ASEAN calls for review of labor standards

ASEAN calls for review of labor standards

BANGKOK (AFP): Labor ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called yesterday for the review of international labor standards, rejecting any linkage with trade issues.

"Any such linkage would seriously undermine the economic growth of developing countries which in turn would affect the economy of the developed nations," said a joint communique of the 11th ASEAN Labor Ministers Meeting.

The ministers called on the International Labor Organization (ILO) to review its standards and their application in member states, Thai labor minister Prasong Boonpong said at the close of the two-day meeting.

"Many of the ILO conventions which were formulated decades ago have become outdated and do not reflect the actual social and economic conditions of member states," the communique said.

The ILO was asked to provide more assistance to member states in promoting employment, fighting poverty and eliminating child labor, rather than penalizing them for failing to live up to the standards of developed countries.

Prasong objected specifically to the Freedom of Association principle, under which the Thai government has been pressured to allow the registration of state enterprise unions, banned after a coup d'etat in 1991.

The communique listed seven conventions which the ministers considered ripe for review, also dealing with forced labor, child labor, discrimination, the right to organize and collective bargaining.

"Pending the review, the ministers requested the ILO to adopt a more flexible approach in applying ratified conventions with due consideration given to the stage of development of each member state," it said.

Labor standards should be discussed only in the ILO, "and not in international trade or other non-labor related fora," the communique said, explicitly rejecting a call by developed countries for their inclusion under the World Trade Organization.

In regional affairs, progress was noted in implementing proposals for UN-funded projects to promote self-employment in the informal sector and improvement in working conditions and the environment.

But Prasong told reporters afterwards that no timetables or procedures had yet been established. "We've just begun to talk about it," he said.

Other nascent ASEAN programs discussed were to address industrial relations and human resource development planning.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It was the first time that the representative from Vietnam, which joined the regional grouping last year, had attended a labor ministers meeting.

Prasong announced in his closing statement that Hanoi would host the next such meeting in 1998. The communique noted that it would also host the informal meeting in 1997 that the ministers hold on alternate years.