether an invitation to attend the present Conference had been extended to the Indonesian Republic. In its report the Committee said that it must abide by the principle enunciated at the Philadelphia session of the Conference, that Governments not generally recognized by States Members cannot enjoy any official status in relation to the organization. Furthermore, it was noted that the delegation appointed by the Netherlands Government was entirely made up of members domiciled in Indonesia, most of them Indonesians, and that they were appointed in agreement with the industrial organizations of the areas -controlled by the Netherlands Indies Government. It was therefore decided that the Conference had no jurisdiction to pursue the matter further. The Committee's report said that it had heard with great satisfaction a statement by the Netherlands Government that it hoped that an early settlement of the present situation would prepare the way for a comprehensive and fully representative participation of the whole of Indonesia in future Regional Conferences. The report of the Committee on this subject was unanimously adopted by the Conference. (c) Resolutions The Selection Committee dealt with a number of draft resolutions submitted by various delegates, and finally recommended to the Conference the adoption of nine resolutions. The full texts of these, which were all adopted unanimously, are set out in Appendix Ito this report. They are all self-explanatory, but the following comments may be made. The Committee recommended — (1) A Draft Resolution concerning the Intensification of the Asian Work of the International Labour Organization.—On several occasions during the Conference delegates from Asian countries criticized the Organization for its preoccupation with European and American problems, and for its neglect of Asia. This feeling was so strong that the Secretary-General considered it his duty to reply to the criticism. While admitting that
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there was a measure of truth in the charges, Mr. Rens explained that the Organization owed its existence, largely, to the demands of organized workers in Europe and North America, where there were old and vigorous labour movements. At that time the Asian countries were mostly in a colonial or semi-colonial stage of development, and Europe and Asia had reached different stages of social evolution. The former, having attained political liberty, was dominated by the problems of social progress. The latter was moreconcerned with the primary problem of gaining political liberty. This difference was not confined to Europe and Asia. The same gulf existed between Western Europe on the one hand and Eastern Europe and South America on the other. The situation, the Secretary-General explained, had changed rapidly in the last decade. Industrialization and the progress made in transport and communication were bringing countries closer together. Economic and social problems were becoming common problems of every nation. It was therefore necessary to accept the reproach that the Organization was too exclusively Western in outlook —at least as far as the last ten years were concerned. The Office and the Governing Body were, however, conscious of this, and were adjusting their activities accordingly. Mr. Rens went on to say that he did not believe that the way to overcome such difficulties was, necessarily, to set up new institutions. He stressed the fact that new. machinery to meet regional requirements would entail heavy expense and great inconvenience to States members who already have to send delegates to " an ever-increasiug number of meetings." He suggested, alternatively, that existing institutions should be used more intensively, and as a means to this end he proposed regular meetings of Regional Conferences, office missions to Asia to examine special problems, the reviewing of the composition of the Governing Body's numerous advisory bodies, to consider whether Asian countries were adequately represented, and meetings of these bodies in Asian countries. - It was true that the number of office officials from Asian countries should be increased to enable the whole staff to become familiar with Asian problems, but the proper approach to that question was not to establish a group of Asian officials in the Office to deal with Asian problems exclusively. The aim was to have adequate representation of Asia, and to distribute Asian officials over all the technical staff and to obtain by such intermingling a proper reflection, in the Office, of all the differences between countries and regions. This resolution is thus likely to receive full and sympathetic consideration by the Governing Body, and may well have a far-reaching influence on the future activities of the Organization. The Selection Committee itself attached great importance to paragraph (h) of Part I of the resolution, concerning the issue of publications in Asian languages. Part IV of the resolution resulted from a draft resolution submitted by the Indian employers' delegate, recommending that travelling-expenses of delegates be met by the Organization. The Committee agreed that it was desirable to facilitate the attendance of delegations, but felt that the original proposal was inopportune at present. (2) A Draft Resolution concerning Labour Standards in Japan.—The object of this resolution is to keep alive in Japan the standards that have been set up by the Organization, and to facilitate at the appropriate time the readmission of Japan as a member State. (3) A Draft Resolution concerning Tripartite Organizations and other Appropriate Arrangements.—The Reporter of the Selection Committee, in introducing this resolution to the Conference, said that tripartite organization had been the essence of the success of the International Labour Organization, and that such organizations had also worked with commendable success in India. The resolution seeks to instruct Governments to make full use of tripartite bodies. (4) A Draft Resolution concerning Increased Production.—This resolution arises from the complete recognition in the Asian countries of the necessity for increasing economic activity as a pre-requisite of the raising of living standards. The resolution
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seeks to impress upon Governments the fact that increased production is only possible in an atmosphere where differences between employers and workers can be easily resolved. (5) A Draft Resolution concerning Seafarers. —This resolution, it was stated, is aimed at giving increased attention to the special problems of Asian seafarers and hasten the completion of the factual study that is being made of these problems by the International Labour Office. (6) A Draft Resolution concerning the Economic Policies necessary for the Attainment in Asia of the Social Objectives of the International Labour Organization.—This resolution combined several draft resolutions sent in by various delegations. It may be regarded as significant of the attitude of the Conference to the necessity for economic development as a pre-requisite to the raising of social standards. The resolution formulates, for consideration by the appropriate national and international authorities, the views of the Conference in regard to the best economic policies for the Asian countries. Parts I, 11, 111, and IV of the resolution are devoted to agriculture. This reflects the fact that three-quarters of the people of Asia are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and the importance of agriculture in the economy of the East. There are also sections devoted to capital formation and industrial development —policies necessary to relieve the pressure of increasing population on resources of land which are already too minutely divided. The Chairman of the Selection Committee, in commending the draft resolution to the Conference, said that the Committee considered it necessary for the Conference to draw the attention of the appropriate authorities to these aspects of economic policy, since the conditions of labour were dependent on them. It was to be clear, however, that the Conference was not an authority in these matters. The resolution was to be submitted to the appropriate organizations (see paragraph 5 of the preamble to the resolution) for their consideration, and with a view to the matter being further considered at the first Regional Conference in China. (7) A Draft Resolution concerning Industrial Development in Japan.—The object of this resolution is to prevent the undermining of labour standards by economic "dumping." It aims at drawing the attention of the appropriate authorities to this particular danger of unregulated international trade. (8) A Draft Resolution concerning Representation of Agricultural and Cottage Industry Workers. —The labour problems of Asia are mainly agricultural, and some difficulty has been met in arranging adequate representation of rural workers. This resolution requests the Governing Body to consider the problem of more adequate representation. (9) A Draft Resolution concerning the Placing of the International Labour Organization Conventions and Recommendations before the National Legislatures. —This resolution aims at ensuring that conventions and recommendations are placed before competent authorities in such a manner as to ensure that they have adequate consideration. (2) The Committee on Social Security Social security was the first item on the agenda of the Conference, and was regarded by the delegates of Asian countries as of great importance. The Committee took as a basis for its discussions the report of the Office of social security and a draft resolution submitted by the Government of India. To ensure competent consideration of the medical care provisions of the draft resolution, the Committee set up a sub-committee on Medical Care, on which five medically qualified delegates sat. A long and comprehensive draft resolution on social security resulted from the Committee's deliberations, and with one minor amendment was adopted by the full Conference. The resolution, and the report of the Sub-committee on Medical Care, to which reference is made in the resolution, are reproduced in Appendix II to this report. The preamble to Part I of the resolution affirms the belief of the Conference that the establishment of social security services in Asia has become an urgent task, that improvements in the production of foodstuffs, in wage levels, in housing, and education should proceed pari passu with the development of social security schemes, and that .such development should be accelerated.
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The remainder of Part I sets out detailed suggestions in tlie light of which it is considered.that social security schemes should be framed. The main headings of these suggestions are : I. Income security—(a) Social insurance planning. (b) Employment injury benefits. (c) Maternity benefits. (cl) Provision for the aged and for dependent survivors. (e) Crop and cattle insurance. 11. Medical care. Part II of the resolution comprises a list of recommendations from the Conferenceto the Governing Body on steps which it is suggested should be taken for the implementation of the principles set out in Part I. (3) The Committee on Labour Policy The Committee on Labour Policy dealt with the second item on the agenda of theConference —Labour Policy in General, including the enforcement of Labour Measures. It considered the Office report on this subject and a series of twenty-one draft resolutions submitted by delegates. It finally recommended to the Conference the adoption of eleven resolutions the titles of which are set out, with brief notes, below. The Conference, after some discussion, adopted them unanimously. The resolutions are reproduced in full in Appendix 111: — (1) A Draft Resolution concerning Employment Service, Recruitment, and Vocational Training. —This resolution has four main divisions. It requests the Governing Body, first, to draw the attention of Asian Governments to the need for proper employment service organizations ; secondly, to cause the Office to investigate recruitment of labour in Asia and to impress on Asian Governments the necessity for eliminating intermediary recruiting agents ; thirdly, to have International Labour Office studies made of vocational and technical training facilities now available with a view to their extension and improvement ; and, fourthly, to study ways and means of securing technical, professional, and skilled worker training for Asian personnel in advanced industrial countries. (2) A Draft Resolution concerning Wage Policy and Family Budget Inquiries.—This resolution requests the Governing Body to cause inquiries to be made into wage-fixing machinery in Asian countries with a view to suggesting additional means for securing fair wages for all Asian workers, requests Asian Governments to foster methods of collective bargaining, and sets out the desirability of regular family budget inquiries as the " only effective method " of judging standards of living. (3) A Draft Resolution concerning Conditions of Work and Labour Welfare. —This resolution requests Asian Governments to take steps towards the evolution and enforcement of fair terms of employment as a sine qua non of increased production. (4) A Draft Resolution concerning the Protection of Children and Young Workers. — The Governing Body is requested in this resolution to call the attention of Asian Governments to various measures for the protection of juveniles. These measures are set out under six heads, viz. : General education and vocational guidance. Vocational training. Apprenticeship. Age for admission to employment in non-industrial occupations. Protection of young workers. Administration of protective policies.
