ITUC REPORT ON INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED CORE

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 000947 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB SOCI KWMN PREL EUN SUBJECT: ITUC REPORT ON INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED CORE LABOR STANDARDS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ¶1. ITUC Report Summary The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) report on Internationally-Recognized Core Labor Standards in the European Union issued on February 26, 2007, assesses the performance in law and practice of each Member State with regard to the eight International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor Conventions, divided into four categories: trade union rights, discrimination and equal remuneration, child labor, and forced labor. All 27 Member States have adopted all eight Conventions, with the exception of the Czech Republic and Estonia which have not adopted the Minimum Age Convention, and are thus, for the most part, legally compliant; however, practices vary greatly throughout the Union. Regarding trade union rights, especially in the new Member States, there are reportedly problems with anti-union discrimination as well as restrictions on the right to strike, particularly regarding broad definitions of 'essential services' and worker representation. Regarding equality, there is significant evidence of economic discrimination against women in all 27 Member States. The pay-gap is due not only to discrimination, but also concentration by sector, under-representation in senior positions, and part-time employment. However, most Member States have implemented official programs to address this problem in the form of a committee or action plan. Other groups that face discrimination are minorities, particularly the Roma community, and people with disabilities. Sexual harassment is also a problem in many countries. As to child labor, this practice occurs in almost all Member States, mostly in the form of informal activities, agriculture, and family business, but also in trafficking for the purposes of forced domestic labor, prostitution, begging, and criminal activities. Forced labor is a problem in all Member States in the form trafficking of persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation and domestic service, with the Western countries as transit points and destinations but the Eastern countries as origins as well. Another issue in several countries is labor practices for prisoners. The recommendation of the report is generally calling for greater attention to and cooperation on these issues. Below is the link to the full report: " http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ EU TPR CLS Report - 2007 final.pdf " ¶2. COMMENT. In a broader perspective, we note that Member State governments within the EU Council have been supportive of the Commission's call to promote core labor standards with the EU's partners. In particular, the EU had sought to include "trade and labor" in the Doha Development Agenda. Though the EU has not been successful on this point, it still pursues this objective, including in the context of its own trade policy, and seeks to promote greater coherence between trade and labor issues in the representative international organizations. A key vector of this strategy would be a reinforced ILO and the promotion of a more effective dialogue between the WTO and ILO. The EU also tries to use its Generalized Scheme of Preferences as an incentive for the promotion of core labor standards. Gray .