This is the ninth memorandum presented by the I. L. 0. to the Council of Europe and it covers the period August 1958 to July 1959.
It has been prepared bearing particularly in mind the matters in which the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe expressed interest in its reply to the previous report of the I. L. 0. Note In this connection, as regards the " help given by the I. L. 0. to the various organisations which favour European co-operation ", it may be mentioned that the I. L. 0., for its part, welcomes the trend towards mutual aid and co-ordinated action which has developed between the various European organisations and itself in regard to questions of common concern, and is deeply appreciative of the assistance which it has received from the European organisations in regard to various aspects of its work in Europe.
It is hardly necessary t o reaffirm that the I. L. 0., as part of its efforts to improve living and working conditions through out the world, is glad to assist all countries which are endeavouring, either individually or jointly, to raise their social standards. It is felt, moreover, that , where such efforts are being made by regional governmental organisations, the I. L. 0., on account of its wider framework, has an essential contribution to make. To mention only a few aspects of this contribution, there is the fact that the I. L. 0., because of its tripartite structure, is in aposition to provide guidance on the preoccupations of all three sectors concerned in labour and social problems, i.e. Governments, employers and workers ; again, because of its long and extensive experience, it can assess the relative importance of and establish sound priorities for the various questions requiring attention and, not least important, because of its geographical scope it can see how regional needs fit in to the worldwide pattern and provide guidance on their relationship to problems in other areas.
One example of how this works in practice is to be found in the Tripartite Confer ence convened by the I. L. 0. at the end of last year at the request of the Council of Europe to examine the draft European Social Charter prepared by the Social Committee of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Not only was a forum thus provided where Governments, employers and workers had equal opportunity to express their views on the draft Charter, but the I. L. 0., in consultation with the Council of Europe, supplied the Conference, as a basis for its discussion, with a document which compared the provisions of the draft European Charter with the corresponding provisions of ILO standards of universal application. Although the full record of the Conference has already been communicated to the Council of Europe, it is felt that the Consultative Assembly may find it convenient to have a summary of the proceedings in the present report, for ease of reference, and consequently a brief account of the Conference is given below.
While the Conference dealt with the whole range of social questions and was attended by representatives of different European institutions, including, in addition to delegations from the Council of Europe and the 0. E. E. C., representatives of the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Parliamentary Assembly, the Commission of the European Economic Community, which also represented the Commission of Euratom, the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and Western European Union, the I. L. 0. has continued to provide help to all of the above-mentioned organisations individually. The assistance given in regard to various fields of activity, at the request of and in collaboration with these organisations, is also described below. In addition, an accountis given of activities relating to Europe which the I. L. 0. has undertaken on its own initiative. The progress which has been made since last year in the ratification of international labour Conventions by the States Members of the Council of Europe is also reported. Finally, a brief description is included of certain ILO activities which are world-wide in scope but which it is felt, nevertheless, would be of interest to the Council of Europe. In this connection it should be pointed out, however, that a general survey of the activities of t he I. L. 0. throughout the world is to be found in the annual report of the I. L. 0. to the United Nations Note.
The Tripartite Conference convened by the I. L. 0. at the request of the Council of Europe to examine the draft European Social Charter prepared by the Social Committee of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe was held in Strasbourg from 1st to 13th December 1958. The Conference was attended by complete tripartite delegations from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. An observer delegation from Turkey was also present. The I. L. 0., in consultation with the Secretariat-General of the Council of Europe, had prepared a working paper which compared the provisions of the draft Charter with the corresponding ILO standards and formed a basis for the general discussion of the Conference. In addition the Conference set up two committees to examine respectively the substantive clauses and the implementation clauses of the draft Charter.
As regards the substantive clauses of the draft Charter, the Conference reached a number of unanimous conclusions which could, therefore, in accordance with the agreement between the two organisations, be sent forw ar das provisions of the draft Charter. In other cases the Conference, although unanimous in thinking that the provisions of the draft should be altered or supplemented, preferred simply to suggest the lines along which changes should be made, leaving it to the Committee of Ministers to draft the exact text. In yet other instances the Conference was unable to reach unanimous conclusions on suggestions made by certain members either individual ly or as groups, but it may be hoped that the opinions expressed during the discussions will not be lost sight of when the European Social Charter is finally drafted.
