BWI makes an impact at the International Labour Conference
In the first two weeks of June, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) joined government, employer, and worker delegates from 187 Member States at the 112th International Labour Conference, with more than 50 representatives of its affiliates at the conference.
BWI showed a significant presence at the conference by participating in and organising several protests for workers in the most critical countries this year, including Belarus, Myanmar, and Ukraine. BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson also spoke at the special session on Palestine, calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, recognition of a Palestinian state, and intensification of support for Palestinian workers and their unions. While in his plenary speech, he highlighted the need for ILO to, without delay, adopt Article 33 regarding Myanmar, to condemn the military junta and to support the trade unions fighting the military regime.
(Photo: ILO)
During the two weeks, BWI intervened in eight cases in the Committee on the Applications of Standards, including the special sitting in Belarus. For the adoption of the conclusions on the Belarus discussion, an unprecedented vote was called by governments supporting the Belarus government, but finally, the concussions calling for the immediate release of imprisoned trade unionists and other measures were adopted with an overwhelming majority. Other cases covered were on the freedom of association in Ecuador, Tunisia, Eswatini and the Philippines, highlighting both that the trade union rights of workers can only be exercised in a climate that is free from violence, pressure or threats, as well as how the extensive use of contractualisation often hinders workers in the construction and forestry sectors from organising. The interventions on the cases on Uganda and Kazakhstan highlighted the need for governments to ensure a well-resourced, strong and independent labour inspectorate. Specifically, the case of Uganda, addressed the increase of child labour in Uganda from the pre-pandemic level of 14 per cent to a staggering 39.5 per cent of all children in the country, and the increase of children working in the construction sector. Finally, the case of Georgia concerned the extreme inequality in wages, and the BWI intervention highlighted the interlinkage between the country's extremely low minimum wage and the gender pay gap.
On the Standards Setting Committee on Biological Hazards, an agreement was reached that a new Convention with an accompanying Recommendation will result from the two-year discussion and that the conclusion reached this year will be the basis for the ILO to draft the Convention that will be finalized and hopefully adopted next year. These conclusions included significant wins tailored for the workers, including:
- Comprehensive Health Definition: A broad definition of health that includes mental health and workers' well-being was incorporated after extensive discussions on whether biological hazards impact health.
- Inclusion of Climate Change: For the first time, impacts from a changing environment on workers' health have been acknowledged in an occupational safety and health convention.
- Precautionary Approach: Drawing from the pandemic’s lessons, a precautionary approach for future pandemics and preparedness was established.
- Income Protection: Ensuring workers' financial stability during self-isolation was a contentious issue but ultimately included.
- Protection Against Redundancies: Safeguards against layoffs due to medical issues related to illnesses were also incorporated.
- Gender Differences: The convention addresses gender-specific impacts of biological hazards.
Read the adopted conclusions here and here.
Finally, we want to congratulate the representatives from BWI's affiliates who where elected into the ILO Governing Board: Gerardo Martinez from UOCRA Argentina as a Regular Member, BWI's vice president Phyo Sandar Soe from CTUM/ BWFM Myanmar and Shaher Saed from PGFTU as Deputy Members, and Vasyl Andreyev from Profbud Ukraine as a Substitute Member. Their work will continue to be instrumental for a strong workers’ voice at the ILO.