INTRODUCTION

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is an international organization which works to

improve working conditions and promote social justice and human rights. In 1969, on its 50th
anniversary, the ILO was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1. ILO is a specialized agency of the
United Nations system which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally
recognized human and labour rights. The ILO formulates international labour standards.
These standards take the form of Conventions and Recommendations, which set minimum
standards in the field of fundamental labour rights: freedom of association, the right to
organize, the right to collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labour, equality of
opportunity and treatment, as well as other standards addressing conditions spanning across
the entire spectrum of work-related issues2. The ILO provides technical assistance, mainly in
the following fields: vocational training and vocational rehabilitation; employment policy;
labour administration; labour law and industrial relations; conditions of work; management
development; cooperatives; social security; labour statistics and occupational safety &
health3.

In its first decade the ILO was primarily concerned with legislative and research efforts, with
defining and promoting proper minimum standards of labour legislation for adoption by
member states, and with arranging for collaboration among workers, employers, government
delegates, and ILO professional staff. During the worldwide economic depression of the
1930s the ILO sought ways to combat widespread unemployment. With the post-war breakup
of the European colonial empires and the expansion of ILO membership to include poorer
and less developed countries, the ILO addressed itself to new issues, including the social
problems created by the liberalization of international trade, the problem of child labour, and
the relationship between working conditions and the environment4.

A distinctive feature of the ILO is tripartism and its tripartite structure, within which the
negotiations between governments, workers and employers are held. The delegates of the
three groups are represented and consult on an equal basis to all levels of the organization 5.
1
Charlotte Bynum, ILO Research Guide, available at
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/WhatWeDo/ResearchGuides/ILOguide.cfm
2
International Labour Organisation, available at http://www.slideshare.net/lifelongelearning/introduction-to-
the-ilo-presentation
3
Ibid.
4
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/290987/International-Labour-Organization-ILO
5
The International Labour Organization, available at http://www.gfss.kz/en/international/594/

1
Among intergovernmental organizations the ILO is unique in that its approximately 175
member states are represented not only by delegates of their governments but also by
delegates of those states’ employers and workers, especially trade unions. National
representatives meet annually at the International Labour Conference. The ILO’s executive
authority is vested in a 56-member Governing Body, which is elected by the Conference6.

HISTORY

The ILO was created in response to the consciousness that followed the First World War at
the Peace Conference, which convened first in Paris and then in Versailles. The ILO is the
only major surviving outcome of the Treaty of Versailles. ILO was founded, along with the
League of Nations, by the Treaty of Versailles on 11 April 1919 7. The call for just and equal
labour standards and improved working and living conditions for the world's workers had
begun to be heard long before the outbreak of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution
swept from France and Britain across the rest of Europe over the course of the 19th century, it
completely altered the economic and social landscape of the continent (and eventually the
world)8.

To address the problems caused by the industrialization of Europe in the 19th century, Robert
Owen of Wales and Jerome Blanqui and Daniel Legrand of France, among others, brought
the need for international cooperation in setting labour standards to international prominence.
Though these 19th-century thinkers were ahead of their time, the unparalleled destruction
wrought by the Great War of 1914-1918 led to increased support among the world's leaders
for just such an organization, not only to regulate labor standards for the steadily growing
international population of industrial workers, but also to preserve peace in the volatile
atmosphere of the post-war world9.

The reasons articulated for the necessity of cooperation were both benevolent and economic.
Cooperation was necessary to eradicate poverty and injustice, not just to protect workers, but
also to prevent the social unrest these conditions could engender. Furthermore, international
cooperation was necessary because each nation would be at a competitive disadvantage if it

6
Supra note 1.
7
International Labour Organisation, available at http://www.slideshare.net/lifelongelearning/introduction-to-
the-ilo-presentation
8
This day in history: International Labour Organization founded, available at http://www.history.com/this-day-
in-history/international-labor-organization-founded
9
Ibid.

2
imposed higher standards unilaterally. Ultimately, these concerns led to the formation of The
International Labour Organization on April 11, 1919 as an affiliated agency of the League of
Nations. The original ILO Constitution was drafted as Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles.
After the creation of the United Nations, the ILO became the first specialized agency to be
affiliated with the UN in 194610.

The ILO was also based on political and economic considerations. These ideas were reflected
in the ILO Constitution. The ILO was founded primarily in response to humanitarian concern
over the condition of workers who were being exploited with no consideration for their
health, their family lives or their professional and social advancement11.

ILO CONSTITUTION

The ILO Constitution has been developed by the Commission for Labour of the peace
conference and became the part of the XIII Treaty of Versailles. The ILO Constitution,
written between January and April 1919, by a commission of representatives from nine
countries—Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United
Kingdom and the United States—and chaired by Samuel Gompers, head of the American
Federation of Labour (AFL), eventually became Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles.

The first annual International Labour Conference, composed of two representatives from the
government, and one each from employers' and workers' organizations from each member
State, met in Washington DC beginning on 29 October 1919. It adopted the first 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 Governing Body chose Albert Thomas (a former member of the French wartime
government) as the first Director of the International Labour Office. He gave the
Organization a strong impetus from the very beginning. In less than two years, 16
International Labour Conventions and 18 Recommendations had been adopted. In 1920 the
first Maritime Session of Conference took place and in the same year the ILO Headquarters
was set up in Geneva. The zeal which drove the Organization was very quickly toned down.
Certain governments felt that there were too many Conventions, the publications were too
10
Supra note 1.
11
Supra note 7.

