The ILO

Janice R. Bellace
Samuel Blank Professor of Legal Studies
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania

April 4, 2008
 The ILO
• The first “UN” agency
• Established by the Treaty of Versailles –
chapter XIII in 1919
• Recognition at end of WW I that social
justice for workers was a basis for peace
• US, UK (British Empire) and Europe the
founding members
• Currently 178 member states
 Structure of the ILO
• The International Labour Conference
• The Governing Body
• The Office
• The specialist parts
– Committee of Experts 1921
– Committee on Freedom of Association
 History
• Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from
the beginning
• Survived the collapse of the League of
Nations
• War-time evacuation to Canada
• 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia – a
forerunner of the UN Charter
 Declaration of Philadelphia
• Labour is not a commodity;
• Freedom of expression and of association are essential
to sustained progress;
• Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity
everywhere;
• The war against want requires to be carried on with
unrelenting vigour within each nation, and by continuous
and concerted international effort in which the
representatives of workers and employers, enjoying
equal status with those of governments, join with them in
free discussion and democratic decision with a view to
the promotion of the common welfare.
 ILO Mission
The ILO is dedicated to
• bringing decent work and livelihoods,
• job-related security, and
• better living standards
to the people of both poor and rich
countries.
The International
Labour Organization
(ILO) is devoted to
reducing poverty ,
achieving fair
globalization and
advancing opportunities
for women and men to
obtain decent and
productive work in
conditions of freedom,
equity, security and
human dignity.
 Composition of ILO
• Unique membership structure
• Each member state has 4 representatives
2 from government
1 employers’ representative
1 workers’ representative
• Therefore, in voting, it is possible for one
member state to come out on both sides of
an issue
 Composition of the ILO
• Constituent parts reflect the tripartite
structure of the Conference
• Committees 3 co-chairs (or at least 2 co-
chairs: employers’ and workers’
representatives)
• The Conference Committee on the
Application of Standards: employer and
worker representatives review
governments’ compliance
 Composition of the ILO
• Committee of Experts composed of neutral
persons who review reports sent by
governments on compliance with ratified
conventions
• Committee on Freedom of Association is
tripartite (neutral chair, employers’ and
workers’ members of the panel). CFA
considers specific disputes arising under
Conventions 87 and 98.
 ILO Conventions
188 Conventions

• Ratification is voluntary
• Governments obliged to consider
ratification
• Pattern of ratification varies considerably
 ILO Conventions
188 Conventions fall into 3 categories:

• Protecting basic human rights

• Promoting key instrumentalities of social
policy formation
• Establishing basic labor standards
 The Declaration
• 1998 Declaration of Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work
• Not worker rights but human rights that
have particular applicability at work
• Fundamental rights drawn from UN
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948)
 The Declaration
• freedom of association and the effective
recognition of the right to collective
bargaining;
• the elimination of all forms of forced or
compulsory labor;
• the effective abolition of child labor; and
• the elimination of discrimination in
respect of employment and occupation
 Core Conventions
• C. 87 Freedom of Association and the
Right to Organise (1948) --
similar to Art. 20 of UN Universal
Declaration
• C. 98 Collective Bargaining (1949) –
similar to Art 23 of Universal Declaration
 Core Conventions
• Convention no. 29, Forced Labour (1930)
which calls upon ratifying States to refrain
from the use of forced or compulsory
labour.
• Convention No. 105, Abolition of Forced
Labour (1957) which calls upon ratifying
States to take active steps to eliminate
compulsory labor
 Core Conventions
• Convention no. 138 Minimum Age (1973)

• Convention no. 182

Worst Forms of Child Labour (2000) –
activities designed to harm the health,
safety or morals of children
 Core Conventions
• Convention no. 100 Equal Remuneration
(1950) -- for work of “equal value”

• Convention no. 111 Discrimination

(1958) prohibits discrimination on the
basis of race, color, sex, political opinion,
national extraction or social origin
 Core Conventions
Ratification drive since 1998 designed
• to highlight the fundamental importance of
these 8 conventions (out of 188)
• to persuade governments of the
importance of working to implement these
fundamental human rights
• to gain formal tripartite commitment to
upholding these principles
 Committee of Experts
• Committee of Experts on the Application of
Conventions and Recommendations
(not Committee on Freedom of Association)
• 20 independent “jurists” from around the
world (not representatives of their
country)
• Highest supervisory body in the ILO
 Committee of Experts
Committee of Experts expresses its views
on a member state’s compliance with a
ratified convention in two forms:

• Observations
• Direct Requests
 Committee of Experts
Committee of Experts expresses its views
on the meaning of a Convention or a topic
covered in several conventions in a
General Survey.

The Governing Body each year selects the

topic for the annual General Survey.
2007 - Procurement
 Committee of Experts
In Observations and Direct Requests, the
Committee of Experts aims
1.To point out specific areas of discrepancy
between the convention’s requirements
and national law and practice
2.To focus only on the most important points
3.To maintain a dialogue
 Committee of Experts
In Observations and Direct Requests, the
Committee of Experts
1.does not dictate specific changes to
national law
2.may note a possible way of resolving non-
compliance
3.may offer the “services of the Office”
 Services of the Office
Technical Cooperation
1.Staff from 40 field offices focus on needs
of the region
2.Multi-disciplinary teams
3.Training workshops
4.Missions
5.Commissions of Inquiry
 ILO Initiatives
• Decent Work campaign
• International Program for the Elimination
of Child Labor (IPEC)