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The Convention concerning Social Policy in Non-metropolitan Territories (Appendix 1) contains provisions dealing with such matters as the provision of financial and technical assistance to the local administrations in order to further development; improvements in the fields of public health, housing, nutrition, education, the welfare of children, the status of women, conditions of employment, the remuneration of wage-earners and independent producers, the protection of migrant workers, social security, standards of public services, and general production. It is specifically stated that the improvement of standards of living shall be regarded as the principal objective in the planning of economic development, and there is another provision requiring that steps shall be taken to interest and associate the peoples of non-metropolitan territories in the framing and execution of measures of social progress. There are special sections dealing with the abolition of discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, belief, tribal association, or trade-union affiliation, and with education and vocational training. The Convention concerning the Right of Association and the Settlement of Labour Disputes in Non-metropolitan Territories (Appendix 2) requires the rights of employers and employed alike to associate for all lawful purposes to be guaranteed by appropriate measures. It also contains provisions relating to the right to conclude collective agreements, consultation with employers and employees concerning the application of protective measures for workers and labour legislation generally, and procedures for the investigation and settlement of disputes. The Convention concerning Labour Inspectorates in Non-metropolitan Territories (Appendix 3) requires the establishment of labour inspection services in territories where such services do not now exist, prescribes the rights and duties of such inspectors, and requires that workers and their representatives shall be afforded every facility for communicating freely with inspectors. The Convention concerning the Application of International Labour Standards to Non-metropolitan Territories (Appendix 4) requires countries ratifying it to make a declaration stating in respect of non-self-governing colonies, protectorates, and possessions the extent to which it undertakes that the provisions of the Conventions set forth in a schedule to the Convention shall be applied in those territories. The Conventions scheduled in the covering Convention deal with the minimum age in industry, minimum age for employment at sea, minimum age for employment of stokers and trimmers, medical examination of 3 r oung persons employed at sea, night work by young persons, maternity protection, night work by women, underground work by women, equality of treatment in accident compensation, workers' compensation for accidents, marking of weight of packages transported by vessels, weekly rest in industry, and the medical examination of young persons in industry. The Convention concerning the Maximum Length of Contracts of Employment of Indigenous Workers (Appendix 5) requires that laws or regulations shall prescribe the maximum period of service which may be stipulated or implied in any contract. Contracts of apprenticeship are excluded and other exceptions may be permitted by the authorities —for example, in the case of literate workers whose freedom of choice is satisfactorily safeguarded. The maximum period of service for employment not involving a long and expensive journey is in no case to exceed twelve months if the workers are not accompanied by their families, or two years if they are so accompanied. When a long and expensive journey is involved the maximum period is two years if the workers are not accompanied by their families, and three years if they are. While the subject-matter of these Conventions may not, as indicated above, have much practical application so far as New Zealand's Non-metropolitan Territories are concerned, nevertheless their adoption represents a considerable step forward towards the realization of the aspirations of many of the peoples of non-metropolitan territories throughout the world for improved living standards and labour conditions and brings to fruition the work begun in this direction at Philadelphia in 1944.

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