3
critical and the budget too high. Thus everything had to be reduced. Nevertheless, 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 sector12.

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
states13:

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 example14:

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;
12
ILO, available at http://www.unesco.org/archives/sio/Eng/presentation_print.php?idOrg=1019
13
Ibid.
14
Origins and History, available at http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm

4
 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 measures15.

ILO'S MISSION
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has the following mission: To promote
opportunities for men and women to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of
freedom, equity, security and human dignity, which is summed up by the expression “Decent
work as a global goal16”. The ILO website states the organization's goal as “bringing decent
work and livelihoods, job-related security and better living standards to the people of both
poor and rich countries.” From its inception, the ILO has recognized social justice as a
prerequisite to world peace. After the Second World War, its aims and purposes were
reasserted and strengthened in The Declaration of Philadelphia17, adopted on May 19, 1949,
which states:

 Labour is not a commodity;

 Freedom of expression and association are essential to sustained progress;
 Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity anywhere; [and]
 All human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both
their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and
dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity18.

CONVENTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After extensive preparation by the Office and the Governing Body, the Conference, usually
after consideration in two of its annual sessions, adopts Conventions and Recommendations.

15
Origins and History, available at http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm
16
International Labour Organisation, available at http://www.slideshare.net/lifelongelearning/introduction-to-
the-ilo-presentation
17
The Declaration was adopted by the ILO in 1944 and is the equivalent of what an organization commonly
refers to as its mission.
18
Charlotte Bynum, ILO Research Guide, available at
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/WhatWeDo/ResearchGuides/ILOguide.cfm

5
These are then brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities of the member nations
by their representatives.

Conventions are treaties which do not bind a country unless ratified by that country. Each
member country is bound to present ILO conventions which have secured a two-thirds
majority in the Conference to that country's appropriate ratifying authority. ILO conventions
must be ratified as written and without reservations, but sometimes include flexibility clauses
to accommodate different climactic conditions or states of development of particular
countries19.

Recommendations are non-binding guidelines which are typically issued when state practice
varies greatly, when the subject is too technical to be handled by a convention, or when a
subject already covered by a convention needs to be addressed in greater detail. Member
countries are obligated to bring recommendations to the attention of their governments.

Together, the body of ILO Conventions and Recommendations which the ILO considers still
in effect is commonly known as the International Labour Code, but the Code and the
Organization have an impact far beyond a simple calculation of the number of states which
have ratified each convention. In judging the organization's impact, it is important to consider
that member states which have not ratified conventions may still alter their law or practice in
response to the principles established by the ILO, often as a result of the sophisticated ILO
system of monitoring its standards. Furthermore, national courts, and legislatures may also
rely on the ILO's articulation of legal principles, especially in the area of collective
bargaining and freedom of association, on which the Organization has developed a large body
of precedent.

Cases and Reports Developed through the ILO's Monitoring Mechanisms: There are several
mechanisms by which the ILO evaluates and promotes compliance with its standards20.

1. Through the ILO's regular reporting structure: Each member nation must regularly
report the extent to which its national law is consistent with ILO conventions and
recommendations. These reports are first evaluated by the Committee of Experts on the
Application of Conventions and Recommendations, which consists of 20 internationally

19
Charlotte Bynum, ILO Research Guide, available at
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/WhatWeDo/ResearchGuides/ILOguide.cfm
20
Ibid.

6
renowned scholars. The committee's annual report is reviewed at the annual session of the
Conference by the Conference's Committee on the Application of Standards. The Committee
on the Application of Standards then makes recommendations to the Conference, which may
act to censure particular governments21.

2. Through special mechanisms established to protect Freedom of Association: The ILO

Governing Body's Committee on Freedom of Association has the competence to review
complaints brought against member states which allege a violation of the fundamental right
of freedom of association. Because freedom of association is one of the ILO's central tenets, a
complaint may be brought against a member state even if that state has not ratified the
organization's conventions on freedom of association.

The Committee may refer complaints to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission on
Freedom of Association for further investigation if the state to be investigated consents. After
the investigation, matters concerning states which have ratified ILO conventions are then
referred to the Committee of Experts22.

3. Through Commissions of Inquiry: Under Article 26 of the ILO's constitution, an ad hoc

commission of inquiry may be set up to investigate complaints against a member state which
has ratified an ILO convention.

4. Through Representations: Under Article 24 of the ILO's constitution, a "representation"

alleging a violation of an ILO convention which a state has ratified may be filed against that
state. Under this procedure, a committee is appointed by the Governing Body, which then
reviews the committee's report23.

21
Supra note 1.
22
Charlotte Bynum, ILO Research Guide, available at
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/WhatWeDo/ResearchGuides/ILOguide.cfm
23
Ibid.

7
 REFERENCES

1. Charlotte Bynum, ILO Research Guide, available at

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/WhatWeDo/ResearchGuides/ILOguide.cfm

2. ILO, available at http://www.unesco.org/archives/sio/Eng/presentation_print.php?

idOrg=1019

3. International Labour Organisation, available at

http://www.slideshare.net/lifelongelearning/introduction-to-the-ilo-presentation

4. Origins and History, available at

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm

5. The International Labour Organization, available at

http://www.gfss.kz/en/international/594/

6. This day in history: International Labour Organization founded, available at

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/international-labor-organization-founded

7. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/290987/International-Labour-

Organization-ILO