The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a Winner of the 2016/2017 Global Sustainable Development Award and Accredited as a Global 500 Sustainable Development Agencies of the year 2016/2017 in appreciation of its contribution towards social-economic development of the world and its contribution towards attainment of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Recognised for promoting decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity around the World. Awarded and Accredited by Public Opinions International (Uganda-East Africa) AND Organisation for International Friends of Africa (OIFA).
Public Opinions International is a Partner and Member of International Organisation for Educational Development (IOED)andInternational Police Commission which is is duly registered as an international Non-Profit, Non-Secretarial, Peacekeeping and Social Development Paramilitary Organization based in the State of California, United States of America with extension commands in member nations of the U.N.The International Police Commission has also been given the Consultative Status from the UN ECOSOC and it is also a Member of the United Nations Office of the Drugs and Crimes “UNODC
The International Labour Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919, its Constitution forming part of the Treaty of Versailles. The ILO became the first specialised agency of the UN in 1946.
The ILO is the only ‘tripartite’ UN agency. It brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programmes. This unique arrangement gives the ILO an edge in incorporating ‘real world’ knowledge about employment and work.
The 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
- Strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues.
The ILO helps advance the creation of decent jobs and the kinds of economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.
The only tripartite U.N. agency, since 1919 the ILO brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of 187 member States , to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace.
Only tripartite U.N. agency, the ILO brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of 187 member States , to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
Today, the ILO’s Decent Work agenda helps advance the economic and working conditions that give all workers, employers and governments a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.
Unmatched expertise and knowledge about the world of work
In support of its goals, the ILO offers unmatched expertise and knowledge about the world of work, acquired over almost 100 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:
- Formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic human rights, improve working and living conditions, and enhance employment opportunities
- Creation of international labour standards backed by a unique system to supervise their application
- An extensive programme 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
- Training, education and research activities to help advance all of these efforts
Tripartism and social dialogue
Underlying the ILO’s 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 labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes. 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 labour standards, policies and programmes.
The ILO encourages this tripartism within its constituents – employers , workers 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.
Main bodies
The ILO accomplishes its work through three main bodies which comprise governments’, employers’ and workers’ representatives:
- the International labour Conference sets the International labour standards and the broad policies of the ILO. It meets annually in Geneva. Often called an international parliament of labour, the Conference is also a forum for discussion of key social and labour questions.
- the Governing body is the executive council of the ILO. It meets three times a year in Geneva. It takes decisions on ILO policy and establishes the programme and the budget, which it then submits to the Conference for adoption.
- the International Labour Office is the permanent secretariat of the International Labour Organization. It is the focal point for International Labour Organization’s overall activities, which it prepares under the scrutiny of the Governing Body and under the leadership of the Director-General .
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 meetings of the ILO member States are held periodically to examine matters of special interest to the regions concerned.
Standards supervisory system
International labour standards are backed by a supervisory system that helps to ensure that countries implement the conventions they ratify. International labour standards are backed by a supervisory system that is unique at the international level and that helps to ensure that countries implement the conventions they ratify. The ILO regularly examines the application of standards in member states and points out areas where they could be better applied. If there are any problems in the application of standards, the ILO seeks to assist countries through social dialogue and technical assistance.
The ILO has developed various means of supervising the application of Conventions and Recommendations in law and practice following their adoption by the International Labour Conference and their ratification by States. There are two kinds of supervisory mechanism
Partnering for development
Since the early 1950s, the ILO has been providing technical cooperation to countries on all continents and at all stages of economic development. Projects are implemented through close cooperation between recipient countries, donors, and the ILO, which maintains a network of country offices worldwide.
Development cooperation builds bridges between the ILO’s standard-setting role and women and men everywhere. It is essential to give people decent work opportunities and an important means of assisting our constituents – workers, employers and governments – in making the Decent Work Agenda a reality. Simply put, development cooperation supports the technical, organizational and institutional capacities of ILO constituents for them to put in place meaningful and coherent social policy and ensure sustainable development.
With over 50 years of experience in development cooperation on all continents and at all stages of development, the ILO today has over 600 programmes and projects in more than 100 countries – with the support of 120 development partners.
Programme and budget
The Programme and Budget of the Organization which sets out the strategic objectives and expected outcomes for the Organization’s work is approved every two years by the International Labour Conference.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO)
The 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 only if it is based on social justice.
