1

PART0 1: INTRODUCTION

Topics:

o 1.1 Introduction
o 1.2 Literature review
 2

1.1 Introduction:
The International Labor 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. The ILO's website, provides both
general information about the organization and original documentation for scholars. 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 labor standards to international prominence. 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 imposed higher
standards unilaterally. Ultimately, these concerns led to the formation of The International Labor
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 1946.

1.2 Literature review:

This paper provides a selective overview of the current state of research on ILO. Its key purpose
is to identify knowledge gaps that deserve further investigation. The review is structured along
three core issues: the need for careful evaluation of the impact of ILO on the poor, the need to
increase our understanding of the nature of the demand for ILO, including dimensions related to
trust and the understanding of insurance by the poor, and finally, the need for further research on
supply dimensions, focusing on the key challenges and bottlenecks for widespread and
sustainable provision of ILO. For each of these core issues, a brief review of the literature is
offered, as well as the questions that could guide further work, informing the research agenda of
the ILO Innovation Facility.
 3

Part 02: Main Body

Topics:

o 2.1 Origins
o 2.2 Interwar period
o 2.3 Wartime and the United Nations
o 2.4 Cold War era
 4

2.1 Origins:

While the ILO was established as an agency of the League of Nations following World War I, its
founders had made great strides in social thought and action before 1919. The core members all
knew one another from earlier private professional and ideological networks, in which they
exchanged knowledge, experiences, and ideas on social policy. Prewar "epistemic communities",
such as the International Association for Labor Legislation (IALL), founded in 1900, and
political networks, such as the Socialist Second International, were a decisive factor in the
institutionalization of international labor politics.

In the postWorld War I euphoria, the idea of a "makeable society" was an important catalyst
behind the social engineering of the ILO architects. As a new discipline, international labor law
became a useful instrument for putting social reforms into practice. The utopian ideals of the
founding memberssocial justice and the right to decent workwere changed by diplomatic
and political compromises made at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, showing the ILO's
balance between idealism and pragmatism.

Over the course of the First World War, the international labor movement proposed a
comprehensive program of protection for the working classes, conceived as compensation for
labors support during the war. Post-war reconstruction and the protection of labor unions
occupied the attention of many nations during and immediately after World War I. In Great
Britain, the Whitley Commission, a subcommittee of the Reconstruction Commission,
recommended in its July 1918 Final Report that "industrial councils" be established throughout
the world. The British Labor Party had issued its own reconstruction program in the document
titled Labor and the New Social Order. In February 1918, the third Inter-Allied Labor and
Socialist Conference (representing delegates from Great Britain, France, Belgium and Italy)
issued its report, advocating an international labor rights body, an end to secret diplomacy, and
other goals. And in December 1918, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) issued its own
distinctively apolitical report, which called for the achievement of numerous incremental
improvements via the collective bargaining process.
 5

IFTU Bern Conference:

As the war drew to a close, two competing visions for the post-war world emerged. The first was
offered by the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), which called for a meeting in
Bern, Switzerland, in July 1919. The Bern meeting would consider both the future of the IFTU
and the various proposals which had been made in the previous few years. The IFTU also
proposed including delegates from the Central Powers as equals. Samuel Gompers, president of
the AFL, boycotted the meeting, wanting the Central Powers delegates in a subservient role as an
admission of guilt for their countries' role in the bringing about war. Instead, Gompers favored a
meeting in Paris which would only consider President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points as a
platform. Despite the American boycott, the Bern meeting went ahead as scheduled. In its final
report, the Bern Conference demanded an end to wage labour and the establishment of socialism.
If these ends could not be immediately achieved, then an international body attached to the
League of Nations should enact and enforce legislation to protect workers and trade unions.[19]

Commission on International Labor Legislation:

Samuel Gompers (right) with Albert Thomas, 1918

 6

Meanwhile, the Paris Peace Conference sought to dampen public support for communism.
Subsequently, the Allied Powers agreed that clauses should be inserted into the emerging peace
treaty protecting labor unions and workers' rights, and that an international labor body be
established to help guide international labor relations in the future. The advisory Commission on
International Labor Legislation was established by the Peace Conference to draft these proposals.
The Commission met for the first time on 1 February 1919, and Gompers was elected chairman.