There were two major points on which the Conference reached general agreement. The first was to recommend that the benefits of freedom of association should be extended to all public servants, as is already laid down in the international labour Convention, adopted in 1948, concerning freedom of association and protection of the right to organise. The second is connected with the right to strike. The employers' members, in accepting the proposed wording on this point, made it a condition that the attention of the Committee of Ministers be drawn to their request that the right to lock-out should be recognised and that a clause should be inserted providing for measures to regulate the right to strike. It is worth noting that, if the suggestion put forward by the Conference leads to the inclusion in the Charter of a provision dealing with the right to strike, it will be the first time that an international convention will have recognised that the workers and their organisations have this right for the defence of their economic and social interests. Among the other points on which agreement was reached mention may be made of those relating to the promotion of full employment, adequate remuneration, reasonable notice before cessation of employment, the protection of safety and health and effective labour inspection services.
With regard to the different clauses concerning the ratification of the Charter, the supervision of its implementation and its coming into force, the Conference, in several cases, recommended important amendments to the draft text before it. Probably the most important amendment which was recommended dealt with Article 19, relating to those of the commitments enumerated in the Charter with which States must comply upon ratifying the Charter. Although the Conference was not in a position to agree upon the content of a nucleus of provisions which would be binding upon all the States ratifying the Charter?thus forming a common denominator of social policies fixed in advance?the Conference nevertheless almost unanimously agreed that it would be desirable for such a nucleus to be established. The conclusions reached go so far as to specify that this common denominator should be determined by the Committee of Ministers, which should take into account the suggestions regarding various articles and paragraphs which were thought to be essential.
It was understood that efforts would be made to ensure that all States Members of the Council of Europe would be requested to submit the Charter to their national parliaments within a prescribed time-limit with a view to ratification.
The Conference also recommended the deletion of a provision whereby any State which ceased to be a Member of the Council of Europe would have ceased also to be a party to the Charter.
After considering at length the question of the supervision of the implementation of the Charter, the Conference finally decided not to accept the provisions suggested by certain delegates where by such supervision would have been organised on a tripartite basis, employers' and workers' representatives taking part on the same footing as Governments. It was agreed, however, that international organisations of employers and workers enjoying consultative status with the Council of Europe might attend, in an advisory capacity, meetings of the Sub-committee of the Governmental Social Committee which will be responsible for studying there ports on the application of the Charter and the conclusions of the Committee of Experts on these reports. The views of these organisations would be embodied in the Sub-committee's report.
With regard to the implementation of certain provisions of the Charter by collective agreement, the view was expressed that the Committee of Ministers should consider the possibility of fixing the percentage of the working population which must be covered by the Charter and that the Committee of Experts should take account of that percentage when supervising the enforcement of the Charter.
In accordance with the arrangements for the Conference agreed upon by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the Governing Body of the I. L. 0., which provided that the decisions of the Conference should be expressed in the form of a report addressed to the Committee of Ministers, the full record of the Conference was sent by the I. L. 0 . to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe for transmission to the Committee of Ministers. The arrangements further provided that the report should also be brought to the attention of the Governing Body of the I. L. 0., and, at its session in March 1959, the Governing Body noted with satisfaction the results of the Conference.
The I. L. 0. has continued its assistance to the various European organisations in the drawing up of agreements and Conventions in respect of social security.
In 1958 two texts establishing European standards of social security were completed by the Council of Europe with the help of t he I. L. 0. The first of these is the draft European Code on Social Security which embodies the minimum standards for European countries and is based on the provisions of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952, with certain modifications designed to raise the standards somewhat above those laid down in the Convention ; the second is the draft European protocol on social security, which establishes more advanced standards than the Code.
During 1958 also, the preparatory technical work in connection with the introduction of a European system of social security for migrant workers, designed to facilitate the free movement of labour within the area of the countries which are members of the Europe an Economic Community, was completed under a joint working arrangement between the European Economic Community, the Europe an Coal and Steel Community and the I. L. 0. This followed the decision taken in July 1958 to transform the. European Convention on the Social Security of Migrant Workers, which, it will be recalled, was prepared under the joint auspices of the High Authority of the E. C. S. C. and the I. L. 0 . and signed at Rome by the ECSC countries on 7th December 1957, in to Regulations of the European Economic Community. The application of the new system is supervised by an administrative committee to which the I. L. 0 . lends its technical co-operation in conformity with an agreement concluded between the E. E . C. and the I. L. 0.
