Ukraine and the ILO Vol. I
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Ukraine and the ILO (in two volumes) Volume I Historical background and recent developments Grigorij Prensilevich Igor Chernyshev Copyright © 2018 Grigorij Prensilevich and Igor Chernyshev. This work is registered with UK Copyright Service. Ukraine and the ILO (in two volumes) Vol. I: Historical background and recent developments; vol. II: Documents ISBN: 978-2-8399-2591-4 (pdf) The book cover designed by Ms Milena Chernysheva. The responsibility for opinions expressed in the publication rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Since August 1991, Ukraine exists as an Independent State. At the same time, the history of its membership in the International Labour Organization (ILO) counts more than 60 years and began in 1954. How the country, called at that time the Ukrainian Soviet So- cialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR), became a member of the ILO while being a part of the Soviet Union? The book answers this and many other questions, and looks into many unknown, varied, dramatic but at the same time exiting historical facts of relationship between the country and the ILO, including a hidden and extended pre-membership pe- riod. Volume I describes the relationship between Ukraine and the ILO with a focus on the two distinctive periods: the Soviet period (1954-1991) and the period covering the years of Ukraine’s independence, as of 1991 and beyond. Special emphasis is made on the recent developments in the collaboration between Ukraine and the ILO in such topical areas as: Decent Work Country Programmes, ratification and application of the ILO Con- ventions, labour migration, social dialogue, restructuring of labour statistics and labour market information system, prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, occupational safety and health. A separate chapter is dedicated to the professional histories of the ILO officials recruited from Ukraine and covers their responsibilities and contribu- tions to the ILO Work Programmes. Volume II comprises copies of the authentic official documents that describe the history of the Ukrainian SSR’s accession to the ILO; pro- grammes of cooperation between Ukraine and the ILO after 1991; it also contains a com- plete collection of all official speeches of the Ukrainian delegates delivered at numerous sessions of the International Labour Conference (ILC) and the ILO Governing Body; in- cluding texts of the Resolutions submitted by the members of Ukrainian delegations and adopted by the ILC; as well and the lists of all members of the Ukrainian delegations to the ILC and a number of other important ILO conferences and meetings. Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1 Ukraine and the ILO: pre-membership period (1920–1953) ........................ 9 Fighting for independence and applying for membership in the League of Nations ............................................................................................. 9 In sight of the ILO ..................................................................................................... 15 Membership in the United Nations and the attitude towards the ILO ....................... 21 Chapter 2 Entry of the Ukrainian SSR into the ILO and the relationship between Ukraine and the ILO in the Soviet period, 1954–1991 ................. 27 Participation of Ukrainian delegations in the Sessions of the International Labour Conference, the Governing Body and other ILO meetings .......................... 28 Ratification and application of the ILO Conventions, 1954–1991............................ 84 Financial contribution to the ILO, 1954–1990 ........................................................ 106 Visit of the ILO Director-General Mr David Morse to Kiev (6–8 April 1958) ...... 111 Chapter 3 Developments after 1991: from relationship to partnership ...................... 113 Technical cooperation and promotion of decent work ............................................ 114 Decent Work Country Programmes ............................................................................... 119 Promoting employment opportunities and improving labour market conditions for men and women ...................................................................................... 124 Improving labour migration governance ........................................................................ 128 Promoting tripartism and social dialogue ....................................................................... 134 Reforming labour law ..................................................................................................... 141 Restructuring labour statistics and labour market information system ........................... 143 Prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including trafficking in children ..................................................................................... 156 Improvement of occupational safety and health ............................................................. 162 Participation of the Ukrainian delegations in the sessions of the International Labour Conference, the Governing Body and other ILO meetings ........................................................................................... 169 Ratification and application of the ILO Conventions.............................................. 192 Financial relations between Ukraine and the ILO since 1991 ................................. 216 Chapter 4 Ukrainians in the ILO ................................................................................ 224 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 264 Annex 1 Ukraine and the ILO: chronology ............................................................. 277 Annex 2 ILO projects, accomplished or under implementation, in Ukraine ........... 283 Annex 3 ILO publications translated and produced in Ukrainian ........................... 295 Annex 4 Permanent Representatives of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and the international organizations in Geneva .......................................... 300 5 Introduction The relationship between Ukraine and the International Labour Organization (ILO) has a rich and somewhat unique history. Over a period of 64 years, the membership of Ukraine in the ILO can be divided into two distinct periods: Ukraine, as an integral part of the Soviet Union (the Ukrainian SSR), and Ukraine, as an Independent State. On 12 May 1954, the Ukrainian SSR, as one of the 15 constituent soviet republics, which formed the Soviet Union, was admitted to the ILO as a founding member of the United Nations.1 The Soviet period of the Ukrainian membership in the ILO ended on 23 August 1991. 24 August 1991 marked the beginning of a new chapter of relationship between Ukraine and the ILO, when Ukraine became a sovereign and Independent State. The present publication does not intend to offer a comprehensive and in-depth anal- ysis of the Ukrainian participation in all ILO activities. It has been written and compiled with the objective to provide facts and documents which shed light on the evolution of the relations between the country and the ILO, and the role of the ILO in promoting social jus- tice, tripartism and social dialogue, employment creation and active labour market policy in Ukraine. During the period of 1954–1991, Ukraine, as an integral part of the USSR, followed and supported the international policy of the Soviet Union towards the International Labour Organization and other UN specialized agencies. One of the main features of that policy was the predominance of political matters over social and labour issues and priorities. The speeches of the Ukrainian Government delegates at the International Labour Conferences (ILCs) reveal that from the very beginning of its membership, Ukraine considered the ILO as an important international platform to promote and secure the Soviet ideology of peace among the peoples of the world through reducing tensions in international affairs. It was strongly believed that only such kind of participation in the work of ILO statutory bodies and technical programmes in general, would lead to the reduction of arms race and the de- velopment of production for peace.2 Like delegates from other socialist countries, members of the Ukrainian delegations frequently used the ILC’s podium as an opportunity for propaganda of economic and social achievements in Ukraine and centrally planned economies. Another issue which marked the membership of Ukraine in the ILO between 1954 and 1991 was a recurrent debate over the status of Employers’ representatives from the so- cialist states. The Western employers refused to recognise the directors of socialist enter- prises as legitimate employers. They argued that Employers' delegates from the Ukrainian SSR and other socialist economies represented government interests since in socialist coun- tries there was no free entrepreneurship. In other words, in ILO’s view they were govern- ment employees entrusted by the State with managerial responsibilities in their respective enterprises. Consequently, they were in no way “employers” within the context of the ILO Constitution.