Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - United States of America (Ratification: 1988)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period 2001-04 and the comments of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which were attached to the Government’s report. The Government indicates that the consultative group met six times during the reporting period and it attached the agendas of those meetings to the report. The Tripartite Advisory Panel on International Labour Standards (TAPILS) did not meet formally during the reporting period but its working group met twice in connection with ratification of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and the full panel was consulted through correspondence. Consultations are under way regarding Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185), adopted by the Conference at its 91st Session. The report attached also the annual reports to the President on the activities of the President’s Committee on the ILO for the fiscal years 2001, 2002 and 2003.

2. The AFL-CIO states that since ratification of the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), and until the last three years, the work of the President’s Committee on the International Labour Organization and its two subgroups, the consultative group and TAPILS, resulted in identification of Conventions for potential ratification, preparation of the necessary reports for submission of those instruments to the Senate and a range of tripartite activities in furtherance of the United States’ participation at the ILO. The AFL-CIO states that this process has virtually ground to a halt during the last three periods and also observes that:

-  during the last three years, the Secretary of Labor has failed to call even one meeting of the Committee;

-  TAPILS has not met at all during this reporting period, nor did TAPILS meet during the period 1999-2001 but its working group met twice and two Conventions were ratified;

-  the functioning of the procedures is very slow: in 2002 the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee expressed interest in having the President resubmit Convention No. 111 to the Senate but since then the working group has met only once and documentation proposed by the AFL-CIO was not distributed by the Government. In the opinion of the AFL-CIO the Government has allowed the tripartite process to languish;

-  referring to the Government’s action preceding the 2004 International Labour Conference, the AFL-CIO indicates that for the first time since 1991, the Government did not convene a full meeting of the consultative group in preparation for the Conference. Instead, a much smaller subgroup met and the full group of workers’ and employers’ representatives did not have the opportunity to prepare for productive work at the Conference.

Finally, the AFL-CIO recalls that the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) filed a complaint with the Credentials Committee at the 92nd Session of the Conference 2004, concerning the partial payment of the travel and subsistence expenses of the Workers’ delegation of the United States alleging that the Government had violated article 13, paragraph 2(a), of the ILO Constitution. The Credentials Committee concluded that "… the ability of the Government delegation and the Workers’ delegation to actively participate in the Conference plenary and technical committees cannot be considered comparable. Noting this imbalance and given the circumstances, the Committee trusts that the Government will cover the expenses of a sufficient number of advisors in the Worker’s delegation to ensure that the ability of workers to participate in the committees and the plenary is similar to that of the Government". The Credentials Committee expressed its confidence that the Government and the social partners "will find opportunities to discuss these issues in the course of the consultations leading to the preparation of each session of the Conference" (ILC, 92nd Session, 2004, Provisional Record 6C, paragraph 29). The AFL-CIO believes that this illustrates the Government’s retreat from full commitment to the tripartite structure and process.

3. The Committee notes that the issues raised in this observation are related to the effectiveness of the consultations required by Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. It recalls that, in accordance with this provision, the Government and the social partners should establish procedures which ensure effective consultations in a manner that is satisfactory to all parties concerned. It therefore asks the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures taken to ensure effective tripartite consultation within the meaning of the Convention, including particulars of the consultations on each of the matters set out in Article 5 and to indicate the recommendations made or the measures adopted to resolve the issues raised in this observation.