In March 1958, the Committee of Experts on Social Security of the Council of Europe decided to as certain the attitude of States Members of the Council of Europe which are not members of the European Economic Community with regard to the European Convention on the Social Security of Migrant Workers by means of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was prepared by the I. L. 0 . at the request of the Committee of Experts and has been distributed to all the States Members of the Council of Europe. The main question raised is whether the States Members of the Council of Europe which are not Members of the E. E. C. would be prepared to participate in the system adopted by the E. E . C. or whether they would wish to have established a new European Convention concerning the social security of migrant workers to be concluded among the States Members of the Council of Europe. It is expected that the Committee of Experts will further consider the matter, on the basis of the replies received from the Governments, at a meeting to be held at the beginning of November 1959 in which the I. L. 0 . will participate.
Preparations are advancing, in consultation with the Administrative Centre for the Social Security of Rhine Boatmen, in regard to there vision of the Agreement concerning the Social Security of Rhine Boatmen which was concluded in 1950 with ILO assistance. On the basis of replies received to questionnaires which it had prepared at there quest of the Administrative Centre, the I. L. 0 . has now prepared a preliminary revised text which brings the Agreement, as far as is feasible considering the particular conditions of Rhine boatmen, into line with the EEC Regulations concerning the social security of migrant workers and includes additional provisions concerning unemployment benefits and family allowances.
This draft text has been distributed to the States concerned, and it is expected that a special meeting of the Administrative Centre will be held to discuss it at the beginning of 1960.
The European Convention on Social Security of Workers Engaged in International Transport, concluded between 12 European States Members of the I. L. 0 . in July 1956, was ratified by Poland in January 1958, the Netherlands in August 1958 and by France in April 1959. It consequently entered into force in respect of Poland and the Netherlands on 1st October 1958 and in respect of France on 1st June 1959. In January 1959 draft arrangements for the application of the Convention drawn up by the I. L. 0 . were submitted to a meeting of representatives of the competent authorities of the 12 signatory countries. The meeting adopted the draft text with minor modifications, but the Governments reserved their final positions as regards the arrangements until the end of March 1959. In the intervening period the competentauthorities of two signatory countries communicated observations to the I. L. 0 . ; following the proposal made by one of the two competent authorities, it was agreed to amend slightly the title of the draft text, and the observations presented by the other one are still under consideration. The arrangements will be published as soon as unanimous agreement on their contents has been reached.
It has been noted that the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe has expressed interest in the action being taken by the I. L. 0 . with regard to equality of treatment of nationals and non-nationals in social security. In accordance with a decision taken by the Governing Body of the I. L. 0 . in November 1958 a panel of the ILO Committee of Experts on Social Security met in Geneva in January-February 1959 to consider, inter alia, the possibility of establishing an international instrument on the social security of migrant workers and a draft instrument concerning equality of treatment of nationals and non-nationals in social security. The experts recommended the establishment of a general instrument governing the situation of foreigners and migrants in the field of social security which would ensure equality of treatment of nationals and non-nationals as regards the maintenance of rights and payment of benefits abroad. The Director-General of the I. L. 0. communicated the report and recommendations of the experts to the Governing Body of the I. L. 0. in March 1959 and submitted as one of the questions to be considered by the Governing Body at its 142nd Session (May-June 1959) for inclusion in the agenda of the 45th Session of the International Labour Conference (1961) the question of social security (equality of treatment) of migrants and foreigners. Following its preliminary consideration of the matter, the Governing Body has now requested the Director-General to submit to it at its 143rd Session in November 1959 a law and practice reporton this question in order that it may take a final decision with regard to placing it on the agenda of the 1961 Conference.
As regards studies and research in the field of social security, it may be mentioned that the series of inquiries into the cost of social security is being continued, one covering the years 1955 to 1957 being now in preparation. In addition to inquiries covering statutory schemes the I. L. 0 . has undertaken a study of the cost of schemes established by private initiative which supplement to an appreciable extent the protection afforded by statutory schemes. It has assembled data which, although incomplete on the basis of currently available information, are designed t o give an indication of the order of magnitude of private schemes as compared with statutory social security schemes.