Two competing proposals for an international body emerged during the Commission's meetings.
The British proposed establishing an international parliament to enact labor laws which each
member of the League would be required to implement. Each nation would have two delegates to
the parliament, one each from labor and management. An international labor office would collect
statistics on labor issues and enforce the new international laws. Philosophically opposed to the
concept of an international parliament and convinced that international standards would lower
the few protections achieved in the United States, Gompers proposed that the international labor
body be authorized only to make recommendations, and that enforcement be left up to the
League of Nations. Despite vigorous opposition from the British, the American proposal was
adopted.

Gompers also set the agenda for the draft charter protecting workers' rights. The Americans
made 10 proposals. Three were adopted without change: That labor should not be treated as a
commodity; that all workers had the right to a wage sufficient to live on; and that women should
receive equal pay for equal work. A proposal protecting the freedom of speech, press, assembly,
and association was amended to include only freedom of association. A proposed ban on the
international shipment of goods made by children under the age of 16 was amended to ban goods
made by children under the age of 14. A proposal to require an eight-hour work day was
amended to require the eight-hour work day or the 40-hour work week (an exception was made
for countries where productivity was low). Four other American proposals were rejected.
Meanwhile, international delegates proposed three additional clauses, which were adopted: One
or more days for weekly rest; equality of laws for foreign workers; and regular and frequent
inspection of factory conditions.
 7

2.2 Interwar period:

The first annual conference (referred to as the International Labor Conference, or ILC) began on
29 October 1919 at the Pan American Union (building) in Washington, D.C. and adopted the
first six International Labor 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 prominent French socialist Albert Thomas became its first
Director General.

Despite open disappointment and sharp critique, the revived International Federation of Trade
Unions (IFTU) quickly adapted itself to this mechanism. The IFTU increasingly oriented its
international activities around the lobby work of the ILO.

At the time of establishment, the U.S. government was not a member of ILO, as the US Senate
rejected the Covenant of the League of Nations, and the United States could not join any of its
agencies. Following the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the U.S. presidency, the new
administration made renewed efforts to join the ILO even without League membership. On 19
June 1934, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the President to join ILO
without joining the League of Nations as a whole. On 22 June 1934, the ILO adopted a
resolution inviting the U.S. government to join the organization. On 20 August 1934, the U.S.
government responded positively and took its seat at the ILO.
 8

2.3 Wartime and the United Nations:

During the Second World War, when Switzerland was surrounded by German troops, ILO
Director John G. Winant made the decision to leave Geneva. In August 1940, the Government of
Canada officially invited the ILO to be housed at McGill University in Montreal. Forty staff
members were transferred to the temporary offices and continued to work from McGill until
1948.

The ILO became the first specialized agency of the United Nations system after the demise of the
League in 1946.[24] Its constitution, as amended, includes the Declaration of Philadelphia (1944)
on the aims and purposes of the organization.

2.4 Cold War era:

In July 1970, the United States withdrew 50% of its financial support to the ILO following the
appointment of an Assistant-Director General from the Soviet Union. This appointment (by the
ILO's British Director-General, C. Wilfred Jenks) drew particular criticism from AFL-CIO
president George Meany and from Congressman John E. Rooney. However, the funds were
eventually paid.

Ratifications of 1976 Tripartite Consultation Convention

 9

On 12 June 1975, the ILO voted to grant the Palestinian Liberation Organization observer status
at its meetings. Representatives of the United States and Israel walked out of the meeting. The
U.S. House of Representatives subsequently decided to withhold funds. The United States gave
notice of full withdrawal on 6 November 1975, stating that the organization had become
politicized. The United States also suggested that representation from communist countries was
not truly "tripartite"including government, workers, and employersbecause of the structure
of these economies. The withdrawal became effective on 1 November 1977.

The United States returned to the organization in 1980 after extracting some concessions from
the organization. It was partly responsible for the ILO's shift away from a human rights approach
and towards support for the Washington Consensus. Writes economist Guy Standing: "the ILO
quietly ceased to be an international body attempting to redress structural inequality and became
one promoting, employment equity".
 10

Part 03: Governance, organization, and membership

Topics:

o 3.1 Governing Body

o 3.2 Principle of ILO
o 3.3 Mission and Objectives of ILO
o 3.4 International Labor Conference
o 3.5 Conventions
o 3.6 Membership
o 3.7 Position within the UN
 11

ILO headquarters in Geneva, Unlike other United Nations specialized agencies, the International
Labor Organization has a tripartite governing structure representing governments, employers
and workers (usually with a ratio of 2:1:1).The rationale behind the tripartite structure is creation
of free and open debate among governments and social partners.

