after hearings and publication in the Federal Register. A significant effort is being required in the preparation of regulations to implement the Employee Retirement Incone Security Act, the Trade Act and certain other legislation cited above. New positions were required for both the Pension program and the Trade Act.

Field conducted litigation is expected to exceed the FY 1974 level with the filing of 2,450 actions up from 2,200 in FY 1974. It is anticipated that back wage recoveries under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act will show substantial increases over the FY 1974 level in respons. to the Department's emphasis on enforcement in this area.

In 1976, full implementation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will command special attention and a high level of legal advisory services is expected to be rendered to interested parties. Litigation will be initiated under the various provisions of the Act as enforceme 1. personnel are added to the Labor-Management Services Administration staff and their investigations uncover violations. Similarly, it is expected that worker assistance requests under the Trade Act will reach significant numbers and legal assistance will be provided at the 600 hearings anticipated, in publication of Federal Register material, and in assisting with appeals from the denial of adjustment assistance.

A continuing high level of field litigation is anticipated with additional cases being generated by enforcement of the 1974 Fair Labor Standards Act Amendments and the Department's emphasis on anti-discrimination measures through stepped up enforcement of the Equal Pay Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Overall legal actions filed in the field are expected to reflect an increase from 2,450 to 2,570 actions.

National office support of field litigation is expected to take the form of increased coordination of complex Equal Pay and Age Discrimination in Employment Act cases involving large national firms whose operations are found in several DOL regions. Increased litigation is anticipated in the Contract Compliance Program under E.0. 11246 as compliance activities are continued against major employers and target industries.

A significant level of legal advisory services is anticipated with the further implementation of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act, the Emergency Jobs and Unemployment Assistance Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. Litigation cases under the Black Lung provision of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act are expected to number 3,000 and require considerable legal review and participation by attorneys before Administrative Law Judges, the Benefits Review Board, and the various U.S. Court of Appeals.

Mandatory changes consist of $107,000 for net additional cost of pay increase effective October 13, 1974; $130,000 for net additional cost of owned or leased space to be reimbursed to the General Services Administration; $101,000 for aet additional cost of within-grade increase in FY 1975 and FY 1976; $28,000 for one extra day of pay in FY 1976; $13,000 for increased cost of administrative and program support services; $18,000 for net increased cost in contributions to the Federal Employers' Compensation Fund; $244,000 for not additional cost of financing new positions received in FY 1975 which includes $168,000 for the Trade Act of 1974 Program changes consist of reductions totaling 14 positions and $198,000. continued and stepped up utilization of word processing equipment and the use of legal para-professionals are expected to result in increased efficiency.

The

Activity 3. INTERNATIONAL LABOR AFFAIRS

(1975, $3,258,000, Pos. 160 1976, $4,721,000, Pos. 160)

Narrative Description of Program

This activity fulfills the Department's responsibilities: (1) as a statutory member of the Council on International Economic Policy (CIEP) for the formulation of international economic, trade, and monetary policy; (2) as prescribed by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974, with respect to trade negotiations and the administration of trade agreements; (3) for advising the President on policy issues relating to the administration of the trade agreement program; (4) for administering trade adjustment assistance to workers; (5) as a member of the Board of the Foreign Service for the formulation of management policies including the employee-management relations program and the direction of the U.S. Labor Attache program; (6) for U.S. Government representation and substantive policies for U.S. participation in the International Labor Organization (ILO); (7) for participation and support for U.S. representation on laborassociated questions coming before other U.N. and regional organizations; (8) as a statutory member of the Development Coordination Committee under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1973; (9) for international technical assistance activities with the Agency for International Development (AID) and bilateral economic development commissions and multilateral organizations; and (10) for cultural exchange activities under contractual relationships with the Department of State, United States Information Agency (USIA), and other organizations. (Authorizing Legislation: 37 STAT 736,738).

In 1974, the Bureau's Foreign Economic Policy activities concentrated on the Department's work on CIEP and the Internagency Trade Organization (ITO). Drafting of the trade legislation, planning for the multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) and the negotiation of a multilateral multifiber textile arrangement (MFA) continued.

The Department participated in more than 100 meetings covering a variety of issues considered in the CIEP and ITO structures. The Department was involved in all preparations, interagency and international for the MTN. These activities included representation at meetings of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) relating to the negotiations.

