The International Labour Organization (ILO)

1
The International Labour Organization
(ILO)International Labour Standards (ILS)

• Tim De Meyer,
• Specialist on International Labour Standards
  Labour Law
• International Labour Office, Bangkok Subregional
  Office for East Asia (SRO Bangkok), Thailand

2
Part IThe International Labour Organization
3
International Labour Organization (ILO)

• Organization of Governments, Employers and
  Workers from 181 countries
• Mandate to promote social justice through decent
  work as a matter of
• respect for individual dignity
• economic and social development
• international peace and stability

4
ILOs Decent Work agenda

• Decent work work which does not only provide
  men or women a pass-time and a short-term
  livelihood, but also
• rights, i.e. the power to choose and negotiate
  accordingly
• protection against the uncertainties of (working)
  life for workers and their families
• participation in the workplace and the wider
  community

5
Decent Work Strategic Objectives

• To promote and realize fundamental principles and
  rights at work
• To create greater opportunities for women and men
  to secure decent employment and income
• To enhance the coverage and effectiveness of
  social protection for all
• To strengthen tripartism social dialogue

6
ILO - ITUC Relationship

• ILO is an international forum for G, E W - ITUC
  gives a voice to Workers
• ITUC is a consultative organization of the ILO,
  as is
• the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)
• the Organization of African Trade Union Unity
  (OATUU)
• the European Trade Union Council (ETUC)
• the International Organization of Employers (IOE)

7
ILO - ITUC Relationship

• Where independent trade unions are absent or
  weak, ITUC plays an important role in bringing
• representations or complaints
• information on the application of ratified
  Conventions
• ITUC may endorse information from NGOs such as
  Anti-Slavery International or the Global March

8
ILO means of action

• Setting and supervising the application of
  international labour standards
• Providing technical cooperation to developing
  countries
• Collecting and disseminating information
  (knowledge)

9
Part IIInternational Labour Standards
10
International Labour Standards

• Recommendations
• Not open to ratification
• Same authority as Conventions
• Contain good practices, guidelines, higher
  standards or advice directly addressed to W E
  organizations

• Conventions (Protocols)
• States must consider ratification, but do not
  have to ratify
• If ratified, they are binding under international
  law
• ILO does not accept reservations
• If not ratified, they still do influence national
  law policy

11
International Labour Standards

• Since 1919, the International Labour Organization
  has adopted 188 Conventions, 199 Recommendations
  and 5 Protocols
• fundamental human rights at work
• occupational safety and health
• social security
• employment policy
• ...
• Governing Body has extensively reviewed the
  relevance of the all ILS since 1995

12
ILO Conventions in Asia Pacific

• Ratification average at about 66 of world
  average, 40 of OECD average
• 60 40 24 - 15
• East Asia ratifications significantly lower than
  in the rest of Asia
• Many countries start to ratify again after long
  periods of  drought 
• Ratification record dominated by older technical
  Conventions, but FHR Conventions are on the rise

13
Governing Body Revision Policy

• Up to date 79 C ( 5 P), 79 R
• To be revised 22 C, 14 R
• Outdated (including withdrawn, replaced or
  shelved instruments) 60 C, 69 R
• Requests for info 5 C, 12 R
• Interim status 24 C, 26 R
• No conclusion 1 C, 1 R

14
ILO Organizational Structure

• International Labour Conference
• Tripartite  world assembly  of labour
• (1 E 2 G 1 W) x 181
• Adopts Conventions and Recommendations
• Governing Body of the IL Office
• Tripartite executive council
• 14 E 28 G (10) 14 W
• Sets agenda of the Conference
• International Labour Office
• Secretariat, headed by a Director-General

15
IL Standards Terminology

• Adoption ( creation)
• Submission to the competent authorities (
  dissemination and orientation)
• Ratification ( commitment)
• Denunciation ( cancelling commitment)
• Application ( law and practice)
• Supervision ( monitoring application by ILO)

16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Submission what is it ?

