A—7a

The texts of the Employment Service Convention, 1948, and the Employment Service Recommendation as finally adopted by the Conference are contained in Appendix No. 5. Revision of the Fee-charging Employment Agencies Convention, 1933 The question of the revision of this Convention was referred by the Conference to the Committee on Employment Service Organization and Vocational Guidance. The Fee-charging Employment Agencies Convention, 1933, provided for the abolition of fee-charging employment agencies conducted with a view to profit and for the regulation of such agencies not conducted with a view to profit. The review had been decided upon at the previous Conference following a request by the Swedish Government, one of the few which has ratified the Convention, for certain amendments, and the International Labour Office had prepared a revised text as a basis for discussion. As a result of a far-reaching amendment to the main clause of this Convention moved by the employers' members, the Committee found itself in the unusual position of not being able to arrive at any conclusion on the question of revision, and with no alternative but to recommend to the Conference that the matter be placed on the Agenda of the next Session of the Conference for further consideration. The employers' amendment provided that fee-charging employment agencies should not be abolished, but should be permitted to continue under adequate Government control in order to avoid abuses. This amendment was adopted by the Committee by a small majority of 22 votes to 21. At this stage it was decided that the question of redrafting the whole of the text, which had become necessary as a result of the adoption of the employers' amendment, should be referred to the Drafting Committee, and that only when the revised draft was available could a vote be taken on the revised text of the Convention as a whole. When the revised text incorporating the employers' amendment with consequential amendments was put to the vote, it was rejected by 39 votes to 35, with 5 abstentions. At this stage the matter could not be reopened, and on the Committee's recommendation the Conference subsequently decided to place the matter on the Agenda for the next session. Vocational Guidance The question of vocational guidance, which was considered under the doublediscussion procedure, was referred to the Committee on Employment Service Organization and Vocational Guidance for first discussion. The Committee devoted seven sittings to examination of the subject, the first session taking the form of a general discussion in which the Government members of the Argentine Republic, Australia, France, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Mexico, Poland, and the United Kingdom, and the Italian employers' member, the French workers' and the representative of the UNESCO participated. It was evident from this general discussion, and from the subsequent discussions on the provisions of the draft text prepared by the Office, that vocational guidance and its associated psychological techniques are being studied carefully in all countries and developed as media designed to aid the maximum personal adjustment to the world of work, and, at the same time, improve the mechanics of placement. It was also apparent that the stage reached in the use and application of vocational guidance varies very considerably and that the administrative machinery employed has taken account of national circumstances.

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