This is the sixth memorandum presented by I. L. O. to the Council of Europe since 1951Note, and it covers the period August 1955-July 1956.
While a general survey of the worldwide activities of the International Labour Organisation is to be found in the annual report of I. L. O. to the United NationsNote, this memorandum deals mainly with those activities which it is felt will be of direct interest to the Council of Europe. It contains, in particular, an account of I. L. O.'s manpower and productivity and social security activities in Europe during the past year, including details of ILO collaboration in these fields with the European regional organisations; it gives information on the role of Europe in the operational programme of I. L. O., on the progress in activities undertaken as a result of the first European Regional Conference of I. L. O., and on the progress in the application of international labour conventions by the States Members of the Council of Europe. In addition, some information will be found on such activities of I. L. O. as are of a general character and applicable to all the States Members of I. L. O. but which may, nevertheless, be of interest to the Council of Europe.
I. L. O. has paid special attention during the past year to the various aspects of employment service organisation in Europe; i t has also sought to meet the increasingly felt need for information about jobs by providing guidance on methods of collecting such information and on its manifold uses. Its work in this connection has been carried out mainly in collaboration with the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation. As mentioned in the previous reportNote. I. L. O. is co-operating with O. E. E. C. and the European Productivity Agency in a project concerning the establishment of experimental employment offices in six member countries of 0. E. E. C. (Austria, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy and Norway). The purpose of this project is to improve the efficiency of employment services by using a certain number of them for experimental purposes; it is hoped in this way to solve the problem raised by the organisation of the employment market and to promote the best possible utilisation of manpower resources. Specific proposals for the utilisation of their employment service facilities in carrying out this project were put forward by participating countries. Two experts from I. L. O. and 0. E. E. C. visited the countries concerned to study their problems and proposals on the spot and to evaluate the results achieved with particular techniques in order to assess their usefulness and to decide on possible improvements. The two experts submitted their report in March 1956 to 0. E. E. C, whose Manpower Committee has referred it for action to a group of employment service experts.
During the past year I. L. O. has devoted most of its attention in this field to providing assistance to the Governments of Italy, Greece and Yugoslavia. As a result of a six-weeks study mission in Italy I. L. O . has drawn up a series of proposals concerning, in particular, the organisation of a training course for vocational training instructors and the possibility of extending to certain new occupations the training methods currently in use at the two National Institutes in Naples and Genoa. These activities will include the establishment of at least two new centres for training instructors in the adaptation of the training methods developed at the Genoa and Naples Institutes for adult workers to training suitable for young workers.
A centre for the training of managerial and supervisory staff, set up by the Government of Yugoslavia with I L O assistance, was opened at Zagreb during the summer of 1955. The group of four I L O experts originally sent to Yugoslavia in this connection included specialists in the organisation of production, personnel administration, plant training and human relations. The Centre is now extending its activities to include senior management, and three further experts (two in visual aids and one in interpretation) will be sent in the course of 1956, each for approximately one month.
The programme of training Yugoslav workers abroad has continued during the period under review; over 100 workers (including unskilled workers, foremen, technicians and young engineers) were sent to different countries in Europe to perfect their skills in the following fields : oil, mining, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, mechanical engineering, the electrical industry, ceramics, textiles, paper, the chemical industry, the optical industry, the rubber and the food industry. However, it is intended gradually to replace this system of training abroad by training within the country. With this aim in view, three instructors have been provided to give training in particular fields, and two more will follow shortly. These are in addition to the international staff provided to the Zagreb Centre.
A survey of vocational training needs was carried out in Greece; as a result of this mission I. L. O. has drawn up a technical assistance project, under which one expert and two instructors will revise curricula and run pilot teaching projects within the institution of the King's Schools, one for masons and bricklayers and the other for carpenters and joiners. The project is scheduled to start in August 1956. During the period under review the worker-trainee programme was extended in Europe to include Greece, with 25 Greek workers to be placed in the following industries : mechanical engineering, textiles, glassmaking, paper, sheet-metal work. To date 15 Greek worker-trainees have been placed in European enterprises.
Following a survey mission carried out in Malta in 1954 proposals for accelerated vocational training courses for prospective migrants, as well as recommendations for longer-term training of skilled workers, were prepared by I. L. O. and subsequently accepted by the United Kingdom and Maltese Governments. One ILO expert and three ILO instructors (in metal trades, wood-work and general mechanics) began work in Malta during the first quarter of 1956. Maltese nationals will be sent to study abroad so as to enable them eventually to take over from the internationally recruited instructors.
