ILO (International Labour Organization)

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency that

sets international labour standards and promotes social protection and work opportunities for
all.[1] The ILO has 187 member states: 186 of the 193 UN member states plus the Cook
Islands are members of the ILO. The UN member states which are not members of the ILO
are Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, and North Korea.

The ILO constitution permits any member of the UN to become a member of the ILO.
To gain membership, a nation must inform the director-general that it accepts all the obligations
of the ILO constitution.[13] 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. The
Cook Islands, a non-UN state, joined in June 2015. Members of the ILO under the League of
Nations automatically became members when the organization’s new constitution came into
effect after World War II.

The International Labour Office, the ILO’s secretariat, employs some 2,700 people
from 150 countries at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in around 40 countries
around the world. Its activities are directed by the Director-General and the ILO’s Governing
Body, which includes representatives from member states, workers’ and employers’ groups.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), based in Geneva, became the first
specialized agency of the UN. ILO is devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men
to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equality, security, and human dignity. Its
main aims at promoting social economic progress and improving Labour conditions. The basic
of the ILO is the tripartite principle, i.e.; the negotiations within the organization are held
between the representatives of governments, trade unions and member states-employers.

The Main Function 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.
 The ILO is the global body responsible for drawing up and overseeing international
Labour standards and for ensuring that these standards are respected in practice and principle.
The member states of the ILO meet at the international Labour Conference in June of each
year. Employer and worker delegates can freely express themselves and vote according to
instructions received from their organizations. They sometimes vote against each other or even
against their government representatives. 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.

Mission and Vision of ILO

To connect and engage with users around the world to promote and share ILO knowledge, as
part of the ILO's goal to be the global centre of excellence on world of work matters.
To offer expertise and knowledge services to strengthen the Organization's research capacities.
By managing, developing and preserving the ILO Library's digital and print collections to make
them accessible for the use of present and future audiences. Main Vision is the first choice for
information about the world of work.

Decent Work Agenda

As part of its mission, the ILO aims to achieve decent work for all by promoting social
dialogue, social protection and employment creation, as well as respect for international labour
standards. The ILO provides technical support to more than 100 countries to help achieve these
aims, with the support of development partners.

International labour standards

The ILO sets international labour standards with Conventions, which are ratified by member
states, or Recommendations, which are non-binding.
Conventions are drawn up with input from governments, workers’ and employers’ groups at
the ILO. Conventions are adopted by the International Labour Conference, which meets every
year in Geneva.
In ratifying an ILO Convention, a member state accepts it as a legally binding instrument.
Many countries use the Conventions as a tool to bring national laws in line with international
standards.
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
Adopted in 1998, the Declaration commits member states to respect and promote eight
fundamental principles and rights in four categories, whether or not they have ratified the
relevant Conventions.
They are:
 freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining (Conventions 87 and 98)
 the elimination of forced or compulsory labour (No. 29 and No. 105)
 the abolition of child labour (Conventions No. 138 and No. 182)
 the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
(Conventions No. 100 and No. 111)

Complaints
Complaints can be filed against member states for not complying with ILO Conventions they
have ratified. Complaints can be from another member state which has signed the same
Convention, a delegate to the International Labour Conference or the ILO’s own Governing
Body.

Myanmar and ILO

Myanmar become one of ILO member country at 18.05.1948. The ILO first established its
Liaison Office in Myanmar in 2002 under an Understanding between the Government of the
Union of Myanmar and the International Labour Office. The main role of the Liaison Officer
was to support efforts for the elimination of forced labour in the country and implement
strategies to address its root causes.
In February 2007 a Supplementary Understanding was also signed between the Government of
the Union of Myanmar and the ILO to provide a complaints mechanism enabling victims of
forced labour to seek redress. Since June 2012, ILO’s mandate in Myanmar has broadened to
encompass the full range of the decent work agenda.
In September 2018, the ILO signed its first Decent Work Country Program (DWCP) for
Myanmar with the Government, employers and workers organizations. The DWCP was
developed on a tripartite basis signals priority area for ILO technical support and plays a key
role in assisting Myanmar to meet its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) before 2030.
The DWCP targets the following priority areas:

 To generate employment and decent work as well as sustainable entrepreneurship

opportunities to all, including for vulnerable populations affected by conflict and
disaster;
 To strengthen the application of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work through
improved labour market governance. The ILO’s long-standing work for the elimination
of forced labour will remain a core component of the plan;
 To progressively extend social protection coverage especially for vulnerable workers
and populations, and develop a comprehensive national system for occupational safety
and health.