• to bring newly adopted Conventions and
  Recommendations before the national authorities
  competent to legislate or take other action to
  give effect to the C. R.
• Government must send Report of Submission to the
  ILO
• Copy of governments report must be sent to most
  representative workers' and employers'
  organizations

22
Submission why ?

• obtaining a decision from the competent
  authorities on action to take
• submission must be accompanied by a statement of
  the government's view
• (C. 144 consultation !)
• legislature should hold debate
• informing and mobilizing public opinion, thus
  submission to the legislative assembly even when
• this assembly is not vested with legislative
  power or
• the instrument does not require legislative action

23
Submission when ?

• DG sends a certified copy of the authentic text
  of the instruments to the Government
• labour and/or foreign affairs ministers
• submission within 12 or, in exceptional
  circumstances, 18 months of adoption for
• unitary states
• federal states that consider the Convention or
  Recommendation appropriate for federal action
• submission within 18 months for federal states if
  constituent states are competent to deal with the
  matter

24
Art. 19 Reports Features

• in respect of unratified Convs Recoms, by
  topic
• every year the ILO Governing Body selects a
  different subject matter
• follows a report form from the GB
• Govt reports due by 1 April of the year for
  which the GB has requested the report
• Committee of Experts analyses reports with
  comments in a General Survey

25
Art. 19 Reports Purpose

• to document comparative law and practice on a
  topic of current interest
• to renew interest in an important, but forgotten
  standard
• to identify obstacles to ratification
• e.g. verify if certain provisions are too
  prescriptive
• to establish need for renewed promotion or
  revision of the instruments concerned

26
Art. 19 Reports Topics

• 2002 - Protection of Wages C., 1949 (No. 95)
• 2003 - Employment Policy C., 1964 (No. 122) R.
  122, 169 189 (Job Creation in SMEs)
• 2004 - Hours of Work (Industry) C., 1919 (No. 1)
  the Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) C.,
  1930 (No. 30)
• 2005 Labour Inspection C., 1947 (No. 81)
  Labour Inspection C., 1969 (No. 129)
• 2006 Forced Labour C., 1930 (No. 29)
  Abolition of Forced Labour C., 1957 (No. 105)
• 2007 Labour Clauses (Public Contracts), 1949
  (No. 94)
• 2008 Occupational Safety and Health C., 1981
  (No. 155)

27
Ratification

• Formal requirements must clearly identify the
  Convention, be an original document, signed by a
  person with authority to engage the State, and
  clearly convey the intention to be bound
• Compulsory declaration to be included for certain
  Conventions
• Optional declarations as to the use of permitted
  exclusions, exceptions or modifications
• Entry into force one year after ratification is
  registered

28
Reports - Ratified Conventions

• Based on article 22 of the Constitution
• Periodic reports
• Two-yearly reports 8 fundamental Conventions, 4
  priority ones
• Five-yearly reports other Conventions
• Exemption from reporting for certain outdated
  Conventions
• Must reach the Office between 1 June and 1
  September

29
Reports - Ratified Conventions

• First report due one year after the entry into
  force
• form approved by the Governing Body
• Copies of relevant laws and regulations
• Position on permitted exclusions, exceptions or
  Detailed report
• Must reply to all questions set out in the report
• Information on application in practice

30
Reports - Ratified Conventions

• Subsequent reports
• Simplified indicate minor changes, provides
  information on practical application
• Detailed in reply to comments made by the CEACR
  can be out of reporting cycle in case of
  failure to report or to reply to earlier comments
  ( footnote  of the CEACR or the Conference
  Committee)

31
Representation (art 24 Constn)

• Can be filed by national or international
  organizations of workers or employers
• examination
• by a tripartite committee (3 members), reporting
  to the Governing Body (GB) on the basis of
  written information
• representation
• reply, if any, of the Government

32
Art. 24 Procedure

• (1) Office informs the Government and sends the
  representation to the GB
• (2) Officers of the GB report to the GB on
  fulfilment of conditions of receivability
• writing
• workers or employers organization
• reference to art. 24 ILO Constitution
• against an ILO member State...
• (and ex-member State)
• ...that has ratified the Convention
• indication of violation of the Convention

