At its meeting with the ILO secretary general, the Global Union delegation stressed the importance of the unanimously adopted resolution resulting in concrete actions. To this end, the union delegation put forward a range of proposals for consideration by the ILO. These included capacity building for trade unions on the issues, tripartite forums on promoting pay equity and implementing gender equality plans, as well as training programs on job evaluations that are free of gender bias.

The ILO resolution urges governments to:

• ratify the relevant ILO Conventions, and
• to introduce legislation and affirmative action programs to eliminate discrimination in the workplace.

The resolution also calls on the ILO to provide technical assistance in the form of a model for statistical indicators, capacity building and a strengthening of its research work.

In responding to the unions, Juan Somavia, ILO’s secretary general, emphasised the need to establish a key strategic direction and to encourage dialogue, especially at the local level.