South Sudan: South Sudan Ratifies Seven International Labour Conventions

Labour Undersecretary Madam Hellen Achiro Lotara disclosed that the seven conventions were those which had initially been ratified by the Republic of Sudan from which South Sudan seceded on July 9, 2011.

Madam Hellen said the ratified conventions were: the Forced Labour Convention of 1930; the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Agreement, 1949; the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951, and; the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957.

The others were: the Discrimination in Employment and Occupation Convention of 1958; the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, and; the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999.

The Undersecretary further said the government was in the process of ratifying Convention Number 87 which guarantees the freedom of association for workers.

Madam Hellen was speaking when she officially closed a five-day tripartite orientation workshop on reporting on international labour standards at a Juba hotel. The workshop drew participants from government line ministries and agencies, trade unions and the South Sudan Employers Association.

The Undersecretary later handed over a letter of acceptance ratifying the seven conventions signed by the acting Minister for Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development, Mr Kwong Danhier Gatluak, to Ms Alia Jamal Ahmed of the ILO's Cairo Office who headed of the ILO delegation to the workshop.

The letter dated November 30, 2012 and addressed to the ILO Director General, Mr Guy Ryder, further expressed the wish of the Government that the ratification be backdated to April 29, 2012 when South Sudan was admitted as a member of the ILO.

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