International Labour

Standards and the EU

Labour Law
Prof. Giuseppe Casale
Deputy Director
International Training Centre of the ILO
Secretary-General, International Society for Labour and Social Security Law

Introduction
On-going debate on how best to improve the implementation of existing
International Labour Standards.
The current nature of institutional labour standards and the effective
role of the current ILO supervisory machinery
How to build an efficient and transparent process for ensuring periodic
reviews of the current body of international labour standards, including
their effectiveness
Governance Conventions ("priority" instruments that are the most
significant for the functioning of the international labour standards
system)
1. Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81)
2. Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)
3. Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129)
4. Tripartite Consultation (International
Convention, 1976 (No. 144)

Labour

Standards)

The International Labour Code

The ILO has adopted 189 Conventions, 5 Protocols and 202
Recommendations since its foundation in 1919
Four strategic objectives
The status of these instruments has been reviewed periodically
Cartier Working Party (1990s)
Up to date: 76 Conventions, 5 Protocols and 80 Recommendations
Interim status: 24 Conventions and 22 Recommendations
Outdated: 55 Conventions and 14 Recommendations
To be revised: 9 Conventions and 9 Recommendations
Replaced: 22 Recommendations
Withdrawn by ILC: 5 Conventions and 36 Recommendations
Other: (require additional information for their classification, shelved,
no conclusions, no examined)

The future role of labour standards

ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization
Creation of a process for intensive tripartite consultation on international
labour standards policy to ensure that they remain relevant to constituents
needs and are well aligned to the ILO four strategic objectives
The overarching framework for a standards policy and a standards review
mechanism (SRM)
o proposals made should not have the effect of reducing the protection
already afforded to workers by ratified Conventions
o the capital consisting of existing rights, updated where necessary, should
be faithfully preserved without prejudice to the need for innovation;
o the approach should be holistic
o decisions should be adopted by consensus
A review mechanism would provide an on-going programme of work for the
ILO to reinvigorate and reinforce the international labour code

The relation between ILS and the EU

labour law

Special relation exists between the international labour

standards and the EU labour law

The Community acquis in the fields of employment, social

policy and equal opportunities in many respects have been
inspired by the international standards

The standards and measures of the ILO also complement the

acquis in areas which are not covered or only partly covered
by legislation and Community policies, such as labour
administration and inspection, freedom of association, the
right to collective bargaining as well as the introduction of
minimum standards in social security

The relation between ILS and the EU

labour law (Contd)

The incidence of the ILO principles and rights at work is crucial

in the fabric of the Community's initiatives, the content of
Community norms, and in the interpretation procedures of
Community law. This is visible when reference is made to the
core social rights guaranteed by the eight core ILO
Conventions, as recalled by the Charter of Nice, annexed to
the Treaty of Lisbon, and by the two EU treaties (TEU and
Art.6, TFEU)

The DWA and the Lisbon Agenda, renovated and then

rephrased as Europe 2020, have many points in common

2001, through an exchange of letters between the European

Commission and the ILO, a long tradition of cooperation was
renewed (the last formal act dated back to 1989)

The relation between ILS and the EU

labour law (Contd)

The recognition that a joint reflection on innovative tools to be

applied to social problems, [...] by pooling their skills, could
respond effectively to the need to promote job opportunities,
maintain and improve the living and working conditions and
employment around the world".

The EU initiatives and the various communications of the

Commission also have a practical value, since, within a global
setting, indicate explicitly how to promote decent work, namely
through:
a) the protection of fundamental principles and rights at
work, with special attention to child labour and the gender
dimension;
b) promotion of good governance and social dialogue;
c) the provision of social protection, education and lifelong
learning.

The relation between ILS and the EU

labour law (Contd)
The European Commission has adopted on 23 March 2012
two important legislation proposals. One proposal for a new
EU Directive on flag state control and one proposal for a
Directive amending the existing port state control
Directive 2009/16. The two proposals have been published on
2 April 2012.
These two Directives directly refer, in relation to the MLC
themes covered, to the EU social partners framework
agreement as implemented by the EU Directive 2009/13 of 16
February 2009.

The relation between ILS and the EU

labour law (Contd)
Another example of mutual nurturing of social rights
between the EU and the ILO is given by a recent
communication on CSR by the European Commission. On
25 October 2011, the Commission adopted its new CSR
Communication entitled A renewed EU strategy 20112014 for Corporate Social Responsibility. The
Communication refers to the ILO standards. It calls for All
European-based multinational enterprises to make a
commitment by 2014 to respect the ILO Tripartite
Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational
Enterprises and Social Policy.

The relation between ILS and the EU

labour law (Contd)
Limits and perspectives

Within the ILO, the EC is a non-voting observer, unable to

formally vote on the adoption of Conventions or
Recommendations; nor is possible for the EU to ratify ILO
Conventions

The EU manages to play a more significant role in the day-today politics of ILO, through co-ordination by the Council
Presidency and the European Commission

Coherence between the socials objectives of the EU and the

ILO is particularly strong in the promotion of soft law activities
and in the formulation of international economic and social
policies.

How to make more efficient the cooperation

between ILS and EU labour law
The EU has supported the recommendations of the World
Commission such as through the Commission Communication
of May 2004 on the social dimension of globalization and the
communication of May 2006 on Decent Work. The European
Council, the Council and the EESC have equally supported the
outcome of the WCSDG and the Decent Work Agenda. The
EU has also supported the adoption and implementation of the
ILO 2008 Declaration and the 2009 ILO Global Jobs Pact
Sustainable development and human rights
The EU refers in its unilateral trade instruments (e.g. GSP,
GSP plus) and in its new generation of free trade agreements
to ILO core labour standards as well as to other international
labour standards classified by ILO as up to date

How to make more efficient the cooperation

between ILS and EU labour law (Contd)
The influence of ILO anti-discrimination rules on the EU law
The Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), and the
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958
(No. 111)
The principles in question can be found in the EU legislation in a series
of directives, issued over the last 30 years (lastly modified and recast
through the Directive 2006/54) and in the rulings of the ECJ
Art. 2 of the TEU articulates the Unions values and is similarly clear on
the need for respect for individuals and for certain groups
Art.19 of the TFEU provides a legal basis for the Council, acting
unanimously, to take action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial
or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Moreover, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has potentially widened
the scope of the article in many important judgments.

How to make more efficient the cooperation

between ILS and EU labour law (Contd)
The influence of ILO anti-discrimination rules on the EU law (Contd)

The above mentioned principles of the Treaties must be read in the light
of the Charter of Nice (2000). Articles 20-26 contained therein set out
the principle of equality before the law and the content of the right to
equality.

Directives Nos. 2000/43 and 2000/78. These provisions authorize

action to penalize indirect discrimination and remove obstacles to the
full implementation of the principle of non-discrimination. The directives
include detailed definitions of direct and indirect discrimination, as well
as harassment

One of the lessons from the existing EU anti-discrimination

legislation is that simply prohibiting discrimination is not a
sufficient means of achieving full equality in practice. The
forthcoming directive needs to complement new rights for individuals
to challenge discrimination with wider measures designed to
promote equality

Conclusions

The efforts being made at the international level for a better

systematization of the bulk of the international labour
standards are based on the assumption that the ILO
Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization should
be the framework for the implementation of the ILOs
standards policy.
International labour standards and EU labour law need to
continue to progress hand-in-hand.
Urgent need to establish of up-to-date body of international
labour standards constituting an international labour code