IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 116
Expressing congressional support for the International Labor Organization’s
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 25, 1999
Mr. FORD (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, and Mr. MATSUI)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing congressional support for the International Labor
Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work.
Whereas the International Labor Organization (in this resolu-
tion referred to as the ‘‘ILO’’) was created in 1919 by
part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles for the purpose of
improving labor conditions worldwide;
Whereas for 79 years, the ILO has provided an avenue for
nations to improve labor standards in a manner that does
not erode their competitive advantage in world commerce;
Whereas the United States has long recognized the linkage
between the ILO and world trade, having joined the ILO
in 1934, the same year that President Roosevelt and Sec-
•HCON 116 IH
retary of State Cordell Hull launched the Reciprocal
Trade Agreements program;
Whereas the increasing integration of the global economy has
drawn renewed attention to the question of how best to
improve labor standards in an economic environment
characterized by intensified international competition;
Whereas in 1994, at the conclusion of the first Ministerial
Meeting of the World Trade Organization in Singapore,
Trade Ministers issued a declaration which reaffirmed
the commitment of World Trade Organization members
to observe internationally recognized core labor standards
and identified the ILO as the ‘‘competent body to set and
deal with’’ these standards;
Whereas the 174 members of the ILO have recognized the
following 7 conventions as protecting core labor stand-
ards: Convention No. 29 on Forced Labor (1930), Con-
vention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection
of the Right to Organize (1948), Convention No. 98 on
the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining (1949),
Convention No. 100 on Equal Remuneration (1950),
Convention No. 105 on the Abolition of Forced Labor
(1957), Convention No. 111 on Discrimination in Em-
ployment and Occupation (1958), and Convention No.
138 on Minimum Age (1973);
Whereas in June 1998, at the conclusion of the 86th Inter-
national Labor Conference, the ILO adopted the ‘‘Dec-
laration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work’’, which declares the core labor standards embodied
in the 7 conventions to be essential to membership in the
ILO; and
•HCON 116 IH
Whereas an essential element of the 1998 Declaration is its
‘‘Follow Up Mechanism’’, which provides for the moni-
toring of ILO member countries’ compliance with the
core labor standards: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the International Labor Organization’s Dec-
laration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work is an important achievement that may help
advance core labor standards in a competitive global
economy; and
(2) the President should use all means at the
President’s disposal to ensure that the Declaration
and its Follow Up Mechanism evolve into an effec-
tive means of monitoring worldwide compliance with
core labor standards.
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