ILO Governing Body, 352^nd session

28 October – 7 November 2024

Report of the ninth meeting of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group

GB.352/LILS/3

EU Statement

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries Türkiye, North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia*, Albania*, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. We align ourselves with the Government Group Statement.
2. Chair, the EU and its Member States appreciate the hard work done by the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group during its ninth meeting and thank the Officers for their detailed and comprehensive report.
3. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Office for organizing this year’s meeting and for its invaluable support to the SRM. Lastly, we would like to thank the Vice Chairs for their valuable input during the discussions, and the Chair for his significant role in this process.
4. We welcome that the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group reached consensus on a forward-looking package of recommendations on all seven topics under review. The recommendations entail important follow-up actions, including for further elaborating on the best way to protect fishers and dock workers as well as to address the implications of the ageing population on the labour market.
5. The rich discussions show that there are many sides to be heard. We appreciate all of the views that were expressed during the meeting, which is essential to working towards a clear, robust and up-to-date body of international labour standards, which would be relevant to all constituents. The EU and its Member States are therefore truly committed to finding reasonable, balanced solutions to reach consensus as to all the topics on the agenda of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group.
6. In the light of this, we regret that no consensus was reached on the possible future abrogation or withdrawal of six of the eight outdated instruments. We encourage the Office and the tripartite members to reflect on this matter before its tenth meeting to ensure that the SRM TWG can deliver tangible results on all matters of its programme of work. We stand ready to engage in such reflection.
7. In closing, a word on our shared, tripartite mission. This year’s discussions show that tripartite consensus is not always easy. The EU and its Member States would like to call upon the members of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group to endeavour to reach consensual decisions on all of the topics on the agenda in the spirit of consensus and mindful to the importance of the work and the mandate of the SRM which we fully support. This includes future steps for outdated instruments. The EU and its Member States remain fully committed to this objective.

Chair, the EU and its Member States support the draft decision points.

Thank you.

*[Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and Serbia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.]