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(5) A Draft Resolution concerning the Employment of Women and the Protection of Maternity. —This resolution emphasizes the importance of the protection of women in Asian countries and requests the Governing Body to draw the attention of Asian Governments to measures to this end. The measures are grouped under four main heads, viz.:— Maternity protection. Protection of women engaged in heavy labour. Vocational training for women. Wages of women workers. (6) A Draft Resolution concerning Rural Labour and Related Problems. —The Governing Body is requested in this resolution to assist Asian Governments to prepare plans for the amelioration of the conditions of rural workers. It points out that the rural workers of Asia constitute " more than half the working people of the world." Such plans for improvement would have particular reference to co-operative organization, problems of forced labour, and the problems of land tenure. (7) A Draft Resolution concerning Plantation Labour.—This resolution seeks to improve the recruitment, wages, housing, hours of work, workmen's compensation, maternity benefits, freedom of association, and social security conditions of plantation workers, workers who occupy an important place in the economy of tropical Asia. (8) A Draft Resolution concerning Aboriginal Tribes and Untouchable Castes. —This resolution asks for special attention to the problems of the unfortunate aboriginal tribes .and " untouchables " who, for reasons over which they have no control, are subject to disadvantages in regard to opportunity and conditions of employment. (9) A Draft Resolution concerning Housing. —The Governing Body is requested by this resolution to draw the attention of Asian Governments to the necessity for the provision of proper housing. The low standard of housing in Asian countries has deteriorated as a result of the war, and the problem has been made even more acute by a movement of population into industrial areas in recent years. (10) A Draft Resolution concerning Small-scale Cottage and Handicraft Industries.— This resolution points out the importance of cottage industry in the economy of Asian countries, and seeks to avoid the harsh effects of industrialization, by expanding production on the basis of decentralization to small domestic and handicraft industries, but with adequate protection for the workers. (11) A Draft Resolution concerning Co-operation.—This resolution seeks to expand -co-operative movements, and emphasizes the benefits which might be expected to follow from such expansion. (4) The Committee on " Programme of Action " This Committee dealt with the third item on the agenda, and took as the basis of its deliberations the Office report on " Programme of Action for the Enforcement of Social Standards Embodied in Conventions and Recommendations not yet Ratified or Accepted," and, in addition, six draft resolutions presented from the delegations of India, China, and Ceylon. The Committee appointed a working party of five to co-ordinate the texts of the draft resolutions. The Committee held a general discussion in the first place, and then formulated its conclusions in two draft resolutions, which were adopted by the Conference after one amendment had been made. The full resolutions are set out in Appendix IV, but may be summarized as follows : (1) A Draft Resolution concerning Programmes of Action. —This resolution sets out in detail, under a number of heads, the various constituents of a programme of action for bringing the labour standards of an Asian country into line with what the Conference •considered to be the minimum requirements of the International Labour Code.
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Freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively are characterized as " indispensible." Adequate labour inspection is held to be essential to the protection of labour, and, among other recommendations, it is requested of the Governing Body that the organization of labour inspection should be placed on the agenda of the first Asian Regional Conference to be held in China in 1949. It is further recommended that a technical conference of representatives of Government labour inspection services in the Asian region be held as soon as possible. Suggested terms of reference of such a conference are detailed. The resolution also notes with deep appreciation an invitation from the Government of Ceylon that this technical conference of inspectors should be held in Ceylon as early as possible and that the Government of Ceylon will be pleased to afford all necessary facilities for the purpose. It is recommended that each Asian country should prepare a national programme of action to implement the existing international labour standards (such programmes to be submitted to the first Asian Regional Conference), and a number of subjects which should receive attention in the formulation of such programmes are enumerated. A list of fifteen conventions is set out to which special attention should be directed by Asian countries. It is also suggested that the Governing Body should ask Asian countries for periodical reports on the action taken to give effect to the resolution. (2) A Draft Resolution concerning Statistics. —This resolution requests the Governing Body to arrange for meetings of labour statisticians from Asian countries to survey existing means of obtaining, compiling, and disseminating statistical data and to make recommendations on a number of points. The resolution springs from a realization that suitable methods have to be devised for the collection of statistical material, which will meet the peculiar requirements of the Asian countries, and it is suggested that a regional approach to the problem is likely to be fruitful. 7. ACCEPTANCE OF MEMBERSHIP OF PAKISTAN it was announced in the plenary session on 3rd November, 1947, that Pakistan became a member of the Organization on 31st October, 1947. When the State which was known as India was divided into the two States of India and Pakistan, the new India succeeded to the position formerly held in the organization by the one State of India. Pakistan now assumes the position of an independent member and undertakes that all conventions previously notified by India shall remain binding on Pakistan. The new State was suitably welcomed by the Conference. 8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The members of the delegation desire to acknowledge gratefully the co-operation of the staff of the High Commissioner for Australia in India, and the Australian delegation to the Conference. Similarly, this report would not be complete without the placing on record of the deep gratitude of the delegation to the Government of India for the hospitality afforded them and for the transport and other facilities provided. In unfamiliar surroundings, and in a climate which the delegates found trying, these things were of no little significance. Finally, it must be said that Mr. Jef Rens, the Secretary-General of the Conference,, and his Secretariat carried out their onerous duties with that courtesy and efficiency which has become a tradition of the Organization.
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APPENDICES APPENDIX I.—RESOLUTIONS SUBMITTED BY THE SELECTION COMMITTEE 1. Resolution concerning the Intensification of the Asian Work of the International Labour Organization Whereas, to enable the International Labour Organization to fulfil its mission of promoting social justice, eliminating poverty, and assisting tlie economic and social development of the less-developed countries of the world, it is of paramount importance that a systematic consideration should be given to the special problems of the Asian countries with due regard to their present stage of economic development and their human and material resources ; and Whereas, in order to permit of such consideration, it is desirable to secure fuller participation of the Asian countries, on a tripartite basis, in the work and the deliberation of the Organization, and to make provision within the general framework of the Organization for a vigorous programme of regional action in Asia ; The Conference adopts the following resolution concerning the intensification of the Asian work of the International Labour Organization. I The Conference requests the Governing Body — (а) To convene an Asian Regional Conference of the International Labour Organization to meet in China in 1949 to review the progress made in giving effect to the recommendations of the present Conference and examine such further questions as may be placed on its agenda by the Governing Body in the light of the recommendations of the present Conference, and to arrange for further Regional Conferences to meet at appropriate intervals ; (б) To authorize the Director-General of the International Labour Office to arrange, as part of the preparations for the 1949 Regional Conference, for a mission of the International Labour Office, analogous to that which revised, in consultation with the Governments concerned, the reports submitted to the present Conference, to visit the Asian countries at the earliest practicable date ; (c) To arrange, as appropriate, a series of meetings of technical experts from the Asian countries to facilitate co-operation between the Asian countries in regard to social problems, and to assist in preparing the work of future Asian Conferences ; (d) To arrange for meetings of the International Labour Conference, the Governing Body, the Permanent Agricultural Committee, the Joint Maritime Commission, and appropriate industrial committees to be held from time to time in Asian countries ; (e) To give adequate representation to Asia in the membership of the technical committees of the Organization ;
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(/) To authorize the Director-General to reinforce the research staffs of the Chinese and Indian Branches of the International Labour Office, and to establish progressively a network of branch offices and correspondents in other Asian countries, including Burma, Ceylon, Malaya, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Siam ; (g) To provide for the extension and development of the facilities of the International Labour Organization for according to Asian Governments at their request appropriate assistance in connection with the framing of regulations, the improvement of administrative practices, and systems of inspection and the development of information and research services ; (h) To arrange for the immediate publication of the decisions of the present Conference in appropriate Asian languages, and to resume and extend the publication in Asian languages of selected publications of the International Labour Office ; (i) To draw the attention of the Director-General to the importance attached by Asian countries to the recruitment of an adequate number of nationals of Asian countries having adequate experience of the social and economic problems of Asia ; (j) To consider the advisability of — (i) Constituting an Asian Advisory Committee to advise the Governing Body on Asian questions and the Asian aspects of general questions ; (ii) Authorizing the Director-General to establish a small coordinating Secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the above programme. II The Conference—(a) Welcomes the acceptance of membership in the International Labour Organization by Pakistan and the news that arrangements are being made for the acceptance of membership in the Organization by the Philippine Republic ; (b) Takes note that Burma on becoming independent, and Ceylon on attaining fully responsible self-Government within the British Commonwealth, will shortly be eligible for admission to the International Labour Organization and may be expected to submit applications for membership to the Thirty-first Session of the International Labour Conference ; (c) Welcomes the attendance at the present Conference of an observer representing Nepal, and places on record its hope that this participation may inaugurate a fruitful association between Nepal and the International Labour Organization. 111 The Conference — (a) Welcomes the participation in the present Conference of tripatite delegations of non-metropolitan territories in the Asian region ; (b) Draws the special attention of the Governing Body to the urgent importance of continuing and developing the practice of providing for similar participation of these territories in the Asian work of the Organization ;
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(c) Takes note that the Constitution of the Organization, as amended by the 1946 Instrument of Amendment, makes provision for — (i) The participation in the International Labour Conference, as members of the delegations of members of the Organization, of representatives and advisers from non-metropolitan territories ; (ii) The acceptance on behalf of such territories of Conventions relating to matters within their self-governing Powers. (id) Requests the Governing Body to give early consideration to — (i) The feasibility and desirability of making provision for the participation of these territories in appropriate industrial committees, including, in particular, the proposed Industrial Committee on Plantation Labour; (ii) The appointment of experts from such territories in the expert Committees of the Organization. The Conference welcomes the inclusion in the Indian delegation to the present Conference of representatives of a number of Indian States, and trusts that the States will continue to be fully associated with India's participation in the Organization and in the implementation of the decisions of the Organization. IY The Conference emphasizes the importance of the regular attendance at tripartite meetings of the Organization of complete delegations from Asian countries, including Government, employers', and workers' representatives, and requests the Governing Body to consider how such regular attendance can best be facilitated. 2. Resolution concerning Labour Standards in Japan As is pointed out by the Preamble to the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries. A general improvement in the labour standards of the Asian countries cannot be secured on a national basis unless the standards agreed upon are applicable to Japan. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body to consider the advisability of — (a) Communicating through the appropriate channel to the Japanese Government, and asking it to communicate to the employers' and workers' organizations in Japan, the decisions and documents of the present Conference; and of advising the Japanese Government, through the appropriate channel, to associate itself with the decisions of the Conference ; (b) Authorizing the Director-General of the International Labour Office to discuss with the appropriate authorities the desirability of a fact-finding mission of the International Labour Office visiting Japan to collect adequate current information concerning labour conditions, man-power organization, vocational training, industrial relations, and social security conventions in Japan for inclusion in the reports prepared for the Asian Regional Conference to be held in China ; (c) Arranging, through the appropriate channel, to secure regular annual reports on .the application of the International Labour Conventions which are binding on Japan by reason of ratification while Japan was a member of the International Labour Organization; (d) Examining at an appropriate time the desirability of readmitting Japan to the Interna: c ral Labour Organization.