The comparative study of the cost of medical services operating under social security schemes has just been published Note.
During the period under review the I. L. 0. has been co-operating with and providing technical advice to various European organisations in regard to the different aspects of manpower questions.
In the field of vocational training, for instance, the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe has itself drawn attention to the close collaboration between the Special Representative for National Refugees and Over-population and the I. L. 0., especially in regard to the training of unskilled workers, and it should be noted that this collaboration lias been maintained and strengthened over the past year. A practical example of this collaboration is to be found in the project for the establishment of an accelerated training centre for adults m Turkey, wich is being carried out with the technical assistance of the I. L. 0. and with substantial financial assistance from the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund which has granted a loan of more than $1 1/4 million for the buildings and equipment of the centre. The centre, which is scheduled to open in 1960, will be capable of training some 800 persons annually in the principal metal-working, mechanical and building trades.
Collaboration is being maintained with the E. C. S. C. m regard to vocational traning questions and the I. L. 0. participated m a study session on vocational training in coal mines held at Luxembourg in June 1959.
Also withm the framework of its vocational training and guidance activities, the I. L. 0. is undertaking a special study on the impact of technological development on the employment and vocational preparation of young persons in the industrially advanced countries and is co-ordinating this study with a related study being carried out by the 0. E. E. C. and the European Productivity Agency (E. P. A.) on vocational training in view of technological change.
The I. L. 0. is also collaborating with the E. P. A. and the 0. E. E. C. on a project aimed at securing detailed information on the organisation of vocational guidance services in the member countries of. 0. E. E. C. with a view to improving the administrative co-ordination among the various agencies, official and non-official, engaging in guidance work. This study is related to recommendations made by the World Congress of the International Association for Vocational Guidance held in Brussels in July 1958.
Preliminary discussions have taken place between representatives of the European Economic Community and the I. L. 0. with a view to establishmg close collaboration be-tween the two organisations in regard to vocational and technical training questions through the exchange of reports and documentation, the holding of ad hoc inter-secretariat discussions etc.
Insofar as the vocational training of migrants is concerned, the I. L. 0. has conti-nued its collaboration with the Intergovern-mental Committee for European Migration. It may be recalled that, in accordance with plans outlined at a meeting m December 1957 attended! by representatives of the I. L. 0., I. C. E. M., 0. E. E. C. and the Council of Europe, the I. L. 0. offered to place at the disposal of emigration countries its technical advice for organising accelerated vocational traning courses, carrying out technical assistance projects and assisting in the organisation of supplementary training courses in certain immigration countries.
Within the framework of this arrangement, two ILO experts carried out an explora-tory mission at the request of the Itahan Government dunng the summer of 1958 to investigate the possibility of setting up a vocational training centre for migrants. In their report the experts made detailed recommendations for the construction and establishment of such a centre and their proposals were approved at the November 1958 session of the Council of I. C. E. M. Work has subsequently gone ahead in regard to the preparation of the Centre at Salerno and it is expected to accept its first group of trainees early in 1960.
A joint I. L. O.-I. C. E. M. survey is to be carried out in Brazil and Argentina dur-ing October-December 1959 to investigate (a) the possibilities for complementary courses in schools or other institutions for migrant workers who have already received basic vocational training in European emigration countres, (b) the possibilities for complementary training within industry for migrant workers who have already received basic training in Europe, and (c) the possibilities for full-time training, either in schools or institutions or in industry, for unskilled migrant workers from Europe.
The I. L. 0. has also been paying attention, together with other organisations, to vocational training in the rural field, and, in collaboration with the Swiss Government, F. A. 0., UNESCO, and the 0. E. E. C, the I. L. 0. sponsored the first international course on vocational agricultural education held in Zurich in August-September 1958. In partic-ular, the I. L. 0. provided the services of lecturers and awarded a number of fellow-ships to the participants.
In a related field, the I. L. 0. has continued, in co-operation with the F. A. 0. and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, to promote the training of fores-try workers, and in 1958 it granted 60 fellow-ships to instructors and officials in this ffeld for the study of practices in different European countries. Also in co-operation with the F. A. 0. and the E. C. E. training courses on time and motion studies in forest work and on mountain logging techniques were organised by the I. L. 0. for some 175 participants.
