The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles 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 Constitution was drafted between January and April, 1919, by the Labour Commission set up by the Peace Conference, which first met in Paris and then in Versailles. The Commission, chaired by Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in the United States, was composed of representatives from nine countries: Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It resulted in a tripartite organization, the only one of its kind bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies. The Constitution contained ideas tested within the International Association for Labour Legislation, founded in Basel in 1901. Advocacy for an international organization dealing with labour issues began in the nineteenth century, led by two industrialists, Robert Owen (1771-1853) of Wales and Daniel Legrand (1783-1859) of France. The driving forces for ILO's creation arose from security, humanitarian, political and economic considerations. Summarizing them, the ILO Constitution's Preamble says the High Contracting Parties were 'moved by sentiments of justice and humanity as well as by the desire to secure the permanent peace of the world...' There was keen appreciation of the importance of social justice in securing peace, against a background of exploitation of workers in the industrializing nations of that time. There was also increasing understanding of the world's economic interdependence and the need for cooperation to obtain similarity of working conditions in countries competing for markets. Reflecting these ideas, the Preamble states: 1. Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice; 2. 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; 3. 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. The areas of improvement listed in the Preamble remain relevant today, for example: 1. Regulation of the hours of work including the establishment of a maximum working day and week; 2. Regulation of labour supply, prevention of unemployment and provision of an adequate living wage; 3. Protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury arising out of his employment;

4. Protection of children, young persons and women; 5. Provision for old age and injury, protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than their own; 6. Recognition of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value; 7. Recognition of the principle of freedom of association; 8. Organization of vocational and technical education, and other measures. The ILO has made signal contributions to the world of work from its early days. The first International Labour Conference held in Washington in October 1919 adopted six International Labour Conventions, which dealt with hours of work in industry, unemployment, maternity protection, night work for women, minimum age and night work for young persons in industry. The ILO was located in Geneva in the summer of 1920 with France's Albert Thomas as the first Director of the International Labour Office, which is the Organization's permanent Secretariat. Under his strong impetus, 16 International Labour Conventions and 18 Recommendations were adopted in less than two years. This early zeal was quickly toned down because some governments felt there were too many Conventions, the budget too high and the reports too critical. Yet, the International Court of Justice, under pressure from the Government of France, declared that the ILO's domain extended also to international regulation of conditions of work in the agricultural sector. A Committee of Experts was set up in 1926 as a supervisory system on the application of ILO standards. The Committee, which exists today, is composed of independent jurists responsible for examining government reports and presenting its own report each year to the Conference.

International Labour Conference

The broad policies of the ILO are set by the International Labour Conference, which meets once a year in June, in Geneva, Switzerland. This annual Conference brings together governments', workers' and employer's delegates of the ILO member States. Often called an international parliament of labour, the Conference establishes and adopts international labour standards and is a forum for discussion of key social and labour questions. It also adopts the Organization's budget and elects the Governing Body. Each member State is represented by a delegation consisting of two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate, and their respective advisers. Many of the government representatives are cabinet ministers responsible for labour affairs in their own countries. Employer and Worker delegates are nominated in agreement with the most representative national organizations of employers and workers.

Every delegate has the same rights, and all can express themselves freely and vote as they wish. Worker and employer delegates may sometimes vote against their government's representatives or against each other. This diversity of viewpoints, however, does not prevent decisions being adopted by very large majorities or in some cases even unanimously. Heads of State and prime ministers also take the floor at the Conference. International organizations, both governmental and others, attend as observers.

Governing Body
The Governing Body is the executive body of the International Labour Organization (the Office is the secretariat of the Organization). It meets three times a year, in March, June and November. It takes decisions on ILO policy, decides the agenda of the International Labour Conference, adopts the draft Programme and Budget of the Organization for submission to the Conference, and elects the Director-General. It is composed of 56 titular members (28 Governments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers) and 66 deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers and 19 Workers). Ten of the titular government seats are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States). The other Government members are elected by the Conference every three years (the last elections were held in June 2008). The Employer and Worker members are elected in their individual capacity.

International Labour Office

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. The Office employs some 2,700 officials from over 150 nations at its headquarters in Geneva, and in around 40 field offices around the world. Among these officials, 900 work in technical cooperation programmes and projects. The Office also contains a research and documentation centre.