The multifiber textile arrangement became effective January 1, 1974. The Department was a principal participant in the four-agency team responsible for the successful negotiations.

In FY 1974, 12 certifications of eligibility for trade adjustment assistance were issued covering approximately 4,400 workers.

Discussions were held with the Department of State on Labor Attache recruitment, promotion, training, assignments, and reporting instructions. A State-Labor personnel interchange program was accepted in principle and a roster of qualified Department of Labor candidates for nomination as Labor Attaches under the proposed State-Labor interchange program was developed. The Department continued information support of Labor Attaches and Labor Reporting Officers, sending a total of 9,000 information packets to 130 addresses overseas, and answering 75 specific requests for information from Foreign Service Officers. The Department provided training and orientation for 65 Foreign Service Officers and participated in 22 labor officer assignments. The Department participated in 6 meetings of the Board of the Foreign Service, 5 sessions of the Employee-Management Relations Commission, and 34 Board of Examiners actions. The Department evaluated the performance of 60 labor officers and provided members for 5 promotion panels.

The Department organized U.S. participation in 19 meetings of the ILO and developed about 100 position papers for guidance of the government delegations; and served on the delegations. The Department prepared or coordinated 51 ILO reports.

The Department participated in eighteen meetings of the OECD.

The Department inaugurated a new monthly memorandum, circulated to 450 officers of the Department, that summarizes foreign experience relevant to the policy and program development problems faced by the Department.

The Department continued to play an active role in support of the technical assistance and cultural exchange activities of AID, the USIA, and the Organization of American States (OAS).

A

The Act In 1975, the Trade Act of 1974 was signed by the President. gives DOL increased responsibilities in the broad areas of international trade negotiations, trade adjustment assistance certifications and benefit delivery, and trade-related economic and statistical research. supplemental appropriation was provided in FY 1975 for 71 additional positions which were required to fulfill the Departments responsibilities under the legislation.

Preparations for the MTN accelerated with the passage of the Trade Act. The Department is participating in the extensive pre-negotiation procedures specified in the Act to provide a basis for decisions on the U.S. negotiating position. Since passage of the Act, meetings of interagency task forces dealing with substantive areas of the negotiations have averaged 10 a week.

Also, in connection with the MTN, the Department has begun preparations to fulfill its responsibility under the Act for establishing and maintaining This will involve an overall a consultation mechanism with organized labor. Labor Policy Committee of high-level union representatives and a series of technical committees concerned with separate industrial sectors.

As of March 11, 1975, the Department had issued 11 certifications of eligibility for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) under the Trade Four worker petitions Expansion Act, covering approximately 7,500 workers. were filed directly with the Department of Labor on the basis of a 1970 determination by the President of import injury to workers in the sheet glass industry. These workers were not certified as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance because the investigations indicated that increased imports were not the major factor in causing the workers' unemployment.

Considerable staff time has been devoted to development of an improved delivery system for TAA benefits and necessary planning for handling the increased responsibilities which have been delegated to the Department under the new Trade Act. It is estimated that approximately 125 worker petitions will be filed with the Department covering approximately 25,000 workers during the last quarter of this Fiscal Year.

Work related to the textile program will also continue at a fast pace. So far in this fiscal year, bilateral textile agreements have been During the balance of the Fiscal Year, negotiated with 10 countries. There have been negotiations will be initiated with 15 other countries. two meetings of the GATT Textile Committee in Geneva to review the impleTwo additional meetings will be mentation of the multifiber arrangement.

held during this Fiscal Year.

The Department secured agreement to free the Board of the Foreign Service to concentrate on advising the Secretary of State on personnel policy and management of the Foreign Service by transferring the Board's employee-management relations functions to another body. The Department's Foreign Service information support, labor training, assignment, and evaluation workload remains at the 1974 level.

In the ILO, the over-all level of activity is similar to that in 1974. Key personnel changes supported by the Department may move that organization in the direction of more efficiency - a basic Presidential foreign policy objective for all UN organizations and lead to closer working relations between the ILO and the U.S. Francis Blanchard of France, a former Deputy Director-General, was elected Director-General and an American was appointed as a Deputy Director-General in charge of the whole range of administrative, personnel, financial, and program planning functions.

