Strasbourg, 24/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted the (somewhat amended) own initiative report by Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, Greece) which seeks to encourage member states and applicant countries to ratify and fully implement International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions in order to promote decent work for all more effectively. In so doing, the Parliament called on the EU and the ILO to co-fund a “decent work development programme” and expressed the hope that member states would consider introducing a minimum wage “as a safety net to prevent people from being exploited”.
The EP regretted that several EU states had not ratified the ILO conventions on health and safety at work, maternity protection and migrant workers and argues that the implementation of ILO conventions should be part of EU neighbourhood and external policies. It invited the Commission to temporarily suspend trade preferences with countries which “seriously and systematically breach fundamental social rights”. Further, it proposed that the ILO be authorised to submit expert reports to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in cases “where the violation of international conventions is disputed and where the ILO's decisions have to be taken into account”. It also said that compliance with international work standards should be part of the negotiations for the accession of new member states to the WTO. In order to improve working conditions within the EU, the EP called for greater access to lifelong learning, greater harmonisation of pension schemes and the introduction of minimum wages. (gb)