NAME

: NICOLE BALKARAN

COURSE CODE

: LBS 300

SEMESTER

:2

YEAR

:3

LECTURER

: MR. L. FREDERICK

Question

: IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AT THE WORKPLACE IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS.

DUE DATE

: THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10TH, 2011

The term Labour Law is also called Employment Law; Employment Law may be defined as the body of laws, administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights and restrictions on working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees. The International Labour Organization (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 with the aim of promoting Social Justice. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite United Nation (U.N) agency with the government, employer and the workers representatives. The tripartite is there to make the ILO exclusive. There are one hundred and eighty three (183) member states that can freely and openly contest and detailed labour standards and policies. The ILO headquarters is established in Geneva. Identify and comment on the fundermental rights at work in the context of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Standards.

The 1998 Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was established. In 1998; the 86th International Labour Conference adopted the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. This declaration identified four pillars of the fundermental rights of work and they are as follows; The Fundamental Rights concern Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining, Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), Forced Labour and Worst form of Child Labour.

Asserting that all ILO member States on the basis of existing obligations as members in the Organization have the responsibility to work towards fully respecting the values embodied in the right ILO Conventions. The ILO Conventions which represent the fundamental

principles have now been organized by most member states. The Collective Bargaining Convention is # 98 of 1949. In the year of 1949 #98 they spoke about the right to organize and collective bargaining convention. Collective bargaining is a way of attaining helpful and productive solutions to potentially conflict relations between workers and employers.

It provides a means of building trust between the parties through negotiation and the communication and satisfaction of the different interests of the negotiating partners. Collective bargaining plays this role by promoting peaceful, comprehensive and free participation of representative workers and employers organizations. It can also strengthen weak voices, help with poverty and other disadvantages or issues that the employers or workers are facing. It can help with the collective interest of the people. The right of workers and employers are identified in the ILO Convention. The Collective Bargaining Convention deals with according to Article 1 #1;which talks about how workers should enjoy adequate protection against any anti-union discriminations in due respect of their employment. Article 2 #1 states that employers and workers organizations shall enjoy enough protection against any act of intrusion by each other in their establishment either functioning or administrating.

Freedom of Association and the Protection on the Rights to Organize Conventions #87 of 1948. The right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of their choice is an integral part of a free and any open society. It is at the center of ILO's values and also a right proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). It is a basic civil right that serves as a building block for social and economic progress within oneself and ones country.

The ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association was set up in 1951 to examine violations of workers' and employers' organizing rights. The committee has examined more than 2000 cases, including allegations of murders, disappearances, physical attacks, arrests and forced exile of trade union officials. The committee is tripartite and handles complaints in ILO member states whether or not they have ratified freedom of association Conventions. Through the Committee on Freedom of Association and other management mechanisms, the ILO consistently defends the rights of the trade unions and the employers' organizations. These organizations in many cases have played an important role in their countries' elected change.

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) is # 111 in the ILO of 1958. Struggling with discrimination is an important part of promoting decent work, and success on this front is felt well beyond the workplace. ILO standards on equality provide tools to eliminate discrimination in all aspects of the workplace and in society as a whole. They also provide the basis upon which gender mainstreaming strategies can be applied in the field of labour. Millions of men and women around the world are left without access to jobs and training, receive low wages or are restricted to certain occupations simply on the basis of their sex, skin colour, ethnicity or beliefs, without any regard to their capabilities, knowledge, skills and experiences.

Freedom from discrimination is a fundamental human right and is vital for workers to choose their employment freely, to develop their potential to the full and to obtain economic rewards on the basis of merit. In some jobs at present they dont cover the economic rewards on the merit bases and it is unfair to employers and workers in society. Someone going to University to obtain a degree and when they get a job they are getting paid as though they are an On the Job Training employer or someone who possess the basic entry requirements. Presently,

you are seeing where females are performing like men on the job; they are working offshore thus, one would say that these issues that are facing workers and employers need to be address.

Worst form of Child Labour is another fundermental rights at work, which is ILO # 182 of 1999. Generally, there are more than two hundred million children working throughout the world. These children are deprived of their education, good health and their basic freedom. Apart, of this one hundred and twenty six million worldwide are exposed to hazardous forms of child labour, work labour that are dangerous to their physical, mental or their moral-being. The ILO polices and programmes aim to help ensure that children received their education and training that they need to become productive adults in a decent employment.

Force Labour is #29 of 1930 in the ILO and the ILO is there to fight against Force labour. In 1960s declarations of labour standards as a component of human rights have been weakened by government of postcolonial countries. In 1998, the international labour conference adopted a declaration on fundermental principles and rights at work so member states can respect, promote and realize freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the removal of all forms of force labour, child labour and discrimination. In November 2001 the ILO created a Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL) to promote the 1998 declaration on fundermental principles and rights at work.

The Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour is there to raise global awareness in different forms to the people, it is there to assist government in the developing and implementing new laws and polices. The programme is there to implement innovative programmes that combine policy development, capacity building of law enforcement and labour

market institution, field base projects of support and the prevention of forced labour and recognition and treatment of its victims.

In closing the International Labour Organization (ILO) accomplished with the aim of promoting Social Justice. Within the ILO there was the declaration of the four fundermentals rights at work. The International Labour Organization is there to help member states with all the social, economic problems and issues that are facing them. Thus, Labour Law basically deals with the dismissals, discrimination in the workplace.

REFERENCES: www.ilo.org www.ilocarib.org.tt

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILO www.ilohistory.com