Agriculture is one of the three most hazardous industries both in the developing and developed countries, the other two being mining and construction industries. It is estimated that half of the world’s 1.2 million occupational fatalities occur in agriculture. Exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals and accidents with machinery are the two primary causes of injuries and diseases in this sector.

    Much of agriculture is in small-scale and subsistence farming. Only 5 per cent of the world’s 1.3 billion workers are subject to supervision by labour inspectorates with some degree of legal protection.

    The convention obliges the ratifying member States to ensure that an adequate system of inspection is in place where agricultural activities take place. The employer shall have a duty to ensure the health of workers in every aspect related to the work. It calls for covering agricultural workers by an insurance or social security scheme, against fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries and diseases and other work-related risks.

    The convention recommended a progressive extension of protection to the self-employed farmers. In India, farm workers constitute over 65 per cent of the country’s 370 million labour force.

    The convention excluded subsistence farming, agro-industries and the forest industry from its scope.

    Globalisation and its impact on employment was another important issue that remained in focus of the conference. The conference was of the view that the ILO "has to remain a leading forum for strategies capable of creating real jobs and taking account of differing nature of the economic challenges worldwide." India made several interventions both in the plenary session as well as in various committees and also in the meetings of labour ministers of the non-aligned and developing countries and those of the Asian and Pacific regions. It urged that skill globalisation must be treated as an important contemporary issue on ILO’s agenda. It should be given equal importance along with economic globalisation. India wants that ILO should take appropriate initiative for promoting multi-lateral investment in skill upgradation and skill formation in developing countries. At the same time, the developing countries must create an appropriate institutional framework for building, training and upgrading skills.

    Economic liberalisation and globalisation has thrown up new challenges in the areas of skill building and vocational training with a rising demand for high skilled workers. Re-training of workers has become equally important as they increasingly face threats to their jobs due to outdated or poor skills and low education level. Employment generation and skill training has to be given prime importance to gainfully channelise the vast human resource in the developing countries.

    India also called upon the member countries to promote an understanding among the nations for a free flow of skills along with the movement of capital. It said that the developing countries are endowed with a vast manpower resource and with upgradation of skills. The movement of this resource across national frontiers should be allowed without any hindrance. ILO’s Working Party on Social Dimensions of Globalisation agreed to look at certain issues in depth.

    In addition to the wide-ranging debate on ‘Reducing Decent Work Deficit’ India said that there should not be a single measuring norm for a decent work agenda. India expressed the view that itmay be used purely in a promotional spirit without affecting the sovereign rights of the member states in carrying out their policies and programmes in any way. India also reiterated its opposition to linking labour standards with trade and argued that ILO should be the forum to discuss this issue.

Child Labour

    Other issues that prominently figured during the conference were child labour, cooperatives and social security. The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) launched a new initiative on June 12 aimed at ending the worst forms of child labour in participating countries within 10 years or less. The initiative began with its launch in Tanzania, Nepal and El Salvador. The effort known as Time–Bound Programme in these three countries will focus on eliminating the use of child labour in activities like scavenging at garbage dumps, portering, mining, domestic work, bonded labour, commercial agriculture, fishing and sexual exploitation.

    The Committee on the Promotion of Cooperative held its first discussion on this new international labour standard. The committee recognised the important role of cooperatives in facilitating job creation worldwide. It stressed that the role of the state should be strictly promotional.

    The Social Security Committee with a wide- ranging consensus said that social security should be provided to all. It said that with globalisation, social security has become more necessary than ever before. Priority should be given to policies and initiatives to extend social security to those who have none. It was of the view that if properly managed, social security could enhance productivity and support economic development.

    The International Labour Conference has once again forged a new path for betterment in the world of work. But much will depend on how quickly the member nations decide to tread this path to translate into reality the dreams they visualised at the conference.