ILO Opens in Geneva; Egypt Faces Criticism for Violating Three Agreements

The International Labor Organization (ILO) opened its annual conference on Wednesday in Geneva with discussions focused on ways and means to tackle the growing impact of the economic and financial crisis on employment, especially in light of the expected growing rates of unemployment and poverty in 2010.

Some 4,000 public figures participate in the conference. Egypt, which sent a tripartite delegation to the conference, faces criticism for violating three ILO agreements.

A world summit will be held on the sidelines of the ILO on 15-17 June on the global jobs crisis. It will be participated by Egypt's minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali, in addition to ten presidents, prime ministers, vice-presidents, ministers, employers, heads of trade unions, and leaders from 183 Member States of the ILO.

The conference studies reports on the situation in twenty-five countries to know how far the ILO agreements are being applied. Egypt is expected to be among these countries because it violated the agreements on the prohibition of forced labor and child labor.

Well-informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Egypt will face severe criticism during the conference because it violated the ILO conventions over the past years, without paying attention to the organization's observations, especially regarding child labor and forced labor.

The sources pointed out that the ILO Director-General's report, which will be discussed during the conference, called on Cairo to abide by the international conventions it signed, with giving the reasons for such violations.

The report criticizes Egypt for violating three conventions; the Forced Labor Convention No. 29 of 1930, which was signed by Egypt in 1955; the convention of the Abolition of Forced Labor No. 105 of 1957; and the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 of 1973 due to the spread of the phenomenon of child labor.

The report also criticizes Egypt for the system of public service, which forces the fresh male and female graduates to work in activities like the development of rural and urban communities, consumer and agricultural cooperatives, and factories' production units.

In addition, some 80% of the total child labors work in the agricultural sector for long hours in a dusty environment without the protection of masks or respirators. None of the children receive training on work safety precautions or the prevention of hazardous risks with the use of pesticides and herbicides.

The conference is expected to hold special sessions to discuss the reasons for the spread of AIDS and the ways to combat it. It will also call for gender equality in the context of globalization. Heads of State and representatives of 182 ILO Member States will take part in this conference along with a large number of policy makers and representatives of major regional and international institutions in the world.