3.1 Governing Body:

The Governing Body decides the agenda of the International Labor Conference, adopts the draft
programmed and budget of the organization for submission to the conference, elects the director-
general, requests information from member states concerning labor matters, appoints
commissions of inquiry and supervises the work of the International Labor Office.

Juan Somava was the ILO's director-general since 1999 until October 2012, when Guy Ryder
was elected as his replacement.

This guiding body is composed of 28 government representatives, 14 workers' representatives,

and 14 employers' representatives.

Ten of the government seats are held by member states that are nations of "chief industrial
importance," as first considered by an "impartial committee." The nations are Brazil, China,
France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the
United States. The terms of office are three years.
 12

3.2 Principles of ILO:

The main aim of the International Labor Organization is to promote opportunities for both men
and women to be able to achieve descent and productive work in state of freedom, security,
human dignity and equity. Descent works includes the various aspirations of people in their
working lives. Their aspiration to rights, family stability, fairness and gender equality, voice and
recognition. It has basic four strategies:

Fundamental beliefs and rights at work and international labor standards

Income and employment opportunities
Social security and protection
Social discussion and tripartism

All these objectives are applicable for all workers irrespective of their gender, in both formal and
informal economies, in factories, offices, home or wherever.

Descent work gives a lot of importance to reducing poverty to as to attain equity and sustainable
development. The ILO is looking forward to develop agendas for the community of work and
mobilize their given resource in a direction so as to reduce and eradicate poverty. It also aims at
a stable framework in order to achieve its set targets and for global development.

The ILO defines the targets and priorities within the national development frameworks and
develops programmers to tackle the deficits of the descent works. It encourages tripartism within
the members by promoting social dialogue to help plan and implement national policies. A social
dialogue as defined by ILO includes all kinds of negotiations, exchange of information and
consultation between or amongst the various representatives of the workers, employers and
government. An effective social dialogue depends on:

Respect for basic rights of freedom of association and cooperative bargaining

Strong, independent workers' and employers' organization with practical capacity and
knowledge.
Political will and obligation to engage in social dialogue
appropriate institutional support
 13

In this process the ILO helps the government, employers and workers' organization to attain
sound labor relations and adopt labor laws so as to meet the changing economic and social needs
and to develop the labor administration.

The International Labor Organization has been growing with respect to its number of member
countries. A large number of Developing countries are benefiting from its principles. Its impact
has made these countries overcome a number of issues-social as well as political. Alarming
issues like poverty, unemployment and forced labor are reduced to a large extent by creating
awareness, forming policies and their proper implementation by the organization.

3.3 Mission and objectives:

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and
internationally recognized human and labor rights, pursuing its founding mission that labor peace
is essential to prosperity. Today, the ILO helps advance the creation of decent work and the
economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a stake in lasting
peace, prosperity and progress. Its tripartite structure provides a unique platform for promoting
decent. Its main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities,
enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.

The ILO has four strategic objectives:

1. Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work

2. Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income

3. Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all

4. Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue

 14

In support of its goals, the ILO offers unmatched expertise and knowledge about the world of
work, acquired over more than 90 years of responding to the needs of people everywhere for
decent work, livelihoods and dignity. It serves its tripartite constituents - and society as a whole -
in a variety of ways, including:

1. Formulation of international policies and programs to promote basic human rights,

improve working and living conditions, and enhance employment opportunities
2. Creation of international labor standards backed by a unique system to supervise their
application
3. An extensive program of international technical cooperation formulated and implemented
in an active partnership with constituents, to help countries put these policies into practice
in an effective manner
4. Training, education and research activities to help advance all of these efforts

3.4International Labor Conference:

The ILO organizes the International Labor Conference in Geneva every year in June, where
conventions and recommendations are crafted and adopted. Also known as the parliament of
Labor, the conference also makes decisions about the ILO's general policy, work programme
and budget.

Each member state has four representatives at the conference: two government delegates, an
employer delegate and a worker delegate. All of them have individual voting rights, and all votes
are equal, regardless of the population of the delegate's member state. The employer and worker
delegates are normally chosen in agreement with the "most representative" national organizations
of employers and workers. Usually, the workers' delegates coordinate their voting, as do the
employers' delegates. All delegates have the same rights, and are not required to vote in blocs.
 15

3.5 Conventions:

Main article: List of International Labor Organization Conventions

Through July 2011, the ILO has adopted 189 conventions. If these conventions are ratified by
enough governments, they become in force. However, ILO conventions are considered
international labor standards regardless of ratifications. When a convention comes into force, it
creates a legal obligation for ratifying nations to apply its provisions.