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3. Resolution concerning Tripartite Organizations and other Appropriate Arrangements The Conference requests the Governing Body to communicate the following proposals to the Governments of countries represented at the Conference and to instruct the Office to make a study of the working of the tripartite organization, or other appropriate arrangements, to secure co-operation between Governments and organizations of workers and employers, and submit a report for the information and consideration of the next Regional Conference. (1) The Governments should give consideration to the setting-up in their Countries of tripartite organizations, with committees to deal with special problems, consisting of representatives of Governments, employers, and workers, or other appropriate arrangements — (a) To promote appropriate measures for — (i) Raising the standard of living of workers; providing them with proper and fair conditions of life and work, social security, full opportunity for their economic and social welfare and social justice ; (ii) Increasing production and output in industry. (b) To advise concerning measures necessary to implement decisions adopted by the International and Regional Conferences, and such of the resolutions adopted by the Industrial Committees as are communicated to the Governments by the decisions of the Governing Body; and formulation of recommendations concerning such other questions as may fall within their competence or may be referred to them. (2) Governments should consult their respective tripartite organizations or other machinery provided for in the preceding paragraph in the matter of labour and economic policy, including legislation and its enforcement. (3) Governments should take all possible steps to provide means and facilities for the full and efficient functioning of the tripartite organizations or other appropriate arrangements in their respective countries. (4) Governments should seek to promote close co-operation between the 1.L.0. and their tripartite organizations or other arrangements by such means as may be found to be feasible and appropriate. 4. Resolution concerning Increased Production Whereas most Asian countries are suffering from acute shortages of production, which not only reduce employment opportunities, but result in a serious deterioration in the standards of living of the people ; Whereas effective steps should be taken immediately to create conditions favourable to the promotion and maintenance of production at the highest possible level; This Conference recommends the Governing Body to call the attention of the Governments of the Asian States represented at this Conference to the following : (a) The urgent necessity for increasing production ; (b) The need for increasing productive efficiency to the maximum extent; (c) The need for establishing, in consultation with organizations of emplojrers and workers, suitable consultative negotiating or statutory bodies for the speedy and equitable resolution of differences between labour and management; and (d) The need to secure the fullest co-operation of employers and workers in eliminating conditions of insecurity and dissatisfaction which affect production, and in discouraging conditions which lead to the stoppage or slowing down of production for any reason whatsoever.
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5. Resolution concerning Seafarers The Conference attaches the highest importance to securing proper conditions of life and work for Asian seafarers, and therefore requests the Governing Bod}'* to direct the International Labour Office to complete as rapidly as possible the survey which is being made of the conditions of Asian seafarers, and to convene at an early date in an Asian country, in accordance with the recognized procedure, a maritime meeting to consider these conditions. 6. Resolution concerning the Economic Policies necessary for the Attainment in Asia of the Social Objectives of the International Labour Organization Whereas the Declaration of Philadelphia reaffirms that poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere ; and Whereas poverty is the basic factor retarding social progress in Asia, and such progress cannot be achieved without the adoption of economic policies designed to secure greater productivity and a fairer distribution of wealth; and Whereas the Declaration of Philadelphia also affirms that all human beings, irrespective of race, creed, or sex, have the right to pursue both their material wellbeing and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity, and that the attainment of the conditions in which this shall be possible must constitute the central aim of national and international policy; and enunciates the responsibility of the International Labour Organization to examine and consider international economic and financial policies and measures in the light of this fundamental objective ; and Whereas it is therefore desirable that the representatives of Governments, employers, and workers assembled at the Preparatory Asian Regional Conference of the International Labour Organization should, in addition to making specific proposals concerning labour standards, the mobility and training of labour, industrial relations, social security and similar questions, and framing a programme of action for the progressive application in Asia of the provisions of the International Labour Code, also formulate for consideration by the appropriate national and international authorities their views in regard to the economic policies necessary for the attainment in the Asian countries of the social objectives of the Organization ; The Conference request the Governing Body to bring the following provisional views to the attention of the Governments represented at the Conference, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the Economic Commission for Asia and the Ear East, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the International Trade Organization when established, and such other international bodies as may have primary responsibility for international action in respect of the various measures suggested; and to arrange for such further studies of the problems of economic development as may be calculated to assist the Asian countries in implementing the objectives of the International Labour Organization to be made by the International Labour Office or other appropriate international bodies, with a view to the matter being further considered at the next Regional Conference. I. Provision of Industrial Employment for Excess Agricultural Population 1. In most Asian countries there exists a great excess of agricultural population in relation to the available supply of cultivable land. 2. This agricultural over-population, manifesting itself in the s'Atallness of the average size of farm and in the insufficiency of income derived therefrom to provide an average rural family with a minimum subsistence level of living, is a key factor in the poverty of Asia.
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3. Effective steps should therefore be taken to provide new opportunities of productive employment in manufacturing and service industries which will absorb excess agricultural population. 11. Expansion of Agricultural Production 4. Notwithstanding the primary importance of promoting intensive industrial development, agriculture will for a long time to come remain the chief source of income for the majority of the population of the Asian countries. 5. The expansion of agricultural as well as industrial production must therefore be regarded as a primary objective of the economic policy of the Asian countries. 6. With a view to expanding agricultural production, measures should be taken—(a) To bring into cultivation arable land hitherto unutilized ; (b) To increase yields per unit of land by the control of insects and diseases, the use of more and better manures and fertilizers, the improvement of seeds and the adoption of improved methods of cultivation ; (c) To increase agricultural output per worker by the improvement of agricultural implements and, wherever economically feasible, by the introduction of machinery ; (d) To establish agricultural implement stations operated, where necessary, by Governments for the purpose of lending such implements to agriculturists in need of them; (e) To improve the organization of farm enterprises by the consolidation of fragmentary holdings and the development of co-operative farms ; (/) To raise the productivity of animal husbandry and fisheries; (g) To control by the enforcement of adequate laws or regulations the ownership and use of land to ensure that it is used in the best interest of the community. 7. Provision should be made for large-scale public investment in water and soil conservation schemes and irrigation and drainage works. 111. Fair Distribution of Agricultural Income 8. A fair distribution of agricultural income is of primary importance for the socia and economic well-being of the agrarian population. 9. With a view to securing a fair distribution of agricultural income measures should be taken —- (a) To prohibit usury and establish rural credit institutions to facilitate the provision to agriculturists of loans at low rates of interest; (b) To reduce to a minimum the tax burden of low-income agriculturists ; (c) To fix agricultural rents at a reasonable level, afford greater security of land tenure, and, where appropriate, promote a more equitable distribution of land ownership ; (d) To improve the organization of agricultural marketing and, more particularly, to encourage the development of co-operative marketing. IV. Fair Terms of Exchange for Export of Primary Products 10. The economies of many Asian countries are built wholly or to a large extent from the export of primary products the prices of which are subject to wide fluctuations consequent upon cyclical and long-term changes in the world conditions of demand and supply, and the maintenance of fair terms of exchange for such products is therefore of particular importance for the advance of the social standards and well-being of the peoples concerned.
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11. In formulating economic policy for areas whose economy is at present based upon exports of primary products, special consideration should be given to — (a) The desirability and economic possibilities of diversification of crops and industries ; (b) The desirability of inter-governmental arrangements designed to promote greater stability of prices and to bring about prompt and orderly adjustments of international demand and supply of such products within the framework of an expansionist economy designed to increase production ; and (c) The possibility of adopting measures to reduce the gap between the prices of primary products and those of manufactured goods. V. Capital Formation 12. Capital formation on a large scale is of central importance as a means of raising productivity and national income in the Asian countries. 13. Policies of capital formation should be formulated in such a way as to avoid as far as possible the danger of inflation. Appropriate safeguards should be adopted to this end. VI. Inflation 14. The danger of inflation is accentuated at the present time by the disruption and dislocation of the economies of the Asian countries resulting from the war which have aggravated the shortages of essential goods and services and given rise in certain countries to inflation which, if not checked, will reduce still further the real wages and the standard of living of the peoples concerned. In these circumstances it is of special and urgent importance to take promptly appropriate and effective measures to accelerate production ; prevent hording, speculative trading, and blackmarketing ; and to bring about a fair relationship between wages and salaries and commodity prices. Governments should take necessary steps to check inflationary tendencies, and the representatives of employers and workers present at this Conference should bring to the attention of their constituents the importance of co-operating with and actively assisting Governments in the application of appropriate anti-inflationary policies. VII. Industrial Development 15. Appropriate measures should be taken to encourage private enterprise to play a constructive part in the industrial development of Asia ; these measures should include : (a) Measures to improve the organization of the capital and credit markets with a view to channelling monetary savings into the most productive fields of employment, and to reducing the rates of interest, long-term and shortterm, to the lowest possible level; (b) Measures for the provision of adequate assistance —financial, technical, and other—to newly established enterprises in need of such assistance ; (c) Measures to secure wider knowledge of modern technology and scientific methods of business organization and management, to train specialists in these fields, and to promote organized industrial research; and (d) Measures to reduce the costs of capital equipment, transport, and fuel needed for industrial production. 16. Public enterprise has an important part to play in initiating and promoting the industrial development of Asia and should be conducted in accordance with the following general principles : (a) Public enterprises should be so organized as to ensure that they are efficiently managed without political interference with the conduct of their operations ; (b) The budgets of public enterprises should be treated separately from budgets for current governmental revenue and expenditure.
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17. Every effort should be made, by such means as fiscal and credit policy and the direct control of investment, to direct private enterprise towards the industries the development of which will be most advantageous from the long-run economic point of view having due regard to the country's legitimate requirements for national defence. 18. Effective measures should be taken to secure high standards of productive efficiency in existing industries, more particularly with regard to : (a) Output per unit of labour, of capital, of fuel, and of raw material; (b) Efficiency in the organization of the industry, especially in respect of its size,. financial position, and structural balance ; (c) Efficiency in marketing and distribution ; and (d) Efficiency in labour management co-operation. 19. Governments should ensure the maintenance of reasonable standards of industrial efficiency and should take prompt steps to facilitate the reorganization of an industry on a more efficient basis whenever changes in the conditions of demand and supply beyond the control of that industry make such reorganization necessary. 20. In order to ensure that the fruits of industrial development are passed on to< the mass of the population, measures should be taken to prevent the over-concentration of economic power and to restrict the growth in inequality of distribution of income and wealth. 21. In order that handicraft or cottage industry may play a more effective part in providing supplementary employment and income for the rural population in Asian countries, the development of large-scale industries should be supplemented by a parallel programme for the modernization and reorganization of traditional handicraft or cottage industries and the development of new simple industries with small capital investment in rural districts; in framing such a programme, special attention should be given to — (a) The desirability of developing industrial co-operatives as a method of organizing small-scale industries ; (b) The need for co-ordinating the development of large-scale and small-scale industries in such a manner as to make them complementary to each other; and (c) The importance of the part which can be played by Governments in preparing, initiating, and promoting such a programme of industrial development, particularly with respect to — (i) The financing of individual projects ; (ii) The training of a sufficient number of technical personnel; and (iii) The provision of capital equipment specially designed to meet the needs of small-scale industries. 22. In the early stages of industrial development special attention should be devoted to the improvement of communications, and the development of electric and hydraulic power. 23. Development works should be undertaken by the Governments with the object of creating productive employment for unemployed persons in cities as well as for the excess population in rural districts. VIII. Miscellaneous 24. Measures to improve the health and education of the producing population should be regarded as an essential feature of all policies for the improvement of economic productivity by the development of natural resources, and Governments should take the necessary steps to ensure the provision of adequate medical and educational facilities in connection with all major development projects.
