Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - United States of America (Ratification: 1988)

1. Effective tripartite consultations. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending July 2006, the comments of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which were forwarded to the Government in November 2005, and the tripartite discussion that took place in June 2005 in the Conference Committee on the application of this Convention. The Conference Committee hoped that the consultations concerning the ratification of Conventions Nos. 111 and 185 would be concluded in the near future. It requested the Government to take all the appropriate measures to promote tripartite dialogue on international labour standards and expressed the hope that in its next report the Government would provide information on the progress made to guarantee the holding in practice of tripartite consultations in a manner that was satisfactory for all the parties concerned.

2. In its 2005 comments, the AFL-CIO once again alleges a lack of commitment by the Government to the principles and obligations of the Convention. The AFL-CIO maintains that there has been little progress toward reaching the goal of the holding in practice of tripartite consultations in a manner that was satisfactory for all the parties concerned. It adds that progress toward the ratification of Convention No. 185 appears to be mired in inter-agency discussions about immigration security measures and that no progress was achieved with regard to the ratification of Convention No. 111. The AFL-CIO maintains that, without sustained and meaningful work by the President’s Committee on the ILO, the United States will continue to lag seriously behind the overwhelming majority of ILO Members in the ratification of Conventions, including those that are the foundation of the 1998 Declaration.

3. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not include a reply to the AFL-CIO’s comments. It notes that there was no meeting of the President’s Committee on the ILO, but that the ILO Consultative Group met six times during the reporting period. The Tripartite Advisory Panel on International Labour Standards (TAPILS) met formally on one occasion during the period, principally to initiate a review of Convention No. 185. The Government includes in its report the agendas of those meetings and other information concerning the matters covered by Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee refers to its 2004 observation and invites the Government and the social partners to address the concerns of all participants relating to the operation of the procedures required to ensure effective consultations within the meaning of the Convention. It also refers to the 2005 tripartite discussion in the Conference Committee and hopes that the Government and the social partners will re-examine the manner in which the Convention is being applied in order to ensure that all stakeholders take appropriate measures to achieve a satisfactory application.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2007.]