I. L. O. and the Economic Commission for Europe have strengthened the liaison already established between the two organisations in the field of manpower and more particularly in the field of vocational training. Representatives of I. L. O regularly attended the meetings of the Group of Experts on Economic Development in Southern Europe. At the request of the Group, I. L. O. suggested a number of possible regional vocational training projects which might be undertaken jointly by Italy, Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia. As a result of this initiative, arrangements were completed during the first half of 1956 for Italy to be the host country for a regional vocational training programme, situated at Genoa, where courses in instructor-training will be provided to trainees from Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece.
On the basis of recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Joint F. A. O./E. C. E. Working Party on Logging Techniques and the Training of Forest Workers, I. L. O. has initiated a programme of fellowships for instructors and officials in charge of training of forest workers. In 1955, 21 fellowships were awarded to nationals of various European countries, and this fellowship scheme is being continued in 1956. I. L. O. prepared some time ago a study on the training of forest workers based on documentation received from certain European countries. A revised edition of this study, containing data received from a larger number of countries, was submitted to the first session of a joint F. A. O./E. C. E. Committee on Forest Working Techniques and Training of Forest Workers held at Nogent-sur-Marne (France) in December 1955. On the basis of suggestions made at this session I. L. O. is now preparing a report on the safety and health of forest workers.
During the period under review I. L. O. continued to participate in the working party organised by the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community in Luxembourg for the exchange of experience on the training of coal miners responsible for the operation and maintenance of electrical and mechanical equipment underground. It also prepared, at the request of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, a study on exchanges of trainees between the member countries of the Council.
ILO activity in connection with raising productivity in Europe has been carried out this year mainly in co-operation with the European Productivity Agency of 0. E. E. C. It was mentioned in the previous report of I. L. O. to the Council of Europe that the Agency had entrusted I. L. O . with the execution of a number of projects including one relating to job analysis, one to the training of supervisory staff, and a third to the selection and training of vocational instructors and the choice of candidates for vocational coursesNote.
The idea of a job analysis conference originated when members of the OEEC Manpower Committee recognised the need to give greater prominence to job analysis as a technique capable of supplying essential job information for use in worker selection, transfer and promotion; occupational classification and occupational composition studies; training; and vocational counselling and rehabilitation. During the first phase of the project the experts recruited to carry out this task visited several European countries which had expressed interest in the proposed conference and had talks with officials of bodies interested in the use of job analysis information. The conference took place in Geneva during t he first two weeks of November 1955 and was attended by delegates from six OEEC member countries. A final report on the conference was published by O. E. E. C. in April 1956.
I . L. 0 . has continued to work on the other two projects entrusted to it by the European Productivity Agency, and a technical conference on the selection and training of instructors for vocational training and the selection of candidates for training was held in Geneva in April 1956. A large-scale survey of training techniques undertaken by means of questionnaires and of visits to training centres and undertakings in connection with supervisory training project was completed in the first part of 1956, and a report based on its findings, with recommendations concerning the future policy of both organisations in this field, will be submitted to the Agency shortly.
I. L. O. has co-operated with the United Nations, W. H. 0., the World Veterans' Federation and the International Society for the Welfare of Cripples in the organisation of four European projects on rehabilitation. These were the Seminar on Selective Placement of the Handicapped (Stockholm, May 1955), the Study Group on Rehabilitation in Austria (Vienna, October 1955), in which experts in one or other aspect of the total rehabilitation process from most of the countries of Western Europe participated, the Italian National Conference on Rehabilitation of Children and Youth (Rome, May 1955), in which experts from other European countries participated as lecturers and discussion leaders; and the European seminar on the rehabilitation of the blind (London, April/May 1956) in which experts on the welfare of the blind from 18 European countries, the Union of South Africa and the United States participated.
I. L. O. participated in all these seminars, either with experts from headquarters or with experts specially recruited.
I. L. O. has also co-operated with W. H. 0., the United Nations and U.N.I.C.E.F. in surveys of the rehabilitation needs of handicapped children in Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain and Yugoslavia. This co-operation included a joint UN/WITO/ILO survey, carried out in October 1955, of the Waldschuler Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped Children, at Wiener Neustadt, Austria; an ILO expert took part in this survey.
In the light of the recommendations of an ILO expert who visited Turkey in 1954, a vocational rehabilitation expert is likely to be sent there for 12 months to advise on the development of services for placing disabled persons in employment as well as on the coordination of existing vocational training services for the blind, the deaf and the tubercular and on the establishment of a national rehabilitation council. A survey of the vocational rehabilitation facilities at the Belgrade Rehabilitation Centre, Yugoslavia, was carried out by an ILO expert in November 1955. As a result of this survey a three-months' fellowship in rehabilitation of the disabled and of redundant and of unemployed workers is being awarded in 1956 to an official from the Yugoslav Secretariat of Labour.
At the invitation of M. Pierre Schneiter, I.L.O. was represented at the first meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Special Representative of the Council of Europe for National Refugees and Over-population, which was held in Paris in June 1956. An ILO representative also attended a meeting of international organisations concerned with these questions, convened by M. Schneiter, at which problems of common interest were discussed with the Special Representative and his secretariat.
The Office is preparing a general survey of international migration since 1945. The survey will aim first of all at identifying the movements of manpower within the framework of migratory movements since 1945. It will review these international manpower movements as fully as possible, drawing attention to the economic factors which have brought them into being and describing the objective of national and international action in the migration field. It will attempt to evaluate such national and international action in the light of the results obtained. At the request of the United Nations the survey will also take into account the demographic aspects of migration and will consider the effects of international migration on the demographic situation of emigration and immigration countries. The International Labour Office is seeking the co-operation of all interested international organisations in the preparation of the survey, which is expected to be published in 1957.
In response to a proposal put forward by O.E.E.C., a working group consisting of representatives of I.L.O., O.E.E.C. and I.C.E.M. was set up in June 1955 to compile statistics on international migration since 1946 with a view to obtaining more accurate figures on the scale of migration involving the countries of Europe. The statistics established by the working group will be communicated to Governments for their observations and will subsequently be published under the joint responsibility of the international organisations concerned. The study will at the same time provide a basis for recommendations to Governments for the improvement of the:; statistical machinery.
During the period under review I.L.O. has continued to co-operate regularly with O.E.E.C. in the latter's work for the liberalisation of European manpower movements. Information on the laws, regulations and administrative practices governing the employment of aliens in OEEC Member States was collected by I.L.O. and forwarded to O.E.E.C.
In response to requests received from the Governments of Greece and Italy, who are contemplating revision of their emigration legislation, documentation concerning the emigration laws and regulations of other European emigration countries has been made available to the competent Greek and Italian authorities.
The Office has continued to give technical assistance to the Committee of Experts on Social Security of the Council of Europe in connection with the preparation of a draft European Social Security Code. At the request of the Committee of Experts, at its Ninth Session held in April 1956, the Office prepared a revised draft of a Protocol to the European Code of Social Security. The Protocol is to embody a higher standard of social security than that laid down in the European Code. The revised draft text of the Protocol, agreed upon with the Secretariat of the Council of Europe, will be discussed by the Committee of Experts at its Tenth Session to be held in October 1956. The draft European Code, elaborated by the Committee of Experts with the aid of the Office, will be submitted by the Committee of Ministers to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe in the autum.
A preparatory meeting to study the preliminary draft of a European convention concerning social security of workers engaged in international transport was held in Geneva from 7th to 13th December 1955 and was attended by Government experts from 15 European countriesNote as well as by four representatives of workers' organisations. The meeting adopted the text of a draft European convention, covering all branches of transport other than sea transport, based on a draft prepared by the International Labour Office. An Intergovernmental Conference on the draft European convention concerning the Social Security of Workers engaged in International Transport was subsequently convened by the Director- General of I.L.O. in Geneva from 3rd to 9th July 1956. The Governments of all the European States Members of I.L.O. were invited to take part. Sixteen Governments sent representatives and two Governments sent observers. The Conference adopted unanimously the text of a European Convention concerning the Social Security of Workers Engaged in International Transport, which deals with sickness, maternity and employment injury and applies to all branches of transport other t h a n transport by sea. The Convention is open for signature and ratification by the European Member States of I.L.O. and to the accession of any other European States. The Conference expressed the desire that it would be signed at Geneva by the plenipotentiaries of the Governments concerned before 1st November 1956 and that their ratifications would follow as soon as possible.
The Committee of experts on migrant workers in countries members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which, it will be recalled, is convened, jointly by I.L.O. and the High Authority of the CommunityNote, held two meetings in 1955 to continue work on the drafting of a convention on the social security of migrant workers. This work has now almost been completed, and it is hoped that as soon as the Governments concerned have examined the points which had to be referred to them in view of their financial or political implications, the final text of the draft can be drawn up.