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25. Appropriate international action should be taken to support the efforts of the Asian countries to obtain the equipment and financial and technical assistance necessary for developing their capacity for production and for ensuring employment at a high level and to secure the supplies of food and of essential consumers' goods which they need during the period of development. 26. The programmes of economic development undertaken by the Asian countries should, so far as practicable, be co-ordinated in such a way as to secure the maximum gains in international division of labour; with this end in view, each Asian country should keep the appropriate international organizations informed of its prospective development programme. 27. Measures taken by the Asian countries to deal with post-war economic restoration should so far as possible be so framed as to contribute towards the economic development of Asia on a long-term basis. 7. Resolution concerning Industrial Development in Japan The attainment of full employment and a high level of productivity in the Asi art countries will be seriously prejudiced if their standards of living are imperilled by the need to compete with economic dumping. The Conference expresses its emphatic disapproval of such dumping, and requests the Governing Body to examine the question and, where necessary, to make any representations on the subject which may be desirable to the appropriate international agencies, and in particular to draw the attention of the authorities responsible for fixing the future level of industrial development in Japan to the dangers of dumping to the working and living conditions in other Asian countries. 8. Resolution concerning Representation of Agricultural and Cottage Industry Workers Considering that the great majority of workers in Asian countries are agriculturists, that, in addition, there are large numbers of cottage industry workers, and that the problem of these classes will increasingly engage the attention of the Organization. The Conference invites the Governing Body to consider, in consultation with the Governments of the countries represented at this Conference, and employers' and workers' organizations, the question of more adequate representation at such Conferences of persons engaged in agriculture and the cottage industry. 9. Resolution concerning the Placing op Conventions and Recommendations op the International Labour Organization bepore the National Legislatures 1. The prompt discharge of the obligation imposed on each member of the International Labour Organization by virtue of Article 19 of the Constitution of the Organization to submit conventions and recommendations to the competent authorities for consideration and appropriate action is of fundamental importance for the progressive application in Asian countries of the standards embodied in the conventions and recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference ; conventions and recommendations should be submitted to the competent authorities in a manner which permits of adequate consideration of their provisions. 2. The Conference also suggests that it is desirable that the Governments of the non-metropolitan territories represented at the Conference should, as appropriate to their respective constitutional arrangements, submit to the competent authorities
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promptly and in a manner which permits of adequate consideration the conventions and recommendations dealing with matters within their self-governing powers which are brought to their notice in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 35 of the Constitution by the member responsible for their international relations. APPENDIX lI.—RESOLUTION CONCERNING SOCIAL SECURITY PART I In view of the extreme poverty, the wide prevalence of disease and epidemics, the high incidence of infant and maternal mortality, the low expectation of life, and the misery and destitution caused by unemployment and under-employment among the working peoples of most Asian countries, the establishment of social security services, which are an essential condition of building up a genuine democratic society, has become an urgent task. In order that all-round progress may be made in raising the general living standards of the people, and in order that the burden of social security schemes be lightened, it is necessary that such schemes should be accompanied by measures providing for an adequate growth and supply of essential foodstuffs sufficient to meet the accepted standards of subsistence and nutrition, a living wage, decent housing, and a healthy environment and free and compulsory education ; the Conference urges on the Governments of the Asian countries to take vigorously in hand schemes for the achievement of these objectives. This Conference, while noting that proposals for social security schemes are in various stages of consideration in some of the Asian countries, is of the opinion that the progress of such schemes should be accelerated. The Conference recommends to the Governments that these and other schemes which may be organized should seek to cover risks such as sickness, maternity, invalidity, death of" bread-winner, and employment injury and, in the case of industrial workers, old age and unemployment under certain conditions. The Conference holds that implementation of such schemes will be facilitated if the workers and employers co-operate whole-heartedly to increase and intensify production. Such schemes should be framed in the light of the suggestions set forth in the following paragraphs : 1. Income Security A. Social Insurance Planning 1. In the case of all labour that is regulated, income security should be afforded by means of social insurance, financed by contributions from workers, employers, and Governments. 2. In the formulation of social insurance policy, consideration should be given to the following principles : (a) An integral and long-term plan of social insurance, to be fulfilled by stages, should be framed from the outset; (b) As a first stage, social insurance schemes in respect of employment injury, maternity, and sickness should be applied in certain geographical areas or in respect of all regulated labour, as may be found possible ; (c) In fixing the level of benefits the aim should be to afford at least a minimum of subsistence; (d) The provisions governing contribution and benefit rates and benefit rights should be framed in as simple a form as possible ; (e) Provision should be made for merging the rates of employment injury benefits with those of the corresponding benefits of sickness insurance ; {/) Wherever possible, contributions to, and the administration of, insurance schemes providing for sickness, maternity, and employment injury benefits, which have, as a common factor, the provision of medical care, should be unified.
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B. Employment Injury Benefits 3. Consideration should be given to extending the scope of employment injury benefit legislation so as to cover as many categories of workers not yet covered (including categories of agricultural workers) as may be administratively feasible from time to time. 4. In order that the laws and regulations concerning employment injury benefits may conform as closely as conditions allow to the relevant provisions of the International Labour Code, consideration should be given, with due regard to paragraph 2 of this resolution, to the following principles : (a) The payment of benefits should, as a rule, be secured by means of a system of compulsory insurance administered by the State, or by a non-profit-making organization; (b) The benefits should normally take the form of periodical payments ; a lump sum should be paid only if the competent authority is satisfied that it will be properly utilized; (c) Medical care should be provided on an adequate scale and should include inpatient hospital treatment wherever possible, in accordance with the recommendations of the Medical Care Sub-committee* ; (d) Specialized institutions should be established for the rehabilitation of injured workers ; (e) There should be periodical medical inspection of workers engaged in occupations in which occupational diseases are common. C. Maternity Benefits 5. Consideration should be given to extending the scope of maternity benefit legislation so as to cover as many categories of women workers as may be administratively feasible from time to time. 6. In order that the laws and regulations concerning maternity benefits may conform as closely as conditions allow to the relevant provisions of the International Labour Code, consideration should be given with due regard to paragraph 2 of this resolution to the following principles : (a) Maternity benefits should be granted during maternity leave for six weeks before and six weeks after confinement; (b) The payment of maternity benefits should, as a rule, be secured by a system of compulsory insurance administered by the State or by a non-profit-making organization; (c) Free medical care should be provided. D. Provision for the Aged and for Dependent Survivors 7. Having regard to the fact that in most Asian countries millions of people who are technically self-employed are working and living under conditions more or less similar to those of employed persons, consideration should be given to the provision of old-age and survivors' benefits for all who stand in need of such benefits, and not merely for employed persons and their survivors. 8. Such benefits should ultimately be provided in the form of old-age and survivors' pensions by means of social insurance or social assistance schemes.
* These recommendations are appended (see page 25).
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9. Since the Governments of Asian countries may be unable for some time to afford the substantial subsidies required to finance such pension schemes, by reason of the large outlay they have to make for social services to which a higher priority should be accorded, the following measures should be taken as first steps towards making adequate provision against the risks of old age and death : (а) The institution of compulsory provident funds for as many categories of workers as possible, and, in particular, for all regulated labour; (б) The extension of the scope of existing State-managed insurance schemes (such as the Postal Insurance Scheme administered by the Government of India), or the introduction of such schemes for the benefit of persons of small means. E. Crop and Cattle Insurance 10. With a view to affording a larger measure of income security to cultivators, Governments should consider the possibility of organizing crop and cattle insurance schemes, either for the country as a whole or for those parts in which it may be possible to take immediate action. 11. Medical Care 11. Having regard to the predominantly rural character of most Asian countries and their village economy, the absence in many areas or communities of a money economy, the low standard of living of the population in general, the general need for an extension of medical care facilities, and the prevalence of preventable disease, medical care should preferably be provided, not by means of social insurance or social assistance services, but rather by a public medical care service for the whole of the population without contribution conditions or the imposition of a means test, subject to the proviso that social insurance schemes or other schemes for medical care for limited sections of the community, such as industrial workers, should, in suitable circumstances, be inaugurated in advance of the schemes of general medical care where these do not at present exist. 12. In the organization of medical care services consideration should be given to the following principles : (a) The medical care, general health, and sanitation services should be integrated or be closely associated, with a view to rendering medical care more effectively by strengthening and extending preventive measures and environmental hygiene ; (b) Where provision is made for special medical care facilities for wage earners by means of social insurance contributions, such facilities should be provided through, or supervised by, the health authorities administering the public medical care service for the whole population. PART II The Conference invites the Governing Body—(a) To request the Office to undertake detailed studies of the social insurance schemes which have already been implemented or may be under consideration by the Asian countries, such studies to show the extent of application, the scale of benefits, the conditions for the grant of benefits, the administrative organization, the method of financing, and the total cost of such schemes ;
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(b) To convene at an appropriate time a meeting of social security experts from the Asian countries to consider the progress achieved and the special problems encountered, and to indicate the measures which might be taken for the solution of such problems ; (c) To arrange with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for effective international consideration of the problem of crop and cattle insurance in Asian countries ; (d) To communicate to the World Health Organization for its information this resolution and the report of the Sub-committee on Medical Care ; (e) To instruct the Office to make available experts on problems of social security to advise any of the Asian countries that may request them ; (/) To instruct the Office to submit to the next Asian Regional Conference a survey of the action taken on the basis of this resolution. Extract from the Report of the Sub-committee on Medical Care of the Committee on Social Security Recommendations of the Sub-committee 1. In any scheme for medical care, in any Asian country, the need for the prevention of disease and the improvement of the general standard of health must be considered as of the utmost importance. Much of the existing ill health is due to poor nutrition and to diseases like malaria, which can be prevented. Any proposals which neglect these factors, and devote an undue share of money, energy, and skill to dealing with the treatment of illness alone, are attempting to deal with the problem from the wrong end. Improvements in the environment of the worker —by sanitation, water-supplies, and, where necessary and practicable, anti-malarial work—are of paramount importance, whether the worker is in a large city or in a remote village. 2. The recent report of the Health Survey and Development Committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Joseph Bhore, K.C.5.1., K.C.1.E., C.8.E., gives a comprehensive account of the medical problems of India, In the foreword to the summary of that report there is a statement of principles which can well be taken as a guide for medical work on all Asian countries. It reads as follows : 1. No individual should fail to secure adequate medical care because of inability to pay for it. 2. In view of the complexity of modern medical practice the health services should provide, when fully developed, all the consultant, laboratory, and institutional facilities necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment. 3. The health programme must, from the beginning, lay special emphasis on preventive work. The creation and maintenance of as healthy an environment as possible in the homes of the people, as well as in all places where they congregate for work, amusement, or recreation, are essential. So long as environmental hygiene is neglected, so long as the faulty modes of life of the individual and of the community remain uncorrected, so long as these and other factors weakening man's power of resistance and increasing his susceptibility to disease are allowed to operate unchecked, so long will our towns and villages continue to be factories for the supply of cases to our hospitals and dispensaries. 4. The need is urgent for providing as much medical relief and preventive health care as possible to the vast rural population of the coimtry. The debt which India owes to the tiller of the soil is immense, and, although he pays the heaviest toll when famine and pestilence sweep through the land, the medical attention he receives is of the most meagre description. The time has therefore come to redress the neglect which has hitherto been the lot of the rural areas. 5. The health services should be placed as close to the people as possible in order to ensure the maximum benefit to the communities to be served. The unit of health administration should therefore be made as small as is compatible with practical considerations. 6. It is essential to secure the active co-operation of the people in the development of the health programme. The idea must be inculcated that, ultimately, the health of the individual is his own responsibility, and, in attempting to do so, the most effective means would seem to be to stimulate his health consciousness by providing health education on the widest possible basis as well as opportunities for his active participation in the local health programme.