The Constitution was drafted between January and April, 1919, by the Labour Commission set up by the Peace Conference, which first met in Paris and then in Versailles. The Commission, chaired by Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in the United States, was composed of representatives from nine countries: Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It resulted in a tripartite organization, the only one of its kind bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies.
The Constitution contained ideas tested within the International Association for Labour Legislation, founded in Basel in 1901. Advocacy for an international organization dealing with labour issues began in the nineteenth century, led by two industrialists, Robert Owen (1771-1853) of Wales and Daniel Legrand (1783-1859) of France.
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 states:
- Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice;
- 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;
- 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 example:
- Regulation of the hours of work including the establishment of a maximum working day and week;
- Regulation of labour supply, prevention of unemployment and provision of an adequate living wage;
- Protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury arising out of his 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;
- Recognition of the principle of freedom of association;
- Organization of vocational and technical education, and other measures.
Early days
“Working for social justice is our assessment of the past and our mandate for the future.”
Juan Somavia, Director-General
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The ILO has made signal contributions to the world of work from its early days. The first International Labour Conference held in Washington in October 1919 adopted 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 ILO was located in Geneva in the summer of 1920 with France’s Albert Thomas as the first Director of the International Labour Office, which is the Organization’s permanent Secretariat. Under his strong impetus, 16 International Labour Conventions and 18 Recommendations were adopted in less than two years.
This early zeal was quickly toned down because some governments felt there were too many Conventions, the budget too high and the reports too critical. Yet, the International Court of Justice declared that the ILO’s domain extended also to international regulation of conditions of work in the agricultural sector.
A Committee of Experts was set up in 1926 as a supervisory system on the application of ILO standards. The Committee, which exists today, is composed of independent jurists responsible for examining government reports and presenting its own report each year to the Conference.
Depression and War
The Great Depression with its resulting massive unemployment soon confronted Britain’s Harold Butler, who succeeded Albert Thomas in 1932. Realizing that handling labour issues also requires international cooperation, the United States became a Member of the ILO in 1934 although it continued to stay out of the League of Nations.
American John Winant took over in 1939 just as the Second World War became imminent. He moved the ILO’s headquarters temporarily to Montreal, Canada, in May 1940 for reasons of safety but left in 1941 when he was named US Ambassador to Britain.
His successor, Ireland’s Edward Phelan, had helped to write the 1919 Constitution and played an important role once again during the Philadelphia meeting of the International Labour Conference, in the midst of the Second World War, attended by representatives of governments, employers and workers from 41 countries. The delegates adopted the Declaration of Philadelphia, annexed to the Constitution, still constitutes the Charter of the aims and objectives of the ILO. In 1946, the ILO became a specialized agency of the newly formed United Nations. And, in 1948, still during the period of Phelan’s leadership, the International Labour Conference adopted Convention No. 87 on freedom of association and the right to organize.
The Post-War Years
America’s David Morse was Director General from 1948-1970 when the number of Member States doubled, the Organization took on its universal character, industrialized countries became a minority among developing countries, the budget grew five-fold and the number of officials quadrupled. The ILO established the Geneva-based International Institute for Labour Studies in 1960 and the International Training Centre in Turin in 1965. The Organization won the Nobel Peace Prize on its 50th anniversary in 1969.
Under Britain’s Wilfred Jenks, Director-General from 1970-73, the ILO made advanced further in the development of standards and mechanisms for supervising their application, particularly the promotion of freedom of association and the right to organize.
His successor Francis Blanchard of France, expanded ILO’s technical cooperation with developing countries and averted damage to the Organization, despite the loss of one quarter of its budget following US withdrawal from 1977-1980. The ILO also played a major role in the emancipation of Poland from dictatorship, by giving its full support to the legitimacy of the Solidarnosc Union based on respect for Convention No. 87 on freedom of association, which Poland had ratified in 1957.
Belgium’s Michel Hansenne succeeded him in 1989 and guided the ILO into the post-Cold War period, emphasizing the importance of placing social justice at the heart of international economic and social policies. He also set the ILO on a course of decentralization of activities and resources away from the Geneva headquarters.
On 4 March 1999, Juan Somavia of Chile took over as Director General. He emphasized the importance of making decent work a strategic international goal and promoting a fair globalization. He also underlined work as an instrument of poverty alleviation and ILO’s role in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including cutting world poverty in half by 2015.
In May 2012 Guy Ryder (UK) was elected as the tenth Director-General of the ILO. He was re-elected to his second five-year in November 2016. The term will start on 1 October 2017.
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