Generally, in its operational programme, I.L.O. has continued to place emphasis on the setting up and development of permanent, or semi-permanent, training institutions for vocational training, labour administration and productivity, as it is felt that such institutions bring practical and lasting benefits to the countries concerned which will have a continuing value to their economic and social structure when ILO help is withdrawn and the institutions become the responsibility of the Governments. Examples of these activities carried out in European countries, in particular, in Yugoslavia, Greece, Malta and Italy, have already been given above. There follow some additional examples of ILO operational activities in relation to Europe under the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance of the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies and under the ILO Regular Programme.
Independently of the worker-trainee programme for Yugoslavia, fellowships have been provided for two Yugoslavs to study abroad : one will attend a course in the development of small industries at Delft, in the Netherlands, whilst the other will study at the British Management Institute in the United Kingdom.
In Greece an expert has been assigned to advise the Government on the development of its employment information service. Other projects which have been initiated in this country are a two-man productivity mission and an advisory mission in the field of labour statistics.
In Turkey the Regional Labour Institute set up at Istanbul continues to give training courses in labour inspection, labour administration and employment services to Turkish and Greek trainees as well as to trainees from countries of the Near and Middle East. In addition, a joint I.L.O./U.N.E.S.C.O. vocational training mission, composed of five international experts (three of whom are provided by I.L.O. and were recruited from Europe) is working at Ankara on the development of training in the fields of instructor-training; textiles; electricity; radio; and domestic science.
Sixty-five Turkish worker-trainees have been placed in Europe during the past year, in teams of five so as to minimise language difficulties.
Five worker-trainees from Israel complete the total number of 208 trainees who have been placed in Europe during the period under review.
With regard to the contribution to ILO. part of the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance made by European experts, 103Note have been assigned to various projects in Africa, Asia, the Near and Middle East and Latin America during August 1955- July 1956. About 50 per cent of these have been working in the field of manpower organisation, including vocational training; others have been employed on labour legislation and administration; productivity; co-operation and handicrafts training; and social security.
A total of 68 fellowships have been awarded during the same period for study in European countriesNote, nine of the fellows being themselves Europeans. This total does not include the students from Turkey and Greece who attended courses at the Regional Labour Institute at Istanbul, referred to above.
I.L.O. has also continued to provide technical assistance under its regular programme. Missions have been carried out in Austria and Yugoslavia to advise on measures to be undertaken for the vocational training of the disabled. Assistance was provided to the Turkish National Pension Fund, at the request of the Government of Turkey, as a result of which new legislation has been prepared by the Fund.
Allocations under the regular programme have permitted I.L.O. to collaborate with other organisations in undertaking certain projects. Thus, as mentioned above, I.L.O., in collaboration with E.C.E. and F.A.O., has assisted in the training of European forestry workersNote. Instructors and officials in charge of the training of forestry workers, drawn from Finland, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, have been sent to observe training methods employed in other countries of Europe. Similarly, in collaboration with the United Nations, a scheme has been organised for the exchange of social welfare personnel among the various countries of Europe, and so far over sixty beneficiaries have been received in one or more countries.
Finally, twelve internships were awarded under the regular programme to nominees drawn from Government, employer and worker circles. European participants included Government nominees from Belgium and Portugal; employers' nominees from Finland and the Federal Republic of Germany; and a workers' nominee from France.
It will be recalled that, in the light of the discussions at the First European Regional Conference of I.L.O., a group of statistical experts charged with advising the Office on the scope of an inquiry into wages and social charges (including social security) in Europe and the methods to be followed therein met in Geneva at the beginning of 1955 and adopted a set of basic definitions of wages and related labour costsNote. The group also recommended that first attention should be given to an investigation of industrial establishments by co-operating national statistical services. A detailed plan of study and model questionnaires covering selected industries in manufacturing, transport and mining were transmitted to European States Members of I.L.O. in October 1955. The data thus obtained will be supplemented by an analysis of general statistics of social secur i ty agencies and of national accounts.
Another result of the discussions at the First European Regional Conference of the I.L.O. was the decision taken by the Governing Body to convene a group of experts to study the social aspects of European economic co-operation.
This group met in September 1955 and in February 1956 and drew up a reportNote which was the subject of a preliminary discussion in the Governing Body of the Office at its 132nd Session (June 1956) and is expected to be fully considered by it at its 133rd Session in November 1956. The report deals in particular with the following four problems : (1) the question whether international differences in labour costs, and especially in social charges, do or do not constitute an obstacle to the establishment of freer international markets; (2) the need for policies designed to reduce to a minimum the hardships which closer economic co-operation may involve for persons engaged in particular industries; (3) the question whether, if a freer international market were established, it might be necessary for the countries of Europe to shape and carry out their social policies with a greater degree of international consultation and co-operation than at present; and (4) the social problems connected with freer international movement of labour.