33
Art. 24 Procedure

• (3) tripartite Committee with GB members OR
  reference to the Committee on Freedom of
  Association
• (4) tripartite committee conducts private
  examination, and proposes to the GB conclusions
  and recommendations, but
• committee may hear complainant
• government may request
• to be heard
• direct contacts

34
Art. 24 Procedure

• (5) GB considers the matter in private in the
  presence of the Government
• (6) GB decides on whether to publish the
  representation and the reply, if any, in the
  Official Bulletin
• GB can at any moment decide to have the
  representation further examined under the
  complaints procedure
• e.g. C. 111 - Germany
• (7) Office notifies the decisions of the GB to
  the Government and the complainant

35
Complaint (art. 26 ILO Constn)

• Can be filed by
• (1) another ratifying Member State
• (2) a delegate to the Conference, representing
  workers or employers
• (3) the Governing Body
• Examination by Commission of Inquiry
• members are appointed by the Governing Body in
  their personal capacity (not necessarily
  tripartite)

36
Complaint (art. 26 ILO Constn)

• basis CoI establishes its own procedure
• (evidence, hearing, local visits)
• result
• (a) report published with recommendations (R)
• (b) govt accepts (R) or government does not
  accept (R) within 3 months
• International Court of Justice
• (c) govt does not comply with (R)
• any appropriate measures proposed by GB

37
Committee on Freedom of Association of GB

• Set up in 1951
• originally to examine complaints for referral to
  Fact-Finding Conciliation Committee
• but involved without consent of States
• it began examining the substance of cases
• composition tripartite - 9 Governing Body
  members
• meeting 3 reports a year

38
Committee on Freedom of Association of GB

• examines
• documentary evidence from complaints and replies
• sometimes "direct contacts"
• scope of action

39
CFA - Receivability

• which organizations ?
• national with direct interest
• international with consultative status (IOE,
  ICFTU, OATUU, WCL, WFTU, ETUC)
• international for directly affiliated
• NO RATIFICATION REQUIRED
• specific infringements, no purely political
  allegations
• no exhaustion of national procedures required
• not bound by national recognition of unions
• not bound by withdrawal of complaint

40
CFA Scope of Action

• no general conclusions
• no interpretation of Conventions
• no conviction of Governments or levelling of
  charges
• recommendations, to be approved by the Governing
  Body
• no call for further examination
• interim or definitive conclusions
• request to keep informed of progress on specific
  issues

41
Involvement of Employers and Workers
Organizations

• Constitutional obligation of the Govt to
  communicate copies of information and reports
  sent to the ILO to the most representative
  organizations (article 23, paragraph 2, of the
  ILO Constitution)
• Allows these organizations to transmit their own
  views, to the Government or to the ILO

42
Involvement of Employers and Workers
Organizations

• Under Convention No. 144, obligation to consult
  these organizations on
• Replies to questionnaire and comments on proposed
  new instruments
• Submission of instruments to competent
  authorities
• Re-examination of unratified Conventions and
  Recommendations
• Reports on ratified Conventions
• (according to Recommendation No. 152, on reports
  on unratified Conventions and Recommendations as
  well)
• Proposals for denunciation of Conventions

43
Involvement of Employers and Workers
Organizations

• Any organization of employers or workers (not
  only the most representative ones) can make
  comments on the application of ratified
  Conventions
• At any time
• Whether they have been consulted on the
  Governments report or not
• Without any formal requirements (just indicate
  the Convention dealt with), by a letter to the
  Director General of the ILO

44
Involvement of Employers and Workers
Organizations

• When organizations make comments on the
  application of ratified Conventions, these
  comments are
• Transmitted to the Government, which is asked to
  provide its own views
• Submitted to the CEACR
• Mentioned in the report and often reflected in
  the comments of the CEACR

45
Part IIIThe ILO Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work (1998) ILO
Fundamental Human Rights Conventions
46
Declaration Politics ?