Under the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance of the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies, the I. L. 0. has continued to provide technical assistance m regard to vocational training to Greece and Turkey.
Other activities of the I. L. 0. in Europe in the field of training included participation in an international conference of industrial training ofhcers convened at Stresa to discuss the training of supervisory staff and workers m regard to industrial safety and in a seminar organised by the Barcelona Centro de Estudios y Asesoramiento metalurgicos. In both instances, ILO participation consisted of collaboration in the preparation of papers and lectures.
In the field of occupational information the I. L. 0. is collaborating with the E. P. A. and the 0. E. E. C. on a project aimed at assist ing member countries of the 0. E. E. C. in the development of programmes for the collection and use of occupational information in relation to manpower activities such as the placement of workers, vocational guidance and training and employment market analysis. The project also includes a special study of select-ed occupations in the construction industry in western European countries in order to facilitate the mobility of workers among the countries concerned. This latter aspect of the project is related to a recommendation made by the Committee on Social Questions of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe that the ILO be requested to take action in this field
The I. L. 0. is currently advising the Manpower Directorate of the Commission of the European Economic Community on prob-lems relating to the comparison of occupational data in the six Common Market countries. A project is envisaged through which the I. L. 0. will provide the services of a techni-cian to assist the E. E. C. in making such comparisons for occupations which are most important in terms of international movement of workers.
Close co-operation continues to be maintained between the I. L. 0. and the 0. E. E. C. in regard to measures to improve the mobility of manpower amongst the countries of western Europe. This subject is currently being studied by the Group of Employment Service Experts (Working Party No. 7) of the Manpower Committee of the 0. E. E. C. on the basis of the report prepared by the I. L. 0. in co-operation with the 0. E. E. C. and the E. P. A. on the "International Clearing of Vacancies and Applications for Employment
The I. L. O. has also engaged in technic-al consultations during the past six months with the European Economic Community on the organisational and operational problems involved in the international clearing of vacancies and applications for employment.
During the period under review the I. L. 0. co-operated with the 0. E. E. C Manpower Committee and its Group of Employment Service Experts in finalising the standards on employment market information which were adopted by decision of the Council of the 0. E. E. C. on 19th September 1958. These standards are complementary to the series of standards on employment service organisation which were adopted in 1954 and were also established with ILO co-operation.
The I. L. O. has placed at the disposal of the E. E. C. technical materials developed in the field of employment market analysis to assist the collection and analysis of employment information from the six member countries.
Other areas of activity in which the I. L. 0. has collaborated with European organisations over the past year have included conditions of work, workers education and occupational safety and health.
In regard to the former, the I. L. 0. has continued to provide technical advice to he ECSC group of experts on labour law, which is carrymg out new studies on workers' representation at the level of the undertaking; on strikes and lock-outs ; and on the protection of workers in case of loss of employment.
In the related field of human relations, it is collaborating with the European Product-ivity Agency in a project concerning human relations in the building industry which is aimed at achieving greater productivity through improved co-operation of all concerned. Countnes participating in the project are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Federal Repu-blic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
It may also be mentioned that the I. L. 0. collaborated with the European Office of the United Nations in assisting the Belgian Ministry of Labour and Social Security to organise a Study Group on Welfare Conditions in the Belgian Metallurgical and Engineering Industries which was convened in Brussels in September-October 1958.
The I. L. 0. has been paying considerable attention to the question of workers education. While much of its programme in this, connection is directed towards regions where workers education is at an early stage of development, it has participated, during the period under review, in various activities in this field in Europe.
Mention may be made, for instance, of the seminar on the relationship between liberal and vocational education with participants from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Fin-land, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, which was held at I. L. 0. Headquarters in Geneva m October 1958. This seminar was organised by the International Federation of Workers' Education Associations with the technical and material aid of the I. L. 0.
The I. L. 0. also provided technical and. material aid. to the Scandinavian People's Summer School held in Geneva in June 1959 and helped to organise the British Workers' Education Association's nineteenth summer school also held in Geneva, in July 1959. In addition, it organised educational programmes for a group sponsored by the Finnish Confederation of Trade Unions and one by the German Confederation of Trade Unions.
