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the text of five proposed Conventions. The Conference, after studying the report, adopted a resolution placing the matters treated in the report on the agenda of the next Conference. Subsequent to the 1946 session the Office circulated a report among Governments containing relevant extracts from the Committee's Report and the text of five draft Conventions. Governments were requested to state whether they had any amendments to suggest or comments to make on any of the texts and, if not, whether they considered the drafts might form a suitable basis for discussion at the 1947 session. Various statements and suggested amendments were submitted by Governments, and on the basis of these replies two further reports were prepared by the Office, the latter of which contained the final draft of the texts submitted by the Office to the 1947 Conference. The draft Conventions referred to were as under: — I. Proposed Convention concerning Social Policy in Non-metropolitan Territories. 11. Proposed Convention concerning the Right of Association and the Settlement of Labour Disputes in Non-metropolitan Territories. 111. Proposed Convention concerning Labour Inspectorates in Non-metropolitan Territories. IV. Proposed Convention concerning the Application of International Labour Standards to Non-metropolitan Territories. V. Proposed Convention concerning the Maximum Length of Contracts of Employment of Indigenous Workers. For the purpose of considering the text of these draft conventions, the Conference appointed a Committee composed of eighteen Government members, nine employers' members, and nine workers' members. Two representatives of the Trusteeship Department of the United Nations were also present, as well as an observer from UNESCO. A technical expert of the General Federation of Jewish Labour in Palestine was added to the Committee as assessor without power to vote. The Right Honourable W. J. Jordan, Senior Government delegate for New Zealand, was unanimously elected Chairman of this Committee. The Committee embarked on a general discussion of the draft Conventions, in the course of which the Government members of the United States, Australia, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Portugal described the policies of their Governments in regard to non-metropolitan territories and gave details of the social progress recently realized. In the course of his remarks, the New Zealand Government representative mentioned that the New Zealand Government had already given general support to the principles embodied in the proposed Conventions as contained in the second report issued by the Office, and had stated that in their opinion they formed a suitable basis for discussion. It was explained, however, that conventions which were directly relevant to conditions in African or South-east Asia colonies had little significance for New Zealand's non-metropolitan territories. The measures provided for in the Conventions arose from the needs of more industrialized communities and were therefore more appropriate for non-metropolitan territories which were capable of and had carried out considerable industrial development. They were not likely to have a great deal of practical application in New Zealand's dependent territories. The Committee then proceeded to a detailed discussion of the individual articles of the draft Conventions and the numerous amendments submitted. The Committee sat on seventeen occasions, and its conclusions, together with the revised texts of the five draft Conventions, were presented to the Conference on 7th July in three reports. The Conventions, as revised by the Committee, were adopted by the Conference after some discussion on various proposed amendments, none of which was adopted. The text of the Conventions as finally adopted by the Conference are attached to this report as Appendices.

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