• Builds on Berlin, Marrakesh, Copenhagen and
  Singapore
• Reaffirms the constitutional value of ILO FPR in
  the context of the global economy
• Does not change international labour standards
  (ILS), but affirms the pivotal role of FPR in the
  promotion of ILS
• Establishes an official dialogue on FPR channel
  in the absence of ratification
• Mobilizes resources in support of FPR

47
Declaration economics ?

• Economic growth is essential but not sufficient
  to ensure equity, social progress and the
  eradication of poverty
• In seeking to maintain the link between social
  progress and economic growth, the guarantee of
  fundamental principles and rights at work is of
  particular significance in that it enables the
  persons concerned to claim freely and on the
  basis of equality of opportunity their fair share
  of the wealth which they have helped to generate,
  and to achieve fully their human potential

48
Declaration and Constitution

• All ILO Member States have an obligation to
  respect, promote and realize the fundamental
  principlesand rights.
• This obligation derives from the ILO
  Constitution,which countries accept whenthey
  join the Organization.

49
The Declaration andFollow-up Key Features
50
4 Categories of Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work

• Freedom of association and effective recognition
  of the right to collective bargaining
• Elimination of all forms of forcedor compulsory
  labour
• Effective abolition of child labour
• Elimination of discrimination inrespect of
  employment and occupation

51
Part IVILO Fundamental Conventions
52
As of 1 September 2007 / ILO181 Member States
Year No. Official Title Ratifications 1930
29 Forced labour (172) 1948 87 Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to
Organise (148) 1949 98 Right to
Organise and Collective Bargaining
(158) 1951 100 Equal Remuneration
(164) 1957 105 Abolition of Forced Labour
(170) 1958 111 Discrimination
(Employment (166) Occupation) 1973
138 Minimum Age (150) 1999 182 Worst
Forms of Child Labour (165)
53
29 87 98 100 111 105 138 182
Brunei
Cambodia 1969 1999 1999 1999 1999 1999 1999 2006
Indonesia 1950 1998 1957 1958 1999 1999 1999 2000
Lao PDR 1964 2005 2005
Malaysia 1957 1961 1997 x 1997 2000
Myanmar 1955 1955
Philippines 2005 1953 1953 1960 1953 1960 1998 2000
Singapore 1965 1965 2002 x 2005 2001
Thailand 1969 1999 1969 2004 2001
Viet Nam 2007 1997 1997 2003 2000
54
29 87 98 100 111 105 138 182
China (1919 / 25) 1990 2006 1999 2002
RoKorea (1991 / 22) 1997 1998 1999 2001
Japan (1919 / 48) 1932 1965 1953 1967 2000 2001
US (1934 / 14) 1991 1999
Canada (1919 / 30) 1972 1972 1964 1959 2000
55
Ratification FHR Conv. in AP

• Ratification of all 8 FHRC consistently well
  below world average, although
• gt 50 of ratifications since 1995
• 25 child labour, starting 1997
• Freedom of association CB Conventions lag
  behind, in particular in terms of population
  (China, India, Viet Nam, Thailand, IR Iran,
  RoKorea)
• Forced labour Conventions lag behind in
  transition economies

56
Freedom of Association C. 87

• E W should be free
• to defend and further their interests through
  independent organizations
• to select the type of organization they think is
  appropriate
• to elect their representatives
• to join national / international federations
• not to see their organizations dissolved than by
  an independent judicial authority
• to have their organizations protected against an
  arbitrary application of law and order
• to organize the activities of their organizations
  (including going on strike)

57
Collective bargaining C. 98

• the law must protect workers against acts of
  anti-union discrimination by employers
• the law must protect workers against acts of
  interference by employers
• the Government must operate machinery to ensure
  that the law protecting workers against
  anti-union discrimination is complied with
• the Government must promote collective bargaining
  to determine terms and conditions of work