During the period under review the States Members of the Council of Europe communicated a total of 14 ratifications of international labour conventions. The Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention were ratified by Denmark and the Federal Republic of Germany; the Forced Labour Convention was ratified by the Federal Republic of Germany and Portugal; the Equal Remuneration Convention was ratified by the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy; and the Holidays with Pay (Agriculture) Convention was ratified by Italy and the United Kingdom. Denmark ratified the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, Finland ratified the Medical Examination (Seafarers) Convention, Ireland ratified the Food and Catering (Ships' Crews) Convention, and Norway ratified the Protection against Accidents (Dockers) Convention (Revised).
It may be mentioned that the Netherlands and Switzerland have deposited with the Director-General of I.L.O. their instruments of ratification of the Agreement concerning conditions of employment of Rhine boatmen, the amended text of which became open for ratification on 21st May 1954. This Agreement will enter into force after ratification by the other three States concerned, i. e. Belgium, France and the Federal Republic of Germany.
The 39th Session of the International Labour Conference was held in Geneva from 6th to 28th June 1956.
The Conference adopted a Welfare Facilities Recommendation, 1956, and a Vocational Training (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1956. It held a first discussion on forced labour, on living and working conditions of indigenous populations in independent countries, and on weekly rest in commerce and offices. Conclusions were adopted on these different points, together with resolutions inviting the Governing Body of I.L.O. to include them in the agenda of the next session of the Conference.
The Conference also adopted resolutions on automation, the reduction of hours of work, the abolition of discrimination based on sex in the field of remuneration, and the stopping of the armaments race, reduction of military expenditure and reversion of the resources thus released to the needs of developing peaceful industry and improving the living conditions of the population.
The Welfare Facilities Recommendation adopted by the Conference covers (a) feeding facilities in or near the undertaking; (b) rest facilities in or near the undertaking and recreation facilities, excluding holiday facilities; and (c) transportation facilities to and from work, where ordinary public transport is inadequate or impracticable.
The Recommendation applies to manual and non-manual workers employed in public or private undertakings excluding workers in agriculture and sea transport.
It indicates that the facilities it covers may be provided by means of public or voluntary action, i. e., through laws and regulations, or in any other manner approved by the competent authority after consultation with employers' and workers' organisations, or by virtue of collective agreement or as otherwise agreed upon by the employers and workers concerned.
The Recommendation includes detailed clauses covering facilities for feeding (canteens, buffets and ;trolleys, messrooms, etc.), rest (seats and rest rooms), recreation and transport.
Other sections of the Recommendation relate to the management of feeding and recreation facilities (by works and other committees, the management, clubs, etc.) and to the financing of such facilities (by employers and workers and from the proceeds of charges and profits).
The Vocational Training (Agriculture) Recommendation states that in each country the public authorities, other appropriates bodies, or a combination of both, should ensure that vocational training in agriculture is provided and organised in an effective, rational systematic and co-ordinated programme. It outlines the objectives of vocational training in agriculture and provides, as regards the scope, that the programme of vocational training in agriculture should cover the whole agricultural population without distinction as to race, religion, nationality or sex, and whatever the legal relation to the land.
The Recommendation also contains detailed provisions on the methods of training, particular mention being made of agricultural technical schools, courses of shorter duration, training on the farm, extension services, apprenticeship, training for teachers and rural leaders, and teaching aids and materials.
The other sections of the Recommendation relate to farm and other interested organisations, and national and international action.
The Conference adopted conclusions on the question of forced labour and decided to place on the agenda of its next session the question of forced labour for a second discussion with a view to a final discussion on a Convention on the subject. According to the conclusions approved by the Conference, the proposed Convention should provide that every member of I.L.O. which ratifies this Convention should undertake to suppress and not to make use of forced or compulsory labour, in particular, as a means for political coercion or education; a method of mobilising and using labour for the purposes of economic development; a means of labour discipline; a punishment for having participated in strikes; a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination, etc.
The Conference also held a first discussion on the question of the living and working conditions of indigenous populations in independent countries, and, in its conclusions, proposed the adoption of a Convention concerning the protection and integration of indigenous populations in independent countries, supplemented by a Recommendation.
