Political Science (Minor)

International Labour Organization

Project Submitted Under the Supervision of

Ms. Hemendra Prabhakar

Assistant Professor, BM Law College

Submitted By:

Yaman Rajpurohit

BM Law College, Jodhpur

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Raman Dave, Hon’ble Director, B M Law
College for affording me the opportunity to undertake this research. I take this opportunity to
express my gratitude and indebtedness to Ms. Hemendra Prabhakar, Assistant Professor BM Law
College, for guiding me in the endeavor of writing this project and also for his enlightening
lectures on the subject. I would also like to thank the College Library for the wealth of
information therein. I would like to thank the Library Staff for their co-operation.

Yaman Rajpurohit

[Batch 2019-2024]

Table of Content
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S.
No. Table of Content Page

1. INTRODUCTION 4
2. HISTORY 4
3. STRUCTURE 5
4. OBJECTIVE 8
5. CONCLUISION 9
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 10

INTRODUCTION
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The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and
internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that labour
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.

HISTORY

As the ILO celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019, it is timely to reflect on the many life-
changing events which are linked to the ten decades of ILO history.

The Organization has played a role at key historical junctures – the Great Depression,
decolonization, the victory over apartheid in South Africa – and today in the building of an
ethical and productive framework for a fair globalization.

It 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 of the ILO  was drafted in early 1919 by the Labour Commission, chaired by
Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in the United States. It was
composed of representatives from nine countries: Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy,
Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The process resulted in a tripartite organization, the only one of its kind, bringing together
representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies.

The driving forces for the ILO's creation arose from security, humanitarian, political and
economic considerations. The founders of the ILO recognized the importance of social justice in
securing peace, against a background of the 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.

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STRUCTURE OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION

The ILO is unique among international organizations in that the trade union and employers’
representatives from its 175 member states, have an equal voice with those of governments in
formulating its policies. The ILO accomplishes its work through three main bodies described
below, all of which reflect the unique feature of the Organization: its tripartite structure of
governments, employers and trade unions.

International Labour Conference

The Conference, which meets each year in June, can be thought of as an international parliament;
it has several main tasks:

 to work out (in Committee) and adopt (in Plenary) international labour standards in the
form of Conventions and Recommendations ;
 to act as a forum where social and labour questions of importance to the entire world are
discussed freely;
 to pass resolutions which provide guidelines for the ILO's general policy and future
activities;
 to adopt every two years the ILO's biennial work programme and budget, which is
financed by member States.

Each member State is represented by two government delegates, an employer delegate and a
trade union delegate. They may be accompanied by technical advisors. Employer and trade union
delegates participate independently and on equal terms with governments. Delegations are
usually led by the minister in each country responsible for employment, labour and/or social
affairs.

Functions:

 The progressive policies of the ILO are set by the International Labour Conference. 

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  The Conference is an annual event, which happens in Geneva, Switzerland. The
conference brings together all the representatives of the ILO.
 It is a panel for the review of the important issues regarding labour.

Governing Body

The Governing Body is the executive council of the ILO and its members are elected by the
International Labour Conference every three years. It has two main meetings and one short
meeting linked to the International Labour Conference, each year in Geneva. It takes decisions on
implementing ILO policy. It guides and overseas the programme of work of the Office and
establishes the budget which it then submits to the Conference for adoption. It also elects the
Director-General.

It is composed of 28 government members, 14 employer members and 14 worker members. Ten

of the government seats are permanently held by States of industrial importance. They are Brazil,
China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Representatives of other member countries are elected at the Conference every three years, taking
into account geographical distribution. The employers and workers elect their own
representatives.

Regional meetings of ILO member states are held periodically and there are also meetings of
sectoral committees and of expert committees on particular issues, e.g. youth unemployment, to
guide the work of the organisation. There is also a Joint Maritime Commission. Special Maritime
Sessions of the International Labour Conference are held periodically.

Functions: 

 Makes decisions regarding the agenda and the policies of the International Labour
Conference.
 It adopts the draft Programme and Budget of the Organization for submission to the
Conference.

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  Election of the Director-General.

International Labour Office

The International Labour Office in Geneva is the Organisation's Secretariat, operational

headquarters, research centre and publishing house. The Office is headed by the Director-
General, who is elected by the Governing Body for a five-year renewable term. 2,273 staff from
more than 110 nationalities work at the Geneva headquarters and in 40 field offices around the
world.

Functions: 

 It decides the activities for ILO and is supervised by the Governing Body and the
Director-General.
 The ILO member States hold periodically regional meetings to discuss the relevant issues
of the concerned regions.
 Each of the ILO’s 183 Member States has the right to send four delegates to the
Conference: two from government and one each representing workers and employers,
each of whom may speak and vote independently.

OBJECTIVES OF ILO

The ILO has four strategic objectives

 Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work
 Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income
 Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all, and

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  Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue

In support of its goals, the ILO offers 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:

 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

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
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CONCLUSION

Consequently, constitution, declarations, conferences, conventions and recommendations are

focusing on built and develop new and better international labour standards; protect propagate
human and labour rights, eliminate discrimination and child labour. In order to achieve these
goals, raise awareness and to create bridges between states, employers and employees, ILO has
crucial and unquestionable place owing to its power on member states.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/mission-and-objectives/lang--en/index.html

 http://www.studiognot.com/public/english/template1/samples/london/download/fp1_2

 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/employee-management/organisational-structure-of-
international-labor-organisation-ilo/35423

 https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm

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