58
Collective bargaining C. 98

• States must promote voluntary collective
  bargaining between employers and workers as a
  means of regulating terms conditions of
  employment through collective agreements
• Bargaining ( the market ) not legislating
  ( the Government ) is the proper way of
  determining price and contents of labour
• Collective bargaining must be preferred over
  individual bargaining if workers so want
• Further standards are laid down in the Collective
  Bargaining Convention (No. 154), 1981

59
Forced Labour C. 29

• Defined in C. 29, identical for C. 29 / C. 105
• does not cover one specific situation, but a
  qualitative characteristic of potentially every
  working (or even non-working) relationship
• Contains three elements
• all work or service
• which is exacted from any person under the
  menace of any penalty
• and for which the said person has not offered
  himself voluntarily

60
Is NOT Forced Labour (C. 29)

• compulsory military service for work of a purely
  military character
• minor communal services
• normal civic obligations
• prison labour work or service exacted as a
  consequence of a conviction in a court of law
  (provided )
• emergency

61
No Forced Labour, never (C. 105)

• Forced labour for political mainstreaming
• Forced labour for purposes of economic
  development
• as a means of labour discipline
• as a punishment for having participated in a
  strike
• as a means of racial, social, national or
  religious discrimination

62
Equal Remuneration C. 100

• 1. To bring member States to promote and to
  ensure equal remuneration for men and women
  workers for work of equal value
• 2. To promote acceptance that the contents of the
  job, and not the sex of the worker, is the
  correct basis for the calculation and payment of
  remuneration

63
Equal Remuneration C. 100

• C. 100 requires action acknowledgement
• that indirect and direct discrimination does
  occur against women,
• that discrimination must be eliminated,
• and that the correction entails an analysis of
  pay systems and establishment of corrective
  mechanisms

64
Equality at Work C. 111

• States must declare pursue a national policy
  designed to promote equality of opportunity
  treatment in employment occupation
• Promoting equality at work means promoting that
  people can fully develop their human capital,
  can allocate that capital where return is the
  highest, and that they effectively get that
  return without interference of criteria
  irrelevant to potential or performance (e.g. sex,
  religion )
• Employment occupation essentially means the
  sphere of economic activity
• access to vocational training
• access to credit
• access to employment or occupation
• conditions of employment
• remuneration for work of equal value
• career progression in accordance with experience,
  ability
• job security

65
Equality at Work C. 111

• C. 111 specifically requires national law to
  prohibit discrimination based on race, colour,
  sex, religion, political opinion, national
  extraction or social origin
• Discrimination is not any distinction, exclusion
  or preference based on
• inherent requirements of the job
• justifiable suspicion of activities threatening
  the security of the State (provided the suspect
  can defend him or herself)
• special measures of protection or assistance
  provided for in other Conventions
• affirmative measures for persons who, for
  reasons such as sex, age, disablement, family
  responsibilities or social or cultural status,
  are generally recognised to require special
  protection or assistance

66
Minimum Age System C. 138

• Commitment towards gradual, but total elimination
  of child labour
• Enactment enforcement of a legal system of
  minimum ages from which onwards children may be
  admitted to work
• System must be harmonized with the end of
  compulsory schooling
• 3 benchmark minimum ages
• General
• Light Work
• Hazardous Work

67
C. 138 Minimum Ages
General Minimum Age (Article 2) General Minimum Age (Article 2) Light Work (Article 7) HazardousWork (Article 3)
Normally End of compulsory schooling (minimum 15) 13 18 (16 as an exception)
Developing Countries 14 12 18 (16 as an exception)
68
Priority for Worst Forms C. 182

• Give priority to the prohibition elimination of
  the worst forms of child labour
• slave-like work (including trafficking)
• sexual exploitation
• illicit activities (e.g. drugs trafficking)
• hazardous work (to be determined)
• Action must include
• monitoring mechanisms (e.g. data collection)
• programmes of action
• time-bound measures in three categories
• prevention
• withdrawal
• rehabilitation
• special attention for girls the vulnerable
  (e.g. ethnic minorities)
• international cooperation