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3. In considering the means whereby these principles can be put into effect there must be allowance for wide variations to meet the differences in conditions and facilities of different countries. Generally, it will be necessary for schemes for the improvement of environment, such as water-supply and drainage schemes, to be carried out by the Government, municipality, or other local authority, at the expense of the taxpayer. But in some countries, especially on plantations and mines, much can be and has been done in the way of housing and sanitation by the employer. 4. Schemes for ante-natal care, midwifery services, child welfare, and the provision of supplementary food for expectant mothers and young children should be the responsibility of the Government or local authority in many places. But this is a direction in which much can be done by an employer, or by a co-operative scheme organized by the employer and workers. We would emphasize that in our opinion such provision is not less important than medical care, hospital treatment, and sick-pay. 5. In rural areas medical treatment, by the agency of permanent or mobile dispensaries, district hospitals, and health centres, is likely to be practicable only if the cost is met by Government or by the local administration, although those who benefit might be required to pay a small part of the cost, if only to induce them to attach greater value to the service rendered. It has to be remembered, however, that all such payments open the door to abuse, and once the people have been trained to appreciate them the services should be free for all those patients who are living near the subsistence line. These rural treatment centres should be linked with a central hospital for specialized treatment wherever geographical conditions make this practicable. 6. In some rural areas there are hospitals and other medical services maintained by plantations or industrial undertakings. Where these are proved to be efficient and adequate, arrangements should be made whereby they can serve the needs of the local population, in addition to the employees of the industry or plantation. Appropriate financial arrangements should be made by the local authority. Conversely, where the medical service of a local authority can serve adequately the needs of a plantation or industry, arrangements should be made to facilitate this, and the industry should pay the cost. In all such arrangements and also in the medical services of plantations and industries alone, full importance should be given to environmental hygiene. The local authority should be empowered to make regulations to maintain high standards of treatment and to ensure co-ordination and the prevention of wastage of medical skill. In all these rural schemes the doctor will have to serve a wide area. He should be assisted by well-trained hospital assistants, dressers or compounders, and nurses and midwives wherever they are obtainable. 7. For centres serving large populations, urban and rural, specialized hospitals are essential, and in such places the responsibility for providing and maintaining them must rest on the Government or local authority. Those who benefit from them and who are able should pay a part of the cost, either by direct payment of award charges, or, if the patients are participants in any social insurance scheme, from the funds of that scheme. A large proportion of patients will not be able to pay, and it may be expected that the expenditure will always greatly exceed the direct revenue. The difference will have to be made up from general or local revenue. In such a hospital scheme for urban areas maternity hospital provision is of special importance. 8. Private Hospitals for Factories and Industries. —These are likely to fulfil a useful function for dealing with illness which does not require specialized treatment and diagnosis. They could very well be financed by a contributory or insurance scheme, and could qualify for a government subsidy if the standard of treatment was found to be satisfactory. The management of such a hospital should have workers as well as employers on the governing board. Such a hospital, though in no way able to provide a complete medical service, could meet the greater part of the need of the workers if it
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is well run; but to provide a complete service it must be intimately linked with, a larger specialized hospital. It must make reasonable provision for nursing. Such hospitals should be subject to Government inspection. 9. Where local conditions make the establishement of such factory hospitals practicable or desirable, and where no public facilities exist within easy reach in an adequate or suitable form, the following provision is recommended as the minimum desirable : {a) For any factory employing, say, 500 persons, an out-door dispensary; (b) Where the number is approximately 10,000, either in one factory or in a group of adjacent factories, there should be, in addition, a hospital providing in-door and out-door treatment, and maternity facilities, including antenatal and post-natal care and child welfare ; (c) In all industrial undertakings there should be provision for periodical compulsory medical examination of workers and for personal preventive measures against malaria, small-pox, cholera, typhoid, &c. 10. Private medical practice at the present time has an important place in the urban areas, but its usefulness in a scheme for the medical care of an industrial population is very restricted. Under any social insurance or contributory medical care scheme the services of a " panel doctor," unless they are fully backed by a hospital, laboratoryand public health service, are likely to give a minimal value for the expenditure involved. 11. Maternity Benefit. —This is a question which has been specially referred to this Committee. The duration of maternity leave with pay which has been recommended, in proposals submitted to the Social Security Committee, is six weeks before and six weeks after confinement. We would point out that there should be, and in the nature of things there will be, considerable variations in the length of time before and after confinement. Variation must be allowed for also in dealing with women of different races and customs, and according to the type of work they have to do. In some places a total of three months abstinence from work is often longer than is strictly necessary. In considering the period of benefit after confinement it must be remembered that from the point of view of the infant's chance of survival, the longer that period can be, the better. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of costs, the rate of benefit or sick-pay must be considered, as well as the duration. Two months' benefit on full pay costs the employer or the fund the same as three months on two-thirds pay, and in some cases the shorter period with the higher pay may be better for the mother. Some women, because of their poor physique or because of the nature of their work, would require a longer period. Others, who are robust, will suffer no harm if the time is shortened. From a medical point of view under the conditions at present prevailing in Asia a fair average period is two months' benefit, but there must be provision to extend this by at least another month where the women's health is unsatisfactory. The medical representatives of the workers' members and of the Government of India recommend a total period of three months. 12. Staff. —It must be remembered that any schemes for expanding medical services will require more staff, doctors, sanitary inspectors, technical and hospital assistants, nurses, and midwives. The more well-trained assistants a doctor has, within reasonable limits, the more can he devote his time to skilled professional work. All this staff has to be trained ; the training takes several years and requires adequate training schools. The first step is to ensure now that these training facilities are available. Particular importance should be given to the training of women doctors and to qualified midwives. 13. This note is intended to be an indication of the main lines of the medical aspect of some of the problems of social security. More detailed studies can be. found in the Bhore report (Government of India Press, 1946), the Official Bulletin of the 1.L.0. of Ist June, 1944, and in Report I of this Conference. No attempt has been made to go into questions of detail. These details must vary with local conditions and can best be dealt with locallv.
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APPENDIX lII.—RESOLUTIONS ON LABOUR POLICY 1. Resolution concerning Employment Service, Recruitment, and Vocational Training A. Employment Service 1. The wartime developments in the organization of employment services in Asian countries and their subsequent extension and utilization for helping to place former Service personnel and war workers in employment are noteworthy. 2. The development of a proper employment service organization is necessary for securing the proper utilization of national man-power resources and for promoting the mobility of labour, and it will also be a useful preliminary to the introduction of unemployment insurance and relief. 3. The Conference, therefore, expresses the hope that these services will be further expanded so that they will be made available in due course to all employers and workers in the community, and invites the Governments concerned to implement the principles and practices embodied in the International Labour Code as fully as possible in organizing the employment services and recommends to its members, the representatives of Governments as well as those of employers' and workers' organizations, that they take steps to promote the engagement of workers through employment offices where such exist. 4. The Conference requests the Governing Body to draw the attention of Governments of Asian countries to the need for the proper and healthy development of employment services and to instruct the International Labour Office to study, with the assistance of the Governments concerned, the working of these employment services in the light of international experience with a view to encouraging their healthy and proper development. B. Recruitment 5. It is the practice of some employers in Asian countries to recruit workers indirectly through agencies such as jobbers, recruiting contractors, Kanganis, Cais, &c., and frequently in such cases workers fail to understand clearly the terms and conditions of service and incur personal obligations to the recruiting agent or other intermediary. 6. The Conference, therefore, desires to draw the attention of the Governments of the Asian countries to the necessity for taking steps — (a) To eliminate within the shortest practicable period all intermediate agencies between the real employers as defined by national laws and regulations and the workers so that the former will be responsible for the conditions of work, for the payment of wages to the workers, and the observance of the statutory regulations such as grant of holidays, &c.; and (b) Where the absence of suitable employment services administered by public authorities makes the employment of recruiting agents necessary, to frame and enforce regulations to ensure that workers, before leaving their homes, clearly understand the terms and conditions of service, to prevent workers from being placed under any personal obligations to the recruiting agent or other intermediary, and to provide, where necessary, for the repatriation of workers without cost to themselves. 7. The Conference requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to study, with the assistance of the Governments concerned, the recruitment systems now in force in Asian countries, and the steps taken to give effect to these proposals.