The Vision Zero Fund Project

The objective of the Vision Zero Fund (VZF) project in Myanmar is to enhance
prevention, protection, and compensation of work-related injuries, diseases, and deaths in
industries operating in global supply chains.
During Phase I (2017), VZF has conducted assessments of the garment and ginger
supply chains in Myanmar to identify the actors, the issues and possible market-based solution
where the activities of Phase II will focus on.
In both value chains, the assessment mapped the market system and supporting functions, the
issues that negatively affect workers’ safety and health, and the market-based opportunities
that can promote positive and sustainable change on workers’ safety and health.

VZF On Garment
During the assessment, VZF met several garment sector stakeholders, visited factories,
and conducted a thorough mapping and desk review that identified key occupational safety and
health drivers and constraints in the garment and textile sector in Yangon and Mandalay.
During Phase II (2018-2020), VZF will work in the garment value chain on two main areas:

 filling knowledge gaps on hazards that can provide market-based incentives to invest
in OSH; and

 strengthening institutional frameworks and systems of OSH.

These will be done through a range of activities identified during the assessments conducted in
Phase I:

1. OSH risk assessment in the garment and textile sector, focusing on locally-owned factories
and identifying best practices from the industry;
2. Business case for OSH investments in the garment and textile sector, focusing on lessons
that can help locally-owned factories achieve better integration in the global supply chain;
3. Awareness raising among garment sector factories and industrial zones on OSH hazards
prevalent in the industry, as well as on options to eliminate or control such hazards, in
collaboration with the Factories and General Labour Laws Inspection Department
(FGLLID) and partners;
4. Support the development of OSH management systems among garment factories;
5. Support workers’ and employers’ associations in strengthening their capacity to
disseminate OSH information;
6. Capacity building for the Department of Industrial Supervision and Inspection, Ministry
of Industry, in their ability to inspect boiler and electrical safety, and train and certify
operators working in the garment industry;
7. Technical support to the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ministry
of Health, on the definition of OSH standards, diagnostic criteria, and list of occupational
diseases for compensation purposes;
8. Revision of social security administrative procedures and core business processes of the
Social Security Board to enhance access to compensation and alignment with efforts on
better OSH data collection and inspection;
9. Promote collaboration and coordination of OSH-related functions of the OSH system in
Myanmar;

Activities in the garment sector will benefit government stakeholders in charge of OSH
functions in the industry, as well as workers and employers who will benefit from enhanced
access to information, compensation, and enforcement functions.
Certain activities such as the ones related to compensation will be concentrated in two
townships: Hlaing Tharyar (Yangon) and Pyi Gyi Tha Kon (Mandalay).
VZF on Ginger Production
During the assessment, VZF interviewed and consulted farmers, government officials, private
sector representatives and development partners working in the ginger value chain in South
Shan State to identify key occupational safety and health drivers and constraints, as well
opportunities and potential marked based solutions.
During Phase II (2018-2020), VZF will work in the ginger value chain in six townships in
Southern Shan State: Kalaw, Pindaya, Pinlaung, Hopone, Nyangshwe and Lawksawk.
OSH activities identified for the ginger value chain will benefit ginger farmers who will have
access to better information on the safe use of agrochemicals and other OSH-related
information that can improve their working conditions, as well as government stakeholders
from the Department of Agriculture.

These activities include:

1. Awareness raising among farmers on the use of agrochemicals and other OSH hazards
(e.g. physical and ergonomics);
2. Capacity building to input retailers and the Department of Agriculture on effective
information sharing on the safe use of agrochemicals;
3. Support the creation of farmers groups and enhance their capacity to promote information
sharing on good OSH practices at the community level;
4. Promote certification processes that help eliminate or control OSH hazards (organic and
Good Agricultural Practices);
5. Support to OSH management systems and Lean Factory Designs that keep workers safe
and inventory undamaged among ginger processors;
6. Promotion of productivity enhancements among traders in Aung Ban market that enhances
working conditions and inventory management;