12 July 1999 Protecting Human Rights in Employment

An Australasian branch of the Society for the Protection of Human Rights in Employment will be formed at a public meeting in Christchurch this week (on 15 July). All interested people are invited to attend.

The meeting, in the Blackwell Room of The Copthorne Hotel, Durham Street, at 5.30pm, is being held at the end of the 7th Annual Conference of the International Employment Relations Association, hosted by Lincoln University.

The Society for the Protection of Human Rights in Employment (SPHRE) was founded in 1997 and has been underwritten by numerous international organisations and agencies such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, OECD, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and the International Organisation of Employers.

The society's purpose is to promote awareness, understanding and respect of fundamental human rights in employment including the freedom of association, the right to organise and bargain collectively, the prohibition of forced labour, the elimination of exploitative forms of child labour, and non-discrimination in employment or occupation.

The Christchurch meeting to form an Australasian branch is being convened by Professor Roy Adams, a Canadian academic and keynote speaker at the International Employment Relations Association conference. Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Roy Adams was a founding member of SPHRE and currently chairs its steering committee.

Dr Rupert Tipples, Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand