A.—7.

REPORT OF RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE. This Committee reported on Resolutions submitted to the Conference in accordance with paragraph 7 of Article 12 of the Standing Orders. These Resolutions had )tt.n examined by the Committee, and with one exception they were adopted by the Conference in the form in which the Committee presented them. The exception was a resolution submitted by Mr. Alamo Ibarra, Venezuelan Government delegate, as follows:— " Draft Resolution concerning systems of compulsory savings, submitted by Mr. Alamo Ibarra, Venezuelan Government delegate." It met with considerable opposition from workers' delegates, and was withdrawn. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON STANDING ORDERS OF CONFERENCE. This Committee presented two reports to the Conference after holding eight meetings. The question before the Committee was whether any deviation should be made, by definite provision in the Standing Orders, from the double-discussion procedure, and, it so, what form the provision should take. The present system makes provision only lor one single system —namely, the double-discussion procedure. "When, in the past, decisions had been taken by the Conference to deal with a question by a single discussion, it had been compelled to suspend its Standing Orders. To obviate this necessity the Governing Body felt it necessary to introduce a certain diversity in procedure so that _ each question could be treated by the most suitable method, and to this end the Governing Body had prepared an amendment of the Standing Orders which provided for the possibility of Dratt Conventions and Recommendations being considered either under a smgle-discussion procedure with or without a preparatory technical conference or under a double-discussion procedure. By fifteen votes to nil the Committee decided that the Standing Orders should provide for a' single-discussion procedure, and by twenty votes to nil for a double-discussion procedure also. By fourteen votes to eleven the Committee further decided that there might be a procedure consisting of a preparatory technical conference followed by a discussion at an ordinary session of the Conference. After considerable debate agreement was reached on a proposed new Article 6 of the Standing Orders. The new Article provides that a questionnaire will be submitted to Governments before, rather than .after, the first debate in Conference, so that the Conference will be able to conduct its debate in the light of Government replies. It also provides that after the close of the first session of the Conference there will be submitted to the Governments not a mere list ol points, but the actual text of a proposed Convention or Recommendation. The matter is of some importance to New Zealand on account of the distance from the International Labour Office and the difficulty of ensuring that sufficient time is allowed for the question to be examined before it is submitted to the Conference. The necessity for more time being allowed to enable New Zealand delegations to examine the subjects before leaving New Zealand was stressed by the New Zealand Government delegate before the Committee. On this report being presented to Conference, the Swiss employers' delegate moved an amendment, the effect of which was to insist on double discussion. This was opposed by both employers' and workers' delegates, and defeated by sixty-seven votes to fourteen. Conference then adopted the report. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON THE APPLICATION OF CONVENTIONS. In its report the Committee stated that the number of reports on the applications of Conventions due from the Governments in 1937-38 was 702, as against 662 in the previous year. By the date these reports should have been in the hands of the Committee of Experts for examination, as provided by the Constitution of the International Labour Organization (Article 22), 580 had been received. Of the 122 reports missing, 17 were in respect of Conventions ratified by Germany, 20 by Italy, and 30 by Nicaragua, three States that have withdrawn from the International Labour Organization. Of the remaining 55, only one had failed to reach the Office subsequent to the final date fixed for their reception. The Committee expressed the hope that in future Governments concerned will not only submit their reports by the prescribed date, but will furnish an accurate picture of the real situation as regards the application of these Conventions. It also felt " obliged to remind the Governments concerned that by ratifying a Convention they formally bind themselves to apply it." Conventions must be regarded as imposing specific obligations, and not mere programmes of future reform on the contracting party. The Committee added: " The contrary view is calculated to shake confidence in international agreements in general, and in particular to discourage collaboration in the work of the International Labour Organization on the part of countries which interpret their international obligations with the greatest strictness." It stated, however, that " the great majority of the Governments had endeavoured to fulfil their obligations loyally. The

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