About the ILO

The International Labour 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 labour rights, the
organization continues to pursue its founding mission that labour peace is essential to
prosperity. Today, 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.

Origins and History

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
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, under pressure from the Government of France, 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 emphasizes the
importance of making decent work a strategic international goal and promoting a fair
globalization. He also underlines 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.

Decent Work for All

The primary goal of the ILO today is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain
decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.” Juan
Somavia, ILO Director-General
Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives – their aspirations for
opportunity and income; rights, voice and recognition; family stability and personal development;
and fairness and gender equality. Ultimately these various dimensions of decent work underpin
peace in communities and society. Decent work reflects the concerns of governments, workers
and employers, who together provide the ILO with its unique tripartite identity.
Decent work is captured in four strategic objectives: fundamental principles and rights at work and
international labour standards; employment and income opportunities; social protection and
social security; and social dialogue and tripartism. These objectives hold for all workers, women
and men, in both formal and informal economies; in wage employment or working on their own
account; in the fields, factories and offices; in their home or in the community.

Decent work is central to efforts to reduce poverty, and is a means for achieving equitable,
inclusive and sustainable development. The ILO works to develop Decent Work-oriented
approaches to economic and social policy in partnership with the principal institutions and actors
of the multilateral system and the global economy.
Progress requires action at the global level. The ILO is developing an agenda for the community of
work, represented by its tripartite constituents, to mobilize their considerable resources to create
those opportunities and to help reduce and eradicate poverty. The Decent Work Agenda offers a
basis for a more just and stable framework for global development.
The ILO provides support through integrated decent work country programmes developed in
coordination with ILO constituents. They define the priorities and targets within national
development frameworks and aim to tackle major decent work deficits through efficient
programmes that embrace each of the strategic objectives.

Tripartism
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. Its tripartite structure makes the ILO unique among world organizations because
employers’ and workers’ organizations have an equal voice with governments in all its
deliberations.
The ILO encourages tripartism within member States by promoting social dialogue to help design
and implement national policies. Achieving fair terms of employment, decent working conditions,
and development for the benefit of all cannot be achieved without the active involvement of
workers, employers and governments, including a broad-based effort by all of them. To encourage
such an approach, one of the strategic objectives of the ILO is to strengthen social dialogue among
the tripartite constituents. It helps governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations to
establish sound labour relations, adapt labour laws to meet changing economic and social needs
and improve labour administration.
‘The war against want requires to be carried on with unrelenting vigor within each nation, and by
continuous and concerted international effort in which the representatives of workers and
employers, enjoying equal status with those of governments, join with them in free discussion and
democratic decision with a view to the promotion of the common welfare.’
Declaration Concerning the Aims and Purpose of the International Labour Organization,
Philadelphia, 1944.

What is social dialogue?

The ILO defines social dialogue as including all types of negotiation, consultation and exchange of
information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers on
issues of common interest. How social dialogue actually operates varies from country to country
and from region to region. Effective social dialogue depends on:
 Respect for the fundamental rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining;
 Strong, independent workers’ and employers’ organizations with the technical capacity and
knowledge required to participate in social dialogue;
 Political will and commitment to engage in social dialogue on the part of all parties;
 Appropriate institutional support.
For social dialogue to work, the State cannot be passive because it is responsible for creating the
stable political and civil climate required for employers’ and workers’ organizations to operate
without fear of reprisal. Collective bargaining is the most widespread form of social dialogue and is
a useful indicator of the capacity within a country to engage in national level tripartism.
Freedom of association: Essential for Social Dialogue

Independent organizations for workers and employers are the cornerstones of ILO’s
tripartite structure and its efforts to promote freedom of association. ILO’s
Committee on Freedom of Association, set up in 1950, has examined over 2,000 cases
of violation of workers’ and employers’ freedom to organize themselves. It has a
mandate to handle complaints in all ILO member States, including those that have not
ratified freedom of association conventions.
At times, the tripartite partners may open the dialogue to other relevant actors in society to gain a
wider consensus. The forms of social dialogue vary according to the need. It can be tripartite, with
the government as an official participant, or bipartite. It can be informal or institutional, and is
often a combination of the two. It can take place at the national, regional or enterprise level. It can
be inter-professional, sectoral or a combination of all of these.

International Labour Standards

Welcome to the International Labour Standards website!
ILO Conventions and Recommendations cover a broad range of subjects concerning work,
employment, social security, social policy and related human rights.
The ILO’s supervisory bodies—the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and
Recommendations and the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards—regularly
examine the application of ILS in ILO member States. Representation and complaint procedures
can also be initiated against states that fail to comply with conventions they have ratified. A
special procedure—the Committee on Freedom of Association—reviews complaints concerning
violations of freedom of association, whether or not a member State has ratified the relevant
conventions.

Supervisory bodies and procedures

 General introduction
o Supervising the application of standards
o Reports of the supervisory bodies
  Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and
Recommendations (2009)
 Report of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (ILC
2009)
 355th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association (November 2009)
 Complaint procedures
 List of representations under article 24 of the ILO Constitution
 List of Commissions of Inquiry

Working out of Poverty

Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere”
Declaration Concerning the Aims and Purpose of the International Labour Organization,
Philadelphia, 1944.
Nearly half of the world’s 2.8 billion workers are unable to earn enough to lift themselves and their
family members above the $US2 a day poverty line. But poverty is not just a problem for the poor.
World political and social stability and security is difficult to envision if such large numbers of
people continue to be trapped in cycles of poverty or see few opportunities in a global system that
seems discriminatory and unfair.
Combating poverty and promoting social integration is about more than increasing incomes. It is
also about rights, dignity and communication giving people economic, social and political
empowerment.
Breaking the cycle of poverty involves creating new cycles of opportunity and local wealth
creation. The ILO encourages governments and international organizations to respect the opinions
of poor people and to design solutions that are tailor-made rather than ‘one size fits all’.
Furthermore, those solutions should be underpinned by greater policy coherence both among
international agencies and within them.
‘People in poverty go through each day with the will to survive, but without the support and
possibilities to move up the ladder of opportunity. Imagine where their efforts could take them if
that ladder were in place. Our common responsibility is to help put it there’, says the ILO Director-
General, Juan Somavia.