Every year the International Labor Conference's Committee on the Application of Standards
examines a number of alleged breaches of international labor standards. Governments are
required to submit reports detailing their compliance with the obligations of the conventions they
have ratified. Conventions that have not been ratified by member states have the same legal force
as do recommendations.

In 1998, the 86th International Labor Conference adopted the Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work. This declaration contains four fundamental policies:

1. The right of workers to associate freely and bargain collectively;

2. The end of forced and compulsory labor;
3. The end of child labor; and
4. The end of unfair discrimination among workers.

The ILO asserts that its members have an obligation to work towards fully respecting these
principles, embodied in relevant ILO Conventions. The ILO Conventions which embody the
fundamental principles have now been ratified by most member states.
 16

3.6Membership:

ILO member states:

As of 2013, 185 of the 193 member states of the United Nations are members of the ILO. The
UN member states which are not members of the ILO are Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein,
Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, North Korea and Tonga.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.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. In addition, any original member of the United
Nations and any state admitted to the U.N. thereafter may join. 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.

3.7Position within the UN:

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
As with other UN specialized agencies (or programmes) working on international development,
the ILO is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.
 17

Part 04:Programs

Topics:

o 4.1 How ILO works

o 4.2 Labor statistics
o 4.3 Training and teaching units
o 4.4 Child labor
 18

4.1How the ILO works:

Underlying the ILOs work is the importance of cooperation between governments and
employers and workers organizations in fostering social and economic progress.

The ILO aims to ensure that it serves the needs of working women and men by bringing together
governments, employers and workers to set labor standards develop policies and devise
programs. The very structure of the ILO, where workers and employers together have an equal
voice with governments in its deliberations, shows social dialogue in action. It ensures that the
views of the social partners are closely reflected in ILO labor standards, policies and programs.

The ILO encourages this tripartism within its constituents and member States by promoting a
social dialogue between trade unions and employers in formulating, and where appropriate,
implementing national policy on social, economic, and many other issues.

The ILO accomplishes its work through three main bodies (The International labor Conference,
the Governing body and the Office) which comprise governments', employers' and workers'
representatives.

The work of the Governing Body and of the Office is aided by tripartite committees covering
major industries. It is also supported by committees of experts on such matters as vocational
training, management development, occupational safety and health, industrial relations, workers
education, and special problems of women and young workers.

Regional meetingsof the ILO member States are held periodically to examine matters of special
interest to the regions concerned.
 19

4.2 Labor statistics:

The ILO is a major provider of labor statistics. Labor statistics are an important tool for its
member states to monitor their progress toward improving labor standards. As part of their
statistical work, ILO maintains several databases, such as Laborsta.This database covers 11
major data series for over 200 countries. In addition, ILO publishes a number of compilations of
labor statistics, such as the Key Indicators of Labor Markets (KILM). KILM covers 20 main
indicators on labor participation rates, employment, unemployment, educational attainment,
labor cost, and economic performance. Many of these indicators have been prepared by other
organizations. For example, the Division of International Labor Comparisons of the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics prepares the hourly compensation in manufacturing indicator.

4.3 Training and teaching units:

The International Training Centre of the International Labor Organization (ITCILO) is based in
Turin, Italy. Together with the University of Turin, Faculty of Law, the ITC offers training for
ILO officers and secretariat members, as well as offering educational programs. For instance, the
ITCILO offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) program in Management of Development, which aims
specialize, professionals in the field of cooperation and development.
 20

4.4 Child labor:

The term child labor is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their
potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.

It refers to work that:

is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and

interferes with their schooling by:
depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
Requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy
work.

In its most extreme forms, child labor involves children being enslaved, separated from their
families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets
of large cities often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of "work" can be called
child labor depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions
under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer
varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.

Different forms of child labor in Central America, 1999.