Sortie assistance was provided by the I. L. 0. to the British Workers Education Association in the preparation of a survey on "Trade Union Education , which analyses past experience and possible improvements in this field.
As part of its work in the field of occupational safety and health m Europe, the I. L. 0. continues to participate in the activities of the ECSC Permanent Organ on Safety in Coal Mines and has recently been invited to take part in four working groups which have been established by the Permanent Organ to study respectively the effects of systems of remuneration on safety; the effects of hours of work, particularly in arduous or unhealthy workplaces, on safety ; the role of psychologic-al and sociological factors in regard to safety; and medical problems connected with safety policies.
Co-ordination has also been maintai-ned in regard to occupational safety and health questions, in particular as regards the classification and labelhng of dangerous goods, be-tween the I. L. 0. and the Western European Union.
During the period under review, States Members of the Council of Europe communicated a total of nine ratifications of international labour Conventions as follows :
Austria ratified the Convention concern ing Statistics of Wages and Hours of Work, 1938 (No. 63) ; Belgium ratified the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) ; Denmark ratified the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) ; the Federal Republic of Germany ratified the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) ; Greece ratified the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised) 1948 (No. 89) ; Luxembourg ratified the Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (Revised) 1949 (No. 96) ; the Netherlands ratified the Holidays with Pay (Agriculture) Convention 1952 (No. 101) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention 1957 (No. 105).
The 43rd Session of the International Labour Conference, dunng which the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the International Labour Organisation was commémorated, was held in Geneva from 3rd to 25th June 1959.
The Conference adopted three Conventions concerning different aspects of the conditions of work of fishermen (minimum age, medicalexamination, and articles of agreement), and a Recommendation providing for the organisation of health services in places of employment. It took preliminary action with a view to final discussion next year on three other instruments : a proposed draft Convention and Recommendation concerning the protection of workers against ionising radiations and a proposed draft Recommendation on the question of collaboration between public authorities and employers' and workers' organisations at the industrial and national levels It held a general discussion on the problems of non-manual workers including technicians supervisory staff etc and approved a report outlining a long-term programme for the I. L. 0. with respect to these workers' problems.
The Conference also adopted resolutions concerning the possibility of adopting a Convention on occupational health services in places of employment ; the coverage by workers compensation of harmful effects of ionising radiations ; the problems of young workers ; the ILO's activities in the field of occupational health and safety and participation by the I. L. 0. in the proposed International Health and Medical Research Year ; the operational activities of the I. L. 0. ; and the development of the activities of the I. L. 0. in respect of the problems of the under-developed countries.
The Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention adopted by the Conference lays down that children under 15 must not be employed or work on fishing vessels. National laws or regulations may, however, provide for the issue of certificates in respect of children of 14 years or over permitting them to be employed in cases in which an educational or other appro-priate authority is satisfied, having due regard, inter alia, to health considerations, that such employment will be beneficial to the child. Young persons under 18 must not be employed or work on coal-burning fishing vessels as trimmers or stokers.
The Medical Examination (Fishermen) Convention stipulates that !no person may be employed on a fishing vessel unless he produces a fitness certificate signed by a medical prac-titioner approved by the competent authority, who shall prescribe the nature of the medical examination to be made and the particulars to be included in the medical certificate. In the case of young persons under 21 the medical certificate shall remain in force for not more than one year. Arrangements shall be made to enable a person who after examination, has been refused a certificate to apply for a further examination by a medical referee independent of any fishing-bott owner or organisation of fishing-boat owners or fishermen.
The Fishermen s Articles of Agree-ment Convention provides that the agreement must state clearly the respective rights and obligations of each of the parties, and contain certain specified particulars (except where the matter is regulated in another manner by national laws and regulations) including, inter alia, the capacity in which the fisherman is to be employed ; the scale of provisions to be supplied to him ; the amount of his wages or share and the method of calculating such share if he is to be remunerated on a share basis, or the amount of lus wages and sha and the method of calculating the latter if he is to be remunerated on a combined basis , and any agreed minimum wage ; and the termination of the agreement and the thereof.