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C. Vocational and Technical Training 8. Technical and vocational training is of great importance for improving the skill of the workers so as to increase their productivity and facilitate industrialization, and Asian countries require assistance in their efforts to organize vocational and technical training in a systematic way. 9. The Conference, therefore, requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to study, with the assistance of the Governments concerned, the facilities for vocational and technical training now available in Asian countries, and, in the light of international experience, to suggest practicable measures for extending and improving them D. The Training of Asian Workers in Advanced Industrial Countries 10. The provision of an adequate supply of technical and professional personnel and skilled workers is an indispensable condition for the industrialization and development programmes proposed to be undertaken in Asian countries with a view to improving the standard of living of the people, but few or no opportunities exist for the securing of technical experience and the acquisition of the skills necessary for the implementation of such programmes. 11. Such skills can be acquired advantageously in countries which have reached & high level of industrialization and technical development, and experience in the training of Chinese and Indian professional and technical personnel and workers in the United States and the United Kingdom has proved to be beneficial. 12. The Conference, therefore, requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to study, in consultation with the Governments and employers' and workers' organizations in industrially developed countries, the possibilities of training Asian technical and professional personnel and skilled workers, and to assist the Governments, in consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations in the countries concerned, to draw up a programme for the systematic training of an adequate number of technical and professional personnel and workers in the various skilled occupations. E. Further Action 13. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be further considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 2. Resolution concerning Wage Policy and Family Budget Inquiries A. Wage Policy 1. With a view to achieving a living wage for every worker, every effort should be made to improve the wage standards in industries and occupations where they are still low ; and, as far as possible, to standardize in each country or area the wages in each industry or occupation where conditions are similar. 2. Collective agreements between employers and workers are normally the most satisfactory means for the adjustment of wages, but various reasons, including the comparative lack of organization among employers and to a much greater degree among workers in many of the Asian countries represented at the Conference, make it necessary for Governments to take an active part in the fixing and enforcement of fair wages. 3. The Conference accordingly requests the Governments of Asian countries to assist, by all means in their power, the conclusion of collective agreements wherever feasible, and, where no arrangements exist for effective regulation of wages by collective
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agreements or otherwise, to formulate appropriate legislative and administrative measures to set up statutory wage boards on which, workers and employers will be equally represented, with such numbers of independent persons as may be considered desirable, and with power to fix fair wages and standard wage rates, and to provide cost of living allowances measured by index numbers built and periodically revised on the basis of family budget inquiries. 4. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to instruct the Office,, with the assistance of the Governments concerned, to study the working of collective agreements, wage boards, and industrial tribunals in Asian countries, and the extent to which they have been successful in securing fair wages for workers, and to suggest,, in the light of international experience, what further steps can and should be taken to secure fair wages for all workers. B. Family Budget Inquiries 5. The only effective method of judging the standard of living of workers is by means of family budget inquiries designed to ascertain their income and expenditure and the goods and services which they secure. 6. The Conference, therefore, recommends for the consideration of the Governments of the countries represented at the Conference the desirability of instituting at regular intervals family budget inquiries, in association with nutrition experts and representatives of workers' and employers' organizations. 7. The Conference also requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to formulate proposals for ensuring that such inquiries are made on a comparable basis, and to make a study of the results of the inquiries already instituted. C. Further Action 8. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be further considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 3. Resolution concerning Conditions of Work and Labour Welfare 1. Great importance attaches to the evolution and enforcement of fair terms of employment which secure for the workers fair and well defined conditions of work,, reasonable security of tenure, and opportunities for advancement, consistent with the maintenance of efficiency. 2. The human element in industry is of primary importance, and the increase in production is conditioned by the raising of labour welfare and social security standards. 3. The Conference accordingly requests the Governments of Asian countries to take immediate and appropriate measures in this respect, and requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office, with the assistance of the Governments, to study these matters, stressing, in particular, the steps already taken or proposed to be taken in this direction in the Asian countries. 4. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be further considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 4. Resolution concerning the Protection of Children and Young Workers 1. The employment of children and young workers is a problem of special importance to many of the peoples of Asia because of the prevalence of child labour in widely diversified trades and occupations where regulation by public authority has
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not so far been found practicable in respect of the age of admission to employment, •conditions of work, or provisions for apprenticeship, and because of the limited development of free, compulsory, and universal education. 2. The international Labour Conference at its twenty-seventh session, 1945, passed a resolution on the protection of children and young workers which affirmed that— In order to develop to the fullest extent the capacities of the workers and citizens of the future it is necessary that Governments, whilst encouraging the fullest discharge of individual and family ■obligations, should accept responsibility for assuring the health, welfare, and education of all children and young persons. 3. The Conference, therefore, requests the Governing Body to call the attention ■of the Governments represented at the Conference to the following measures for improving the protection of children and young workers, which, together with the proposals to be submitted to the Conference by the Committee on Programme of Action, merit consideration with a view to the progressive adoption of such measures at the earliest opportunity compatible with existing social and economic conditions, and further requests the Governing Body to consider, in consultation where appropriate with any other international organization which may be concerned, what further measures can be taken to implement these standards in the Asian countries. A. General Education and Vocational Guidance 4. Compulsory free education should be continuously expanded as a condition of equal vocational opportunity for all children and young persons ; it should be of a standard and duration to permit adequate physical, intellectual, and moral development covering the years up to the general minimum age for admission to employment as provided by national laws and regulations, with additional provisions for young persons to continue education in accordance with their abilities to benefit thereby. The age should be progressively raised towards the international standard as social and economic conditions permit. 5. Provision should be made for expanding progressively the available educational facilities, in accordance with an integrated plan until general fundamental or basic education shall become accessible to all children of both sexes, and instruction should be designed to meet the actual needs of children and young persons through educational programmes suited to their ages and aptitudes. 6. The vocational interests of children and young persons should be fostered and their eventual selection of employment or a career be guided with a view to promoting their general education and at the same time developing a taste and esteem for work. 7. The needs of pupils for economic assistance should be recognized as circumstances permit, particularly in respect of free use of text-books, materials, and school equipment; free or low-cost milk and meals ; free or reduced cost of transportation ; and maintenance allowances and student aid as these become practicable. 8. Qualified teaching personnel should be recruited and teacher-training developed to meet the needs of the expanding school system, and standards of remuneration and conditions of employment should be provided which will assure an adequate teaching staff of high quality. B. Vocational Training 9. A network of free technical and vocational schools should be developed and extended progressively with a view to meeting, in accordance with their urgency and practicability, the various needs of the national economy for technical and skilled employees and to providing increasing numbers of young persons with adequate opportunities for developing their technical or trade knowledge in accordance with their occupational interests and aptitudes.
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10. Programmes should be adapted to the social and economic requirements of industries, regions, localities, and the national economy in accordance with, a general plan, and curricula for the courses in different schools and different grades should be co-ordinated to facilitate the transfer and promotion of students in accordance with individual need and merit. 11. Where facilities for such vocational training are lacking or are strictly limited, Governments should initiate schemes for such training and/or grant subsidies to develop or to enlarge existing institutions ; and undertakings should be encouraged, where practicable, to meet the cost of training young persons in numbers proportionate to their size and need for trained personnel. 12. All technical and trade training should be organized by or be under the supervision of competent public authorities, who should act in consultation with the appropriate employers' and workers' organizations. 13. The qualifications required in the examination on termination of technical and vocational training should, as far as practicable, be uniformly fixed for any given occupation or trade, and the certificate issued as a result of these examinations should be recognized throughout the country ; persons of both sexes and of all races, creeds, and social groupings should be granted the same certificate or diploma on completion of the same studies. 14. Part-time supplementary courses under skilled direction should be provided progressively to make available to young workers, whether or not they have received training before entering employment, the opportunity of extending their trade or technical knowledge. 15. Instruction should be given by qualified personnel, including persons with theoretical knowledge and with practical training and experience, and programmes should be developed progressively for the recruitment, preparation, and adequate remuneration of such teachers. 16. Regional, national, and international exchange of students and teachers should be promoted to facilitate exchange of knowledge and experience. C. Apprenticeship 17. As soon as practicable laws or regulations for the control of apprenticeship of children and young persons should be established progressively and applied under the supervision of competent public authorities acting in co-operation with the appropriate employers' and workers' organizations. 18. Such measures should make provision in respect of — (a) The technical and other qualifications required of employers in order that they may take and train apprentices ; (b) The conditions governing the entry of young persons into apprenticeship, including the passing of an appropriate medical examination, particularly in the case of hazardous occupations ; (c) The minimum age of entry into apprenticeship, which should coincide with the school-leaving age where such age has been established ; (d) The mutual rights and obligations of master and apprentice ; (e) Regulations covering the registration of apprentices, limitation of their numbers, duration of the apprenticeship, standards of performance, methods of supervision, examinations to be conducted and certificates to be awarded, and payment of apprentice wages, including holidays with pay and sick-leave, &c. 19. Collaboration should be maintained between the bodies responsible for supervision of apprenticeship and the general and vocational education authorities, including those engaged in vocational guidance, public employment exchanges, and labour inspection services.
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D. Age for Admission to Employment in Non-industrial Occupations 20. As soon as practicable measures should be adopted to promote the progressive abolition of child labour in non-industrial occupations as defined by national laws and regulations. 21. When possible, measures should be developed for providing children's allowances and for organizing compulsory free education until at least the same age as the minimumage established for admission to employment; regulations in respect of minimum age for admission to employment should be rapidly and progressively extended to the various types of employment, especially in urban areas, to avoid the attraction of young children into the less regulated and less protected occupations. 22. Where exceptions are made for light work for children, such exceptions should not be permitted for work during school hours or in such manner as to prejudice the beneficial effects of education, and they should be granted only to children who are not more than a specified number of years below the minimum age of employment which has been established. 23. Special attention should be given continuously and progressively to those occupations which by their nature or circumstances are dangerous to the life, health, or morals of children or young persons employed therein, such as street trades, itinerant occupations, or employment in places to which the public have access, to establish higher minimum ages of admission to employment and to give priority to their regulation. 24. Special attention should be given to the problem of regulating admission to domestic employment, with particular reference to the elimination as soon as possible of the placing of children for quasi-adoption in the family of an employer where they work only for maintenance. 25. In order to ensure the due enforcement of provisions concerning minimum age of admission to employment in non-industrial occupations as in "industry, national laws or regulations should provide as soon as practicable for progressive development and extension of public inspection and supervision, including suitable means for facilitating the identification and supervision of young persons under a specified age in occupations covered by the law, and penalties for breaches of the said laws or regulations; these provisions should include some form of documentary proof of age to be issued free of charge and to be entered in a record to be kept by the employer or young worker in his possession in order to prove his compliance with the law. Such inspection should be carried on by trained and qualified persons, including women, with provision of adequate remuneration and such conditions of employment as will assure the recruitment and maintenance of adequate and suitable staff. E. Protection of Young Workers 26. Hours of work for young workers under a specified age, when practicable, should be progressively regulated under national laws and regulations to provide.limits in all types of occupations, which should be compatible with the maintenance of the health and the educational and recreational needs of children and young persons, and which should tend to be less than those provided for adults by law or collective agreements. 27. As soon as practicable, the regulation of night work of young workers under specified ages should be progressively extended to the various categories of employment to prevent undue fatigue and to permit normal and healthy physical, intellectual, and moral development. 28. Without prejudice to the fixing of a higher age of admission for certain occupations especially hazardous to life and health, every effort should be made to prescribe special conditions of employment for children and young persons engaged in occupations involving special hazards to the health and safety of the young worker, such provisions
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to include training in safety methods prior to employment, adequate supervision, periodic medical examination in unhealthy or exacting occupations, and prescription of maximum weight of loads, having regard to the age and sex of the workers and the conditions of work. F. Administration of Protective Policies and Further Action 29. Provision should be made for effective planning and administration of services to promote the welfare of children and young workers, and specialized agencies or personnel under public authority should be established to deal with programmes for the protection of youth with full regard for the interdependence of the various aspects of these programmes. 30. The Conference, therefore, requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to study, with the assistance of the Governments of Asian countries, the problems of young workers in all branches of economic activity and the means of assuring to them the provisions and protections set forth in this resolution. 31. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to place discussion of these questions, or some portion of them, upon the agenda of the succeeding Asian Regional Conferences with a view to encouraging further the progressive development of these measures. 5. Resolution concerning the Employment op Women and the Protection op Maternity 1. The protection of maternity and promotion of the welfare of women workers is a matter of vital and special importance to all the peoples of Asia because of the low standards of life, lack of education, and widespread employment of women on heavy labour which characterize many of these countries and peoples. 2. The thirtieth session of the International Labour Conference, 1947, adopted a resolution concerning women's work, recommending to Regional Conferences that they consider the problems of women workers in the light of the principles and measures for dealing with these problems adopted by the International Labour Organization at successive sessions of the Conference. 3. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body to call the attention of the Governments of the Asian countries to the following measures for improving the position of the women workers in the countries concerned, which merit consideration, together with the proposals to be submitted to the Conference by the Committees on Social Security and Programme of Action, with a view to the progressive adoption of such measures : A. Maternity Protection 4. The protection of maternity in accordance with the principles adopted by the Committee on Social Security should cover as many categories of women workers as is administratively feasible, including women in all forms of heavy labour, not excepting those employed in large-scale agriculture, such as plantations. 5. Pregnant women and nursing mothers should not be dismissed for that reason ; and if the work performed by a pregnant woman or a nursing mother is prejudicial to her health, she should be allowed every facility for a change of work. 6. Children's creches and day nurseries should be established in expanding numbers, so that the infants and children under school age of working women may be looked after in healthy and safe conditions. The creches or day nurseries should be located with due regard to the convenience of mother and child, and should be under the direction and supervision of the competent public authority, which should, wherever possible, utilize the experience and facilities of existing institutions providing such services.