Tripartite constituents

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite U.N. agency with government, employer, and worker representatives. This tripartite structure makes the ILO a unique forum in which the governments and the social partners of the economy of its Member States can freely and openly debate and elaborate labour standards and policies. Member States Today the ILO comprises 183 Member States. In addition to the States which were Members of the International Labour Organization on 1 November 1945, any original member of the United Nations and any State admitted to membership of the United Nations by a decision of the General Assembly may become a Member of the ILO by communicating to the Director-General its formal acceptance of the obligations of the Constitution of the Organization. The General Conference of the International Labour Organization may also admit Members to the Organization by a vote of two-thirds of the delegates attending the session, including two-thirds of the Government delegates present and voting.

Membership and organization

ILO member states The ILO was the first specialized agency that associated with the UN in the year 1946. The constitution of the ILO offers that any nation which has a membership in the UN can become a member of the ILO. This should be done by informing the Director General that it accepts all the obligations of the ILO constitution.[4] Members include states that were members on 1 November 1945, when the organization's new constitution came into effect after World War II. In addition, any original member of the United Nations and any state admitted to the U.N. thereafter may join. Other states can be admitted by a two-thirds vote of all delegates, including a two-thirds vote of government delegates, at any ILO General Conference. As of 2012, Members of the ILO are 185 of the UN members.[5] Non-members are: Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Bhutan, North Korea, Micronesia, Nauru, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Vatican City and the states with limited recognition.

Unlike other United Nations specialized agencies, the International Labour Organization has a tripartite governing structure representing governments, employers and workers.[6] This tripartite structure makes the ILO a unique forum in which the governments and the social partners of the economy of its 183 Member States can freely and openly debate and elaborate labour standards and policies.

Governing Body
The Governing Body decides the agenda of the International Labour Conference, adopts the draft programme and budget of the organization for submission to the conference, elects the director-general, requests information from member states concerning labour matters, appoints commissions of inquiry and supervises the work of the International Labour Office. Guy Ryder elected as next director general from October 2012. This guiding body is composed of 28 government representatives, 14 workers' representatives, and 14 employers' representatives. Ten of the government seats are held by member states that are nations of "chief industrial importance," as first considered by an "impartial committee." The nations are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.[7] The terms of office are three years.[8]

International Labour Conference

The ILO organizes the International Labour Conference in Geneva every year in June, where conventions and recommendations are crafted and adopted. Also known as the parliament of Labour, the conference also makes decisions on the ILO's general policy, work programme and budget. Each member state is represented at the conference by four people: two government delegates, an employer delegate and a worker delegate. All of them have individual voting rights, and all votes are equal, regardless of the population of the delegate's member state. The employer and worker delegates are normally chosen in agreement with the "most representative" national organizations of employers and workers. Usually, the workers' delegates coordinate their voting, as do the employers' delegates.[citation needed]. Despite its position in the ILO, every delegate has the same right, and the employer and worker delegate can work against its government delegates or work against each other. [9]

Conventions
For a list, see Category:International Labour Organization conventions Through July 2011, the ILO has adopted 189 conventions .

Adoption
Adoption of a convention by the International Labour Conference allows governments to ratify it, and the convention then becomes a treaty in international law when a specified number of governments have done so. But all adopted ILO conventions are considered international labour standards regardless of how many governments have ratified them.

Ratification
The coming into force of a convention results in a legal obligation to apply its provisions by the nations that have ratified it. Ratification of a convention is voluntary. Conventions that have not been ratified by member states have the same legal force as do recommendations. Governments are required to submit reports detailing their compliance with the obligations of the conventions they have ratified. Every year the International Labour Conference's Committee on the Application of Standards examines a number of alleged breaches of international labour standards.

Obligation to follow
In 1998, the 86th International Labour Conference adopted the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. This declaration identified four "principles" as "core" or "fundamental", asserting that all ILO member States on the basis of existing obligations as members in the Organization have an obligation to work towards fully respecting the principles embodied in the relevant (ratifiable) ILO Conventions. The fundamental rights concern freedom of association and collective bargaining, discrimination, forced labour, and child labour. The ILO Conventions which embody the fundamental principles have now been ratified by most member states.[10]

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 not covered by, or be unrelated to, any particular convention.[citation needed]