 21

ILO's response to child labor:

Parties to ILO's 1973 Minimum Age Convention, and the minimum ages they have designated:
purple, 14 years; green, 15 years; blue, 16 years

The ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) was created in 1992
with the overall goal of the progressive elimination of child labor, which was to be achieved
through strengthening the capacity of countries to deal with the problem and promoting a
worldwide movement to combat child labor. IPEC currently has operations in 88 countries, with
an annual expenditure on technical cooperation projects that reached over US$74 million, 50

Million in 2006. It is the largest program of its kind globally and the biggest single operational
program of the ILO.

The number and range of IPEC's partners have expanded over the years and now include
employers' and workers' organizations, other international and government agencies, private
businesses, community-based organizations, NGOs, the media, parliamentarians, the judiciary,
universities, religious groups and, of course, children and their families.
 22

Part 05: Issues

Topics:

o 5.1 Forced labor

o 5.2 Minimum wage law
o 5.3 HIV/AIDS
o 5.4 Indigenous peoples
o 5.5 Migrant workers
o 5.6 Domestic workers
o 5.7 ILO and Globalization
 23

5.1 Forced labor:

The ILO has considered the fight against forced labor to be one of its main priorities. During the
interwar years, the issue was mainly considered a colonial phenomenon, and the ILO's concern
was to establish minimum standards protecting the inhabitants of colonies from the worst abuses
committed by economic interests. After 1945, the goal became to set a uniform and universal
standard, determined by the higher awareness gained during World War II of politically and
economically motivated systems of forced labor, but debates were hampered by the Cold War
and by exemptions claimed by colonial powers. Since the 1960s, declarations of labor standards
as a component of human rights have been weakened by government of postcolonial countries
claiming a need to exercise extraordinary powers over labor in their role as emergency regimes
promoting rapid economic development.

Ratifications of the ILO's 1930 Forced Labor Convention, with non-ratifies shown in red
 24

Ratifications of the ILO's 1957 Abolition of Forced Labor Convention, with non-ratifies shown
in red

In June 1998 the International Labor Conference adopted a Declaration on Fundamental

Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up that obligates member States to respect,
promote and realize freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the elimination
of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, the effective abolition of child labor, and the
elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

With the adoption of the Declaration, the International Labor Organization (ILO) created the
InFocus Program on Promoting the Declaration which is responsible for the reporting processes
and technical cooperation activities associated with the Declaration; and it carries out awareness
raising, advocacy and knowledge functions.

In November 2001, following the publication of the in Focus Program's first Global Report on
forced labor, the ILO Governing Body created a Special Action Program to Combat Forced
Labor (SAP-FL), as part of broader efforts to promote the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up.

Since its inception, SAP-FL has focused on raising global awareness of forced labor in its
different forms, and mobilizing action against its manifestation. Several thematic and country-
specific studies and surveys have since been undertaken, on such diverse aspects of forced labor
as bonded labor, human trafficking, forced domestic work, rural servitude, and forced prison
labor.

The Special Action Program to combat Forced Labor (SAP-FL) has spearheaded the ILO's work
in this field since early 2002. The program is designed to:

Raise global awareness and understanding of modern forced labor

Assist governments in developing and implementing new laws, policies and action plans
 25

Develop and disseminate guidance and training materials on key aspects of forced labor
and trafficking
Implement innovative program that combine policy development, capacity building of
law enforcement and labor market institutions, and targeted, field-based projects of direct
support for both prevention of forced labor and identification and rehabilitation of its
victims.

5.2 Minimum wage law:

To protect the right of labors for fixing minimum wage, ILO has created Minimum Wage-Fixing
Machinery Convention, 1928, Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention,
1951 and Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 as minimum wage law.

5.3HIV/AIDS:

Under the name ILOAIDS, the ILO created the Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of
Work as a document providing principles for "policy development and practical guidelines for
programs at enterprise, community, and national levels." Including:

prevention of HIV
management and mitigation of the impact of AIDS on the world of work
care and support of workers infected and affected by HIV/AIDS
Elimination of stigma and discrimination on the basis of real or perceived HIV status.
 26

5.4 Indigenous peoples:

ILO-Convention 169 concerns indigenous and tribal peoples in independent countries. It was
adopted on 27 June 1989 by the General Conference of the ILO at its 76th session. Its entry into
force was 5 September 1991.

5.5 Migrant workers:

As the word "migrant" suggests, migrant workers refer to those who moves from place to place
to do their job. For the rights of migrant workers, ILO has adopted conventions, including
Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 and United Nations Convention
on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in 1990.