The Occupational rlealth Services Recommendation states that the role of occupational health services should be essentially preventive. They should not be precluded from ascertaining the conditions that have led to a worker's absence on sick leave and obtaining information about his progress, so that they will be better able to evaluate their preventive programme discover occupational hazards, and recommend the suitable placement of workers for rehabilitation purposes. In order that they may efficiently perform their functions, occupational health services should (a) have free access to all workplaces ; (b) inspect the workplaces at appropriate intervals ; (c) have access to information concerning' the processes, performance standards and substances used; (d) be authorised to undertake sur-veys and investigations on potential occupational health hazards and the assessment of harmful physical agents ; and (e) be authorised to request the competent' authorities to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety standards.
The conclusions adopted by the Conference concerning the development of the ILO's programme in regard to non-manual workers cover questions of concern to non-manual workers in general, such as effects of economic and technical progress ; vocational guidance training and re-training; employment and unemployment, with special reference to the problems of the educated unemployed and of older workers ; hygiene and health ; conditions of employment; contract of employment; transfer of pension rights ; and existing international standards. They also cover problems of individual categories of non-manual workers such as technical and supervisory staff office staff workers in the distributive trades public servants inventors in salaried employment and other special categories of non-manual workers.
It is noted that the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, welcomed the inclusion m the agenda of the 44th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 1960) of the questions of hours of work and workers housing. The other new item (i. e., one which has not already been discussed at the 43rd Session) decided upon by the Govern-ing Body in November 1958 concerns the contributions of the I. L. O. to the raising of incomes and living conditions in rural communities, which is to be the subject of a general discussion.
At its November 1959 Session the Governing Body of the I. L. 0. will have before it for consideration in drawing up the agenda for the 45th Session of the International Labour Conference (1961) detailed proposals for a general discussion by the Conference on employ-ment problems and policies, together with law and practice reports on the following sub-jects : equality of treatment of nationals and non-nationals (social security) ; vocational trai-ning; prohibition of the sale and hire of ina-dequately guarded machinery ; and employment of young persons in underground work in mines of all kinds.
Other ILO meetings of interest winch took place during the period under review included a meeting of experts, in October 1958, on conditions of work and employment of nurses, which approved a number of recommend-ations concerning the employment situation in the nursing profession, the conditions of work of nurses in public and private employment, the recruitment of nurses and their economic and social status.
Also in October, a meeting of experts was convened to review the social and economic problems affecting teachers and the principles underlying both the determination of teachers' salaries and superannuation arrangements for teachers. In their conclusions the experts referred to the shortage of teaching staff and the financing of education and recom-mended measures concerning the training and recruitment of teachers, their civic rights, freedom of association and right to collective bargaining the contribution of teachers to the advance of education teachers' career problems and their general conditions of work. With reference to teachers' salaries the experts recommended certain principles regarding administration and salary negotia-tion salary scales initial grading, advance-ment and promotion. The experts also made a number of recommendations relating to super-aannuaiion arrangements.
In the field of occupational safety and health, a meeting of experts held at the end of 1958 of adopted a new international classification of radiographs of pneumoconiosis. The experts also selected a set of standard radio graphs illustrating the classification, and consi-dered various questions on radiological technique relating to the classification.
A review of labour conditions in the timber industry was undertaken by a tripar-tite technical meeting which was held in December 1958. The meeting formulated conclusions dealing with accident prevention, conditions of employment, labour-management relations and conditions in logging camps.
A meeting to prepare a model individual control book for drivers and assistants in road transport was convened by the I. L. 0. in April 1959. The meeting, which was attend-ed by Government delegates from Austria, Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom and by an observer from the U. S. S, R., unanimously adopted a model individual control book together with indications concerning its use.
The ILO Coal Mines Committee held its seventh session in Geneva in April-May 1959. The Committee, which was attended by representatives of the 0. E. E. C. and the E. C. S. C, in addition to reviewing progress since the previous session, examined principles and methods of wage determination in the coal-mining industry and labour-management relations in the coal-mining industry with emphasis on the human aspects of relations within the enterprise. It discussed at some lenght the situation arising in the coal-mining industry through the substitution of coal by other forms of fuel and energy and adopted a resolution concerning the convening of a tripartite technical meeting of coal-producing countries most seriously affected by the situation as early as possible to study the social consequences arising from the present economic situation in the coal-mining industry.