In the OECD, U.S. initiatives were accepted in the program of work of the Manpower and Social Affairs Committee. Initiatives included the economic role of women, social security reform, income maintenance, employment security and social indicators.

The

Work began on U.S. participation in the OAS-sponsored Fifth InterAmerican Labor Ministers' Conference, scheduled for the Fall of 1975. Department will also complete, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor of Japan, a joint study of the economic role of women initiated at the Ninth Joint Cabinet meetings in Tokyo in 1974.

The Department has continued and expanded its activities in support of U.S. foreign assistance. During the first half of FY 1975, 736 foreign trade union leaders, government officials and technicians from 70 countries visited in the U.S. under programs arranged by the Department. Technical experts were provided to AID, ILO, OAS and the Asian Statistical Institute. In collaboration with the Departments of State, Treasury and other agencies, feasibility studies and program proposals were produced for several of the bilateral economic development commissions. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1973 established an interagency Development Coordination Committee, including the Department of Labor among the member agencies. This new statutory obligation involves the Department of Labor in a wider range of policy making than previously.

In 1976, the foreign economic policy workload will increase substantially. In particular, it is anticipated that the multilateral trade negotiations will be at their height in FY 1976, leading to an intensification of work in both Washington and Geneva. Bureau staff will be in residence in Geneva for the duration of the negotiations or on an as-needed basis. The Bureau has a responsibility for ensuring that the interests of labor are taken fully into account in the process of negotiating.

Various provisions of the Trade Act other than negotiating authority will be meeting their first tests in FY 1976. For example, the liberalized escape clause under which industries may seek relief from injury by imports will probably bring more cases for consideration by the International Trade Commission (formerly the Tariff Commission) and the Executive Branch. In these cases the Department of Labor must advise the President on the extent to which adjustment assistance will help meet the problems of the industries secking relief.

As a result of the liberalized provisions of the new Trade Act, it is estimated that about 600 worker petitions will be filed, and as many as djustment assistance.

In the textile area it is anticipated that a number of negotiations initiated in FY 1975 will have to be completed in FY 1976 to conform existing bilateral agreements to the multifiber arrangement. Additionally, a number of textile agreements will require consultations involving Some of these general review and implementation of the agreements. consultations or renegotiations will be held in Washington, and some will be held abroad. Discussions in Washington and Geneva on the future of the multifiber arrangement must also begin in FY 1976.

The Department will seek to expand the State-Labor interchange program and to expand our information backstopping system designed to improve A related the performance of labor and economic officers in the field. question for consideration will be organization of periodic conferences for Foreign Service Officers to stimulate improved awareness of the Department's changing needs.

In the ILO, in addition to the regular volume of work, the Department will seek to improve its capability for analysis and evaluation to increase U.S. influence in the shaping of ILO program content and priorities and to provide a better oversight on how ILO money is spent. The U.S. contributes thought the UN Development Program and the regular ILO budget approximately $27,000,000 of the $100,000,000 the ILO spends annually. A major concern will be to assume greater leadership through the development of program proposals consistent with U.S. interests. Closer consultation with other governments will be required.

Participation in the OECD will be somewhat above the 1975 level. Department will be involved in the work of OECD groups which deal with foreign investment and trade developments that affect the welfare of American workers.

The

In the field of international technical cooperation, the Department will make new efforts to expand direct working relations with selected multilateral organizations in an effort to strengthen governmental institutions charged with labor and manpower activities in the developing countries, and to implement programs to strengthen democratic trade unions overseas. The Department will respond to requests made through the bilateral economic development commissions when foreign resources are provided to purchase U.S. technical and managerial expertise as envisaged in Sec. 607 of the Foreign Assistance Act. The Department will also convene a series of seminars, conferences and workshops on labor subjects in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin American and provide through Department of Labor International Technical Assistance Corps (DOLITAC), senior staff to train and advise labor and planning ministries in developing countries.

Mandatory changes consist of $32,000 for net additional cost of pay increase effective October 13, 1974; $21,000 for net additional cost of within-grade increase in FY 1975 and FY 1976; $8,000 for one extra day of pay in FY 1976; $5,000 for increased cost of administrative and program support services, and $1,397,000 for net additional cost of Linape. positions received V 1975 for the Trade Act of 1974.