The Conference decided to place the question of living and working conditions of indigenous populations in independent countries on the agenda of its next session for a second discussion, and specified that certain provisions, which had not been discussed during the Conference, could be embodied in a Recommendation under the « single discussion » procedure.
The conclusions approved by the Conference concerning weekly rest in commerce and offices envisage the adoption of a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation. They indicate, with a view to consultation of Governments, the provisions which the future Convention should include relating to its scope, the general and special schemes to introduce, the temporary exemptions permissible and the measures to be taken in order to ensure proper administration concerning weekly rest. In respect of the Recommendation, these include specific provisions concerning the method of determining rest periods, the establishment of most favourable conditions for young workers, and the maintenance of a system of records for proper administration. The Conference decided to place this question on the agenda of its next session.
As regards the resolutions adopted by the Conference, that on automation recommends, inter alia, that the Office should study and analyse on a continuing basis, the labour and social implications of automation, and convene a tripartite meeting in order to make a special study of these implications. It also proposes that this question should be included in the agenda of the future sessions of industrial committees, regional meetings or sessions of the Conference, with the aim of intensifying the contribution of the Organisation in the solution of the labour and social problems involved and promoting the raising of standards of living and well-being to the full extent made possible by technological improvements.
Another resolution invites the Governing Body to consider placing the question of the reduction of hours of work on the agenda of an early session of the Conference, as the rapid development of technical and scientific progress and the rise in output open up new possibilities for such reform.
A third resolution, on abolition of discrimination based on sex in respect of remuneration, invites the Office to study the actually existing differentials in the wages of men and women workers in countries which have recognised the principle of equal remuneration for both sexes, as compared with the countries which have not recognised this principle.
Lastly, the Conference adopted a resolution on the stopping of the armaments race, in which it reaffirmed the hope that the work of the Disarmament Commission of the United Nations and its sub-committee may be brought to a speedy and fruitful conclusion.
Sessions of five industrial committees took place during the period under review. Two of these, however, the Plantations Committee and the Petroleum Committee, have a less direct interest for the Member States of the Council of Europe than the other three, i. e. the Textiles Committee, the Coal Mines Committee and the Building, Civil Engineering and Public Works Committee.
The Textiles Committee held its Fifth Session in Geneva from 26th September to 7th October 1955; it examined problems of productivity in the textiles industry and the question of labour-management relations in textile factories. The Coal Mines Committee held its Sixth Session in Istanbul from 30th April to 12th May 1956, when it considered the question of safety in coal mines, as well as recruitment and vocational training in this industry. The Fifth Session of the Building, Civil Engineering and Public Works Committee was held in Geneva from 14th to 26th May 1956; its agenda included safety in the construction industry, and national housing programmes and full employment.
The ILO Advisory Committee on Salaried Employees and Professional Workers will hold its Fourth Session towards the end of 1956, when it will examine the following two technical questions : non-manual workers and collective bargaining and the working conditions of technical and supervisory staff in industry, excepting management.
Three sessions of industrial committees are scheduled for 1957, namely the Sixth Session of the Inland Transport Committee, which will examine methods of improving organisation of work and output in ports and labour inspection in road transport; the Sixth Session of the Metal Trades Committee, which will study automation and job evaluation methods in the metal trades; and the Sixth Session of the Iron and Steel Committee, which will consider the promotion of safety in the iron and steel industry and conditions of work and social problems in the iron and steel industries of countries in the course of industrialisation.
In March 1956 the Governing Body considered what measures should be taken to enable the Organisation to deal with the problems of certain of the larger industries for which the establishment of industrial committees had been requested. The Governing Body reached the conclusion that it was not possible to set up any new industrial committees at the present time. It decided, however, to convene, in 1957 a special tripartite meeting to carry out a general examination of the social problems arising in mines other than coal mines; the meeting will also consider accident prevention, machinery for wage fixing and protection and industrial relations in such mines.
I.L.O. is following closely developments resulting from the discovery of atomic energy and, in particular, its industrial utilisation for peaceful purposes. I.L.O. is naturally concerned with the possible influence of this occurrence on the situation of workers throughout the world. At the international conference on the peaceful uses of atomic energy convened under the auspices of the United Nations in 1955 I.L.O. made known the results of its studies in connection with one of the main industrial safety problems in the atomic age, namely the protection of workers against ionising radiationsNote. In November 1955 the Governing Body of the International Labour Office examined the main social aspects of the utilisation of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and took a number of decisions which will enable the Organisation, when the time comes, to take measures at the international level to meet the social consequences of the changes in progress.