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Such services should be staffed by trained and qualified persons whose remuneration And conditions of employment should be such as to secure adequate and suitable personnel. 7. Additional social services such as canteens, and provision of milk, essential ■clothing, and layettes, should be made available for mother and child as far as practicable from public funds or at low cost. B. Protection of Women engaged in Heavy Labour 8. Protection .from arduous conditions of work should be provided for women workers in occupations involving heavy labour who in some countries or occupations are excluded from protection of the existing laws in respect of hours of work, conditions of work, social security, and holidays with pay, &c., and this protection should extend to those women who work as helpers or are recruited under a contract system of employment in these occupations. 9. Protection from serious risks to the health of women engaged in these occupations should be provided progressively, with special regard for the following considerations : (a) Weights to be lifted, carried, or loaded or unloaded should be limited by national laws or regulations with due regard to the physique of the worker, the method employed in lifting or carrying, the instruction in such methods to be supplied to the worker, the distances and heights involved, and the frequency of lifting or carrying required, in accordance with scientifically established standards ; (b) Employers should be required to provide separate and suitable accommodation in work places to serve as wash-rooms, toilets, dressing-rooms, &c., for women ; (c) In the interests of the health and comfort of women workers, employers should be required to provide them with, wherever feasible, a sufficient number of seats at places of work and rest. 10. The foregoing measures of protection should be extended to women in largescale agriculture or plantations as soon as means and facilities for the enforcement of these measures are available. C. Vocational Training for Women 11. Facilities and opportunities should be provided progressively for vocational training and employment of women in semi-skilled and skilled occupations which involve dexterity and quickness of movement and are especially adapted to the capacities of women. 12. In view of the widespread illiteracy prevalent among women of many Asian -countries, special attention should be given to developing part-time programmes of basic education to reduce illiteracy and provide the education essential for admission to and proper utilization of vocational training facilities. D. Wages of Women Workers 13. Machinery for fixing minimum rates of wages should be applied to traditionally low-paid occupations where a considerable number or proportion of women are employed, with special attention to home industries. 14. In all cases where minimum wage rates are being fixed the same principles should be applied in determining the rates for women as for men ; in occupations where women predominate care should be taken that, in estimating the value of the work, the skill which it requires is assessed on the same basis as in the case of occupations where men predominate.
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15. In the interests both of men and women workers the principle should be applied of equal pay for work of equal value with a view to establishing procedures for determining wage rates on the basis of job content without regard to sex, in accordance with the principles set forth in the Constitution of the International Labour Organization.. E. Investigation and Further Action 16. The Conference recommends to the Governments of Asian countries that they investigate the problems of women workers and the means of assuring to them in all branches of economic activity the benefits and protections laid down in this resolution, and that specialized agencies or personnel should be provided for this purpose. 17. The Conference, moreover, requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to study, with the assistance of the Governments of Asian countries, — (а) Questions relating to the type of occupation other than those involving rough and heavy labour in which the employment of women workers should be encouraged; (б) Measures necessary for the protection of the health of women workers employed on heavy labour ; (c) The administrative arrangements needed for carrying out the policies concerning the employment of women embodied in this resolution. 18. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be further considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 6. Resolution concerning Rural Labour and Related Problems A. Primary Producers in the Rural Areas 1. The primary producers in the rural areas of Asia constitute more than half of the working people of the world. Their social and economic problems are many and varied in character, and their working and living conditions are in certain areas deplorable and require early improvement. 2. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body to assist the Governments of Asian countries, in co-operation with the other international organizations concerned, to prepare and develop comprehensive programmes of action for improving by stages the conditions of life and work of the rural populations in the Asian region, with particular reference to (a) the problems of village artisaftis, small owner-cultivators, tenant-culti-vators, and landless labourers, and (b) co-operative organizations in agriculture, and spread of literacy, medical service in rural areas, and relief during famines, floods, and other calamities. B. Forced Labour 3. Some forms of forced labour, illegitimate exactions, and servile land tenure still persist in varying degrees in the agrarian structure of certain areas of some Asian countries, and their existence is not only a denial of the fundamental rights of human beings, but also a menace to the speedy and full development of the economy of the areas concerned. 4. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body to call the attention of the Governments of Asian countries to the immediate necessity of taking effective steps for the eradication of forced labour and servitude in all their forms where such exist, and to instruct the International Labour Office to study this problem, with the assistance of the Governments of the countries concerned.
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C. Land Tenure and Land Relationship 5. A very large number of persons in Asian countries are cultivators with uneconomic holdings who are in many cases tenants at will, and the study and formulation of satisfactory systems of tenure and land relationship are of the utmost importance to them. 6. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body to arrange, in co-operation with the appropriate international organizations, for a study to be made of the effect of systems of land tenure and holdings on the conditions of life and work of those engaged in agricultural work, with a view to determining what modifications might be made in existing land relationships so as to increase production, secure for the actual cultivator a fair return for his labour, and promote social justice. D. Permanent Agricultural Committee of the International Labour Organization 7. (1) The Asian countries are predominantly agricultural in their economy, and an overwhelming majority of the agricultural producers of the world live in them. (2) Adequate representation for the Asian region on the Permanent Agricultural Committee of the International Labour Organization is therefore of primary importance. (3) The Conference accordingly requests the Governing Body to make provision for more adequate representation of the Asian region in the composition of the Permanent Agricultural Committee. E. Further Action 8. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 7. Resolution concerning Plantation Labour 1. Plantation agriculture, producing such important commodities as rubber, cinchona, tea, coffee, and sugar-cane, occupies an important place in the economy of a number of the tropical countries of Asia. 2. The conditions of life and work of the vast number of labourers engaged in many of these plantations in certain countries are unsatisfactory, particularly in respect of recruitment, wages, housing, and freedom of association, and are not adequately regulated by national legislation or otherwise. 3. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body—(a) To call the attention of the Governments concerned to the immediate necessity for enacting appropriate legislation for improving the conditions of plantation workers so as to bring them to a satisfactory level, particularly in respect of recruitment, wages, housing, hours of work, workmen's compensation, maternity benefit, freedom of association, and social security measures ; and (b) To direct the International Labour Office to undertake, with the assistance of the Governments concerned, a special study of the problems which are peculiar to plantation labour ; and (c) To give early consideration to the question of the setting-up of an industrial committee to consider the special problems of plantation workers in the Asian countries. (4) The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences.
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8. Resolution concerning Aboriginal Tribes and Untouchable Castes 1. Aboriginal tribes and untouchable castes in various Asian countries, due to their extreme backwardness and ignorance, suffer from special disabilities, disadvantages, and exploitation in economic and social spheres, particularly in regard to opportunities and conditions of employment, and the problems of these sections of the population require special attention and treatment. 2. The Conference therefore draws the attention of the Governments of the Asian countries concerned to the necessity of taking immediate steps for the amelioration of the conditions of the aboriginal tribes and untouchable castes, and it requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to assist the Governments of the countries concerned in a study of these problems. 3. The Conference further requests the Governing Body, in the light of the progress made in these studies, to place one or more aspects of these questions on the agenda of future sessions of the Asian Regional Conference. 9. Resolution concerning Housing 1. Housing conditions for the great mass of people in many of the countries of Asia have long been of low standard and have further very much deteriorated since the War. The problem is, furthermore, made more acute as a result of the movement of population into industrial areas during recent years. 2. The formulation of a policy designed to improve housing conditions is both important and urgent because decent housing conditions are essential for the health and efficiency of the workers. 3. The Conference therefore requests the Governing Body to call the attention of the Governments of Asian countries to the necessity of devising immediate and effective ways and means to provide proper housing for workers. 4. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office to assist the Governments by undertaking, in consultation, where appropriate, with any other international organizations which may be concerned, a systematic, comprehensive, and comparative study, in the light of international experience, of the problems of housing the urban and rural populations of Asian countries, particularly in regard to the provision of finance, materials, town-planning, location of industries, fixation of land values, fixation of rents, subsidies, &c., and to refer these questions to succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 10. Resolution concerning Small-scale Cottage and Handicraft Industries 1. Industrial home and handicraft workers greatly outnumber workers in factories and industrial and commercial establishments ; their number is likely to increase even with the development of large-scale industry, and their protection requires urgent and careful study. 2. In the progress of industrialization the countries of Asia should devote attention not only to remedying the evils caused by industrial concentration, but also to preventing such evils to the greatest possible extent,
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3. Although the introduction of the steam-engine and the consequent industrial development in Western countries produced concentration of man-power and capital, various factors, including the use of light petrol-motors and small electric motors to-day, enable a large number of industries to be decentralized. An opportunity is thus offered to the countries of Asia to embark upon a new procedure of industrialization, better suited to their traditions and aspirations, and likely, in certain conditions, to avoid some of the evils caused by the Industrial Revolution in Western countries. 4. The Conference therefore considers that efforts should be made in the countries of Asia to establish, where feasible, branches of industrial production on the basis of small domestic and handicraft industries. 5. The Conference accordingly requests the Governing Body to instruct the International Labour Office, in consultation, where appropriate, with any other international organizations which may be concerned, — (a) To assist the Governments of the countries of Asia to devise means of protecting the workers engaged in these industries and of organizing these industries, especially on co-operative and federated lines, so that small and autonomous undertakings can benefit from the financial, technical, and commercial advantages normally enjoyed by undertakings in large scale industry; and (b) To make comparative studies of the problems affecting industrial home, cottage, and handicraft workers. 6. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be further considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. 11. Resolution concerning Co-operation 1. Universal experience long since established not only in the countries of other continents, but also in the majority of the countries of Asia, has demonstrated the part which the different categories of rural co-operatives, handicraftsmen's co-operatives, workers' productive co-operatives, consumer co-operatives, and housing co-operatives are able to play in the economic and social betterment of the working populations of rural areas and industrial centres. 2. In particular, co-operative institutions of all categories are able to contribute substantially, in the interests of the community at large, to the liberation of primary producers, handicraft workers, and domestic industries from usury in all its forms ; to their guidance in the complexity of market economy ; and to the improvement of their economic position, the improvement of techniques, the increase of productivity, and the reduction of costs of production and distribution. 3. Furthermore, they are, or can become, efficacious instruments of education by inculcating habits of providence, thrift, and hygiene, by diffusing general enlightenment among their members, by imparting training in the handling of economic matters, and by developing, owing to the democratic method of their administrations, qualities of initiative and a sense of responsibility. 4. For all these reasons it is desirable that the development and operation of cooperative organizations should be included to the fullest possible extent in all the plans of economic and social reconstruction of Asian countries. 5. The very efficacy of co-operative organizations, which are essentially voluntary associations, depends upon the preparatory and continuing education and training of their leaders and members. But, at the same time, in view of the historical, geographical,
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and economic circumstances peculiar to the majority of Asian countries, the development of the co-operative movement according to plan and on a sound basis calls for the promotion and supervision of co-operative organizations by Government. 6. The Conference therefore calls the attention of the Governments of Asian countries to the following:— (а) Elements which may still obstruct the full development and free functioning of genuine co-operative organizations should be eliminated where they exist in the national laws and regulations and in social and economic institutions. (б) The staffs and administrative methods of Government Departments charged with promoting the development of the co-operative organizations should be adapted to the necessities of such development. (c) A comprehensive and continuous effort should be made, with the full technical and financial support of the public authorities, to extend the teaching of co-operation so as to reach all classes of the population and, simultaneously, to train leaders, administrators, and a competent executive staff for the co-operative movement. (d) Co-operative organizations should be progressively associated in the preparation and execution of co-ordinated economic plans to the full extent of their capacity and in a manner compatible with their inherent principles and their administrative-autonomy. (e) Periodical regional meetings should be held to provide to officials of the cooperative departments as well as representatives of the co-operative organizations in Asian countries opportunities of pooling their experiences, comparing the results of their work, and improving their methods ; of discussing and devising means of encouraging the establishment of direct trade relations between co-operative societies of Asian countries, the International Labour Office being informed of the work of such conferences. 7. The Conference requests the Governing Body to convene, at an early date, a conference of experts in co-operation to study these problems and submit suitable recommendations for further action in the light of the organization and achievements of the co-operative movement in other countries, the difficulties met with, and the manner in which they have been overcome. 8. The Conference invites the Governing Body to draw the attention of Governments to the importance attached by the present Conference to the inclusion in delegations to future Conferences of persons having experience of co-operative movements. 9. The Conference further requests the Governing Body to consider, in the light of the progress made in the studies undertaken on the basis of this resolution, what aspects of these questions could usefully be further considered by succeeding Asian Regional Conferences. APPENDIX IV.—RESOLUTIONS ON " PROGRAMME OF ACTION" 1. Resolution concerning Programmes of Action Whereas, in the process of economic and social development now taking place in Asian countries, it is essential that the international standards for the protection of workers as embodied in conventions and recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference should be implemented as fully and as early as possible, and Whereas, although these standards are not, in all cases, immediately attainable by all Asian countries, it is important that effective steps should be taken for the progressive application of these standards.