5.6 Domestic workers:

Domestic workers are those who perform a variety of tasks for and in other peoples. For
example, they may cook / clean the house and look after children. Yet they are often the ones
with the least consideration, excluded from labor and social protection. This is mainly due to the
fact that women have traditionally carried out the tasks without pay.

5.7 ILO and Globalization:

Seeking a process of globalization that is inclusive, democratically governed and provides

opportunities and tangible benefits for all countries and people. The World Commission on the
Social Dimension of Globalization was established by the ILO's Governing Body in February
2002 at the initiative of the Director-General in response to the fact that there did not appear to
be a space within the multilateral system that would cover adequately and comprehensively the
social dimension of the various aspects of globalization. The World Commission Report, A Fair
Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All, is the first attempt at structured dialogue among
representatives of constituencies with different interests and opinions on the social dimension of
globalization, aimed at finding common ground on one of the most controversial and divisive
subjects of our time.
 27

Recent ILO Committee Reports and Recommendations:

The ILO has several specialized and technical committees that focus on labor relations and trade
union rights issues. One of these bodies is the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. This
committee has successfully issued recommendations in 2010 on 6 anomalous and highly
celebrated cases in the labor front which are the following:

The complainants allege that, in a decision concerning anti-union dismissals in the

context of a labor dispute, the Supreme Court of the Philippines held that workers who
shaved or cropped their hair engaged in an unprotected illegal strike, and thus upheld the
dismissal of 29 trade union officers and allowed dismissal of 61 trade union members, in
violation of the principles of freedom of association. The issue has been protested on
wildly in the Philippines.

Military threat and harassment against IWSWU officers and their families; interference
by the armed forces of the Philippines in trade union affairs by dissuading trade union
members to engage in collective bargaining; and vilification campaign against IWSWU
members and families to the detriment of their safety and security
 28

Part 06: Recommendation and Conclusion

Topics:

o 6.1 Problems
o 6.2 Findings
o 6.3 Recommendation
o 6.4 Conclusion
o 6.5 References
 29

6.1 Problems:

6.2 Findings:
 30

6.3 Recommendations:

International labor standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO's constituents
(governments, employers and workers) and setting out basic principles and rights at work. They
are either s, which are legally binding international treaties that may be ratified by member
states, or recommendations, which serve as non-binding guidelines. In many cases, a lays down
the basic principles to be implemented by ratifying countries, while a related recommendation
supplements the by providing more detailed guidelines on how it could be applied.
Recommendations can also be autonomous, i.e. not linked to any.

Recommendations are drawn up by representatives of governments, employers and workers and

are adopted at the ILO's annual International Labor Conference. Once a standard is adopted,
member states are required under the ILO Constitution to submit them to their competent
authority (normally the parliament) for consideration. In the case of s, this means consideration
for ratification. If it is ratified, a generally comes into force for that country one year after the
date of ratification. Ratifying countries commit themselves to applying the in national law and
practice and reporting on its application at regular intervals. The ILO provides technical
assistance if necessary.
 31

6.4 Conclusion:

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is devoted to advancing opportunities for women
and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and
human dignity. Its main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment
opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues.

In promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights, the
organization continues to pursue its founding mission that labor peace is essential to prosperity.
The aims and objectives of the ILO were set forth in the preamble to its constitution, drawn up in
1919. The preamble declares that "universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is
based upon social justice." Hence, the basic objective of the organization is to help improve
social conditions throughout the world. The following examples of concrete measures "urgently
required" are specifically mentioned in the preamble: regulation of the hours of work, including
the establishment of a maximum working day and week; regulation of the labor supply;
prevention of unemployment; provision of an adequate living wage; protection of the worker
against sickness, disease, and injury arising out of his or her employment; protection of children,
young persons, and women; provision for old age and injury; protection of the interests of
workers when employed in countries other than their own; recognition of the principle of equal
remuneration for work of equal value; and recognition of the principle of freedom of association.
 32

6.5 References:

1. Reiner Tosstorff (2005). "The International Trade-Union Movement and the Founding of
the International Labor Organization"
2. www.ilo.org
3. Foner, Philip S. History of the Labor Movement in the United States. Vol. 7: Labor and
World War I, 19141918. New York: International Publishers, 1987.
4. Bartolomei de la Cruz, Hector J., Geraldo von Potobsky, and Lee Swepston. The
International Labor Organization: the international standards system and basic human
rights. Boulder, CO; Oxford, England: Westview Press, 1996.