ILO

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is
to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards. It
was the first specialised agency of the UN. It was created in 1919, as part of theTreaty of
Versailles [PDF 837KB] that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting
peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice.

The ILO has 187 member states. The tripartite structure is unique to the ILO where
representatives from the government, employers and employees openly debate and create labour
standards.

The ILO encourages this tripartism within its constituents- employers , workers and member
States , by promoting a social dialogue between trade unions and employers in formulating, and
where appropriate, implementing national policy on social, economic, and many other issues.

The Preamble of the ILO Constitution states:

 Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social
justice;
 And whereas conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation
to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of
the world are imperilled; and an improvement of those conditions is urgently required;
 Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an
obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own
countries.

Structure of ILO
The ILO accomplishes its work through three main bodies which comprise governments',
employers' and workers' representatives:

 the International labour Conference sets the International labour standards and the broad
policies of the ILO. It meets annually in Geneva. Often called an international parliament
of labour, the Conference is also a forum for discussion of key social and labour
questions.
 the Governing body is the executive council of the ILO. It meets three times a year in
Geneva. It takes decisions on ILO policy and establishes the programme and the budget,
which it then submits to the Conference for adoption.
 the International Labour Office is the permanent secretariat of the International Labour
Organization. It is the focal point for International Labour Organization's overall
activities, which it prepares under the scrutiny of the Governing Body and under the
leadership of the Director-General .

Activities of ILO
The main functions of the ILO are the following:
- creation of coordinated policies and programs directed at solving social and labour issues;
- adoption of international labour standards in the form of conventions and recommendations and
control over their implementation;
- assistance to member-states in solving social and labour problems;
- human rights protection (the right to work, freedom of association, collective negotiations,
protection against forced labour, protection against discrimination, etc.);
- research and publication of works on social and labour issues.

Conventions
Through July 2018, the ILO had adopted 189 conventions. If these conventions are ratified by
enough governments, they come in force. However, ILO conventions are
considered international labour standards regardless of ratification. When a convention comes
into force, it creates a legal obligation for ratifying nations to apply its provisions.
Every year the International Labour Conference's Committee on the Application of Standards
examines a number of alleged breaches of international labour standards. Governments are
required to submit reports detailing their compliance with the obligations of the conventions they
have ratified. Conventions that have not been ratified by member states have the same legal force
as recommendations.
In 1998, the 86th International Labour Conference adopted the Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work. This declaration contains four fundamental policies:[15]

 The right of workers to associate freely and bargain collectively

 The end of forced and compulsory labour
 The end of child labour
 The end of unfair discrimination among workers
The ILO asserts that its members have an obligation to work towards fully respecting these
principles, embodied in relevant ILO conventions. The ILO conventions which embody the
fundamental principles have now been ratified by most member states.[16]

Recommendations
Recommendations do not have the binding force of conventions and are not subject to
ratification. Recommendations may be adopted at the same time as conventions to supplement
the latter with additional or more detailed provisions. In other cases recommendations may be
adopted separately and may address issues separate from particular conventions.[17]

Fundamental ILO Conventions

1. Convention No. 87

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention

(1948)

Establishes the right of all workers and employers to form and join organizations of their own
choosing without prior authorization, and lays down a series of guarantees for the free
functioning of organizations without interference by public authorities.

2. Convention No. 98
Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention (1949)

Provides for protection against anti-union discrimination, for protection of workers’ and
employers’ organizations against acts of interference by each other, and for measures to promote
collective bargaining.

3. Convention No. 29

Forced Labour Convention (1930)

Requires the suppression of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms. Certain exceptions are
permitted, such as military service, properly supervised convict labour, and emergencies such as
wars, fires, earthquakes.

4. Convention No. 105

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (1957)

Prohibits the use of any form of forced or compulsory labour as a means of political coercion or
education, punishment for the expression of political or ideological views, workforce
mobilization, labour discipline, punishment for participation in strikes, or discrimination.

5. Convention No. 100

Equal Remuneration Convention (1951)

Calls for equal pay and benefits for men and women for work of equal value.

6. Convention No. 111

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958)

Calls for a national policy to eliminate discrimination in access to employment, training, and
working conditions, on grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national
extraction or social origin, and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment.

7. Convention No. 138

Minimum Age Convention (1973)

Aims at the abolition of child labour, stipulating that the minimum age for admission to
employment shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling.

8. Convention No. 182

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)

Calls for immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst
forms of child labour which include slavery and similar practices, forced recruitment for use in
armed conflict, use in prostitution and pornography, any illicit activity, as well as work which is
likely to harm the health, safety, and morals of children.