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The Preparatory Asian Regional Conference of the International Labour Organization adopts, this Bth day of November, 1947, the following resolution : I Freedom of Association 1. The recognition of the principle of Freedom of Association and the effective guarantee of the right to organize and to bargain collectively are indispensable for the improvement of labour standards and should be accepted by all Asian countries. II Labour Inspection 2. The maintenance of an adequate system of labour inspection is an essential guarantee for the proper application of measures for the protection of labour. 3. The Labour Inspection Convention, 1947, should be ratified by all Asian members of the Organization ; it should also be applied to the non-metropolitan territories in Asia in accordance with the provisions of Articles 30 and 31 thereof. 4. Where the provisions of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947, cannot be applied immediately to non-metropolitan territories, the provisions of, the Labour Inspectorates (Non-metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, should be applied as a first step. 5. The Conference requests the Governing Body of the International Labour Office to place the organization of Labour Inspection on the agenda of the Asian Regional Conference to be held in China in 1949. 6. As a first step towards securing an efficient labour inspection service for the proper enforcement of labour legislation in Asian countries, a Technical Conference of * Representatives of Government Labour Inspection Services in the Asian region should be summoned as soon as possible to study in the first instance problems relating to inspection in agricultural and industrial undertakings. It is suggested for the consideration of the Governing Body that the terms of reference of such a Technical Conference might include the following matters : (a) The adoption of suitable schemes for the recruitment and training of labour inspectors with a view to securing uniformly high standards of inspection ; (b) The standardization of the collection and publication of information obtained by labour inspectors in the various countries ; (c) The desirability of the employment of women in labour inspection services ; (d) The formulation of plans for securing the efficient co-operation of employers' and workers' organizations in the enforcement of measures intended to ameliorate working and living conditions. 7. The Conference takes note with the deepest appreciation of the invitation by the Government of Ceylon that the above-mentioned Technical Conference of representatives of Labour Inspection Services should be held in Ceylon as early as possible, and that the Ceylon Government will be pleased to afford all necessary facilities for the purpose. The Conference trusts that the Governing Body will find it possible to accept this invitation and to make the necessary arrangements to convene a Conference of representatives of Labour Inspection Services on the lines indicated above, and that the findings of the Conference will be submitted to the Asian Regional Conference to be held in China in 1949.
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111 National Programmes of Action 8. Each Asian country should prepare a national programme of action for a period of years consisting of proposals for the progressive application, by stages where necessary of the existing international labour standards for submission to the Asian Regional Conference to be held in China in 1949. 9. In framing such programmes of action regard should be paid to the decisions of the present Conference and the following subjects : (а) The application and extension of the forty-eight-hour week. (б) The regulation and limitation of hours of work in establishments, including plantations, to which the forty-eight-hour week is not practicable of application; (c) Establishment of suitable wage-fixing machinery ; (d) The provision of weekly rest periods, holidays with pay, and the elimination of all forms of forced labour ; (e) Promotion of industrial health and safety for workers ; (/) Provision against risks brought about by employment injury, occupational diseases, sickness and involuntary unemployment, and maternity protection ; (g) Prohibition of night work for women and young persons ; (h) The regulation of the age of admission to employment; in particular, measures for promoting the elimination of child labour ; and (i) Measures for the elimination of abuses associated with recruitment of labour. Governments should ensure the fullest possible consultation and co-operation with the employers' and workers' organizations in their respective countries in the drawing-up and implementation of such national programmes of action. IV Labour Standards 10. In securing the progressive implementation, by means of such national programmes of action, of the standards laid down in the International Labour Conventions and recommendations, special attention should be directed by all Asian countries to the provisions of the following Conventions (1) Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919. (2) Hours of Work (Coal-mines) (Revised) Convention, 1935. (3) Minimum Age (Industry) (Revised) Convention, 1937. (4) Night work (Women) (Revised) Convention, 1934. (5) Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928. (6) Placing of Seamen Convention, 1920. (7) Workmen's Compensation (Accidents) Convention, 1925. (8) Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925. (9) Maternity Protection Convention, 1919. (10) Unemployment Provision Convention, 1934. (11) Sickness insurance (Industry, &c.) Convention, 1927. (12) Sickness Insurance (Sea) Convention, 1936. (13) Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921. (14) Holidays with Pay Convention, 1936. (15) Forced Labour Convention, 1930.
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The Asian Regional Conference to be held in China in 1949 should consider, on the basis of the reports to be supplied by Governments, the . progress being made with a view to the ratification and application of these Conventions and the extent to which modifications, if any, of their provisions may be necessary to permit of their application in the Asian countries. Scope of Labour Legislation 11. Every effort should be made to extend the scope of existing Labour Legislation to include workers and work places not so far within its protection. VI Expert Assistance 12. The International Labour Organization should, in accordance with Article 10 of the Constitution of the Organization as amended in 1946, afford all appropriate assistance within its power to Asian countries in the preparation and execution of programmes for the progressive application of international labour standards, and more particularly in the framing of laws and regulations on the basis of the decisions of the International Labour Conference and Regional Conferences and in the improvement of administrative practices and systems of labour inspection. VII Periodical Reports 13. The Asian countries represented at the Conference should be asked by the Governing Body to submit periodical reports, at intervals of not more than two years, on action taken to give effect to this resolution, and indicating, more particularly, the nature and scope of the protection afforded, the scale and duration of the benefits, the machinery set up to give effect to the provisions of the conventions, the number of workers covered by the various protective and regulative measures, the nature, type, and number of undertakings to which they are applied, the circumstances in which relaxations, if any, have been allowed, and such other information as may be necessary to judge the extent to which important labour standards are being progressively applied and extended. Copies of such reports should be communicated to representative organizations of employers and workers in the countries concerned. 14. The Governing Body of the International Labour Office is requested — (a) To give special consideration to the conventions. specified in paragraph 10 of this resolution when fixing a programme for the preparation of the reports on the action taken to give effect to unratified conventions provided for in the constitution of the Organization as amended in 1946. (b) To place the question of the progressive implementation of the International Labour Code on the agenda of the Asian Regional Conference to be held in China in 1949, and to instruct the Office to submit, in connection therewith, one or more reports analysing and commenting upon the reports received from the Governments of various Asian countries concerning the progress made by them to give effect to the provisions of this Resolution.
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2. Resolution concerning Statistics Whereas the proper collection, analysis, and interpretation of statistical data are important in the pursuit of progressive social and labour policies ; Whereas, for the co-ordination of such statistics, either on a regional or on an international basis, they must be collected and interpreted in accordance with common standards. Whereas the compilation of labour statistics is still in its early stages and requires to be developed, as far as practicable, along well-defined and internationally accepted lines; Whereas the statistical techniques to be used depend largely on the stage of social and economic evolution of the countries concerned, and suitable methods have to be devised to meet the requirements of Asian countries which are more or less similar ; and Whereas the conditions in Asian countries are such that a regional approach to the problem of compiling statistics on an adequate basis is likely to lead to fruitful results. The Conference requests the Governing Body to arrange, in consultation with Asian countries, for an early meeting of labour statisticians from Asian countries, together with such others as the Governing Body may invite, to survey the existing organization for the collection, analysis interpretation, and dissemination of statistical data relating to labour conditions in Asia, and to submit recommendations on the following points among others: — (a) The extent to which population censuses could be utilized for the collection of data regarding labour conditions ; (b) The need for evolving a system of comparable standard occupational classifications which can be integrated with international classifications; (c) The scope, method, and programme of statistical inquiries regarding the earnings, conditions of work, and cost of living of the worker ; (d) The technique to be adopted for collecting employment data in such wide fields as agriculture, unorganized industries, the distributive trades, &c., for which returns by individual undertakings may not be suitable ; (e) The measures necessary to enable Asian countries to ratify International Labour Convention No. 63 (1938) concerning statistics of wages and hours of work, within a brief period ; (/) The training of statistical staff for field investigations, and the compilation and interpretation of labour statistics.
Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (558 copies), £B5
By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington. —1948,
Price Is.]
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INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION ON THE PREPARATORY ASIAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, NEW DELHI, INDIA, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER, 1947, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-07
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22,548INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION ON THE PREPARATORY ASIAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, NEW DELHI, INDIA, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-07
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