International Labour Organization

origins, aims, institutions, financing, activities

Paper

Submitted to

Collegium of Socio-Economics

Professor Ewa Latoszek

SGH Warsaw School of Economics

until

26.11.2015

by

Felix Rehbach

Student ID: 67240

Karolina Kupis

Student ID: 60764

Table of Content

Table of Content........................................................................................................................2

List of Figure.............................................................................................................................3

1. ILO welcomes G7 measures for sustainable global supply chains...................................4

2. Origins and history of the International Labour Organization.......................................5

3. Mission and objectives of the International Labour Organization..................................8

3.1 Rights at work................................................................................................................8

3.2 Employment creation.....................................................................................................9

3.3 Social Protection..........................................................................................................10

3.4. Social Dialogue...........................................................................................................11

4. Structure..............................................................................................................................12

4.1. International Labour Conference................................................................................12

4.2. The Governing Body..................................................................................................13

4.3. ILO Director-General.................................................................................................14

4.4. International Labour Office........................................................................................14

4.5. ILO Centres and Institutes..........................................................................................15

4.6. Membership................................................................................................................16

4.7. ILO supervision..........................................................................................................16

4.8 Trade unions................................................................................................................17

4.9 Financing.....................................................................................................................18

5. The key issue for the ILO...................................................................................................18

Promoting Decent work for all.................................................................................................18

Sources.....................................................................................................................................22

2

List of FigureFigure 1: Selected ILO Conventions..........................................................................................7

Figure 2: Poverty headcount ratio, at $1.90 a day.....................................................................9

Figure 3: The Conference’s meeting in Geneva......................................................................13

Figure 4: Guy Ryder during one of his speeches.....................................................................14

Figure 3: International Labour Office in Geneva....................................................................15

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1. ILO welcomes G7 measures for sustainable global supply chains

“It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today.

The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security,

Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security

all bear the union label.1“

- Barack Obama, US-President, 2010

On Labor Day in October 2010 the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama,

spoke what the Labor movement has meant to America and that the fight for America's

workers continues. In fact, it is not only about American workers it is more a global fight.

As the former Director-General of the International Labour Organization mentioned, working

for social justice is our assessment of the past and our mandate for the future.2

Thus, the G7, which is a informal bloc of industrialized democracies- the United States,

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, announced their

commitments to fair trade and sustainable supply chains at the end of the two-days meeting in

Berlin, which focused on Employment, Labour, Social Affairs, International Cooperation and

Development. The International Labour Organization welcomed the announcement of the G7

to mobilize their joint efforts to boost labour rights, decent working conditions and

environmental protection in global supply chains. The ministers agreed the creation of a

multi-donor Vision Zero Fund for action in producing countries, which will support the

dialogue and the utilization ILO standards on occupational safety and health and fundamental

principles and rights at work in multinational companies. The ILO Director-General Guy

Ryder substantiated the importance and mandatory provision of the funds, which will help

prevent and reduce the unacceptable number of workplace-related deaths, injuries and

diseases, because 2.3 million men and women die every year from work-related accidents and

diseases. Furthermore through the access to the global supply chains it is possible to reduce

the poverty in countries, which have low Labour standards and child labour. 3 In the following

parts we are going to present the origins, aims, institutions, the way of financing and the

1 https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/06/president-obama-labor-day-fight-americas-workers-continues 2 http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm 3 http://neurope.eu/article/italian-senate-agrees-to-minimise-its-own-powers/

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activities of the International Labour Organization, before we will round up the topic with a

conclusion and a forecast in the future.

2. Origins and history of the International Labour Organization

With the end of the First World War and the negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference the

Allied powers, the United States, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan and delegates

from other nations prepared the Treaty of Peace. The Treaty of Versailles laid the foundations

for the International Labour Organization, an agency of the League of Nations, the former

United Nations4.

The International Labour Organization chose Geneva for their headquarters, because the city

became the global centre of the peace movement and internationalism after the First world

war. In addition to the League of nations (as predecessor to the Un) and the ILO, which

became the first specialised agency of the United Nations in 1946, Geneva was also the

location for the headquarters for the Red Cross and the International League of women.

Already in 1908, the world Association of the Esperanto Language settled in Geneva. Later

on, many international peace talks and disarmament conferences were held in the city.

The origins grew out of nineteenth-century labor and social movements, which culminated in

widespread demands for social justice and higher living standards for the world's working

people, caused through the the consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Associated with

this are conspicuous forms of social inequality and injustice, which contributed to the

strengthening of European social democracy and trade unions. Prominent social reformers

such as Robert Owens and Daniel le Grand are regarded as initiators of the ILO. 5

Furthermore from the political and economical view, there are several factors that led to the

founding of a supranational labour organisation:

Economic growth in domestic demand

Expansion of international trade and international investment

Deregulations on the labour market

4 Jasmien van Daele; “ILO Histories: Essays on the International Labour Organization and Its Impact on the World During the Twentieth Century“; P. 135 Werner Sengenberger; “The International Labour Organization- Goals, Functions and Political Impact”; P. 13

5

Excessive use of Labour- social dumping

Increased powerful unions

One of the principal achievements of the ILO has been the formulation of an extensive

international labour code through the drafting and adoption of various standard-setting

conventions and recommendations.

Thus, it is no coincidence that the first ILO Convention organized by the International Labour

Organization in 1919 called for the introduction of the eight-hours day and the 48 - hours

week in industry. Furthermore the Conference signed an agreement about protection of

workers in case of unemployment, maternity, night work by women and youth and the

introduction of a minimum age of fourteen years for employment in the industrial sector.6

By 2002, the various sessions of the International Labour Conference had built up the edifice

of the international labour code through the adoption of 184 conventions and 194

recommendations, covering such questions as the following, which are based on important

ILO conventions.

6 http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12000:3497184095396172::::P12000_INSTRUMENT_SORT:4 ; Conventions 1-5; 1919

6

Figure 1: Selected ILO Conventions

employment and unemployment: employment services, national development

programs, and provisions for unemployment

various aspects of conditions of work: wages, hours, weekly rest periods, annual

holidays with pay, and allied topics

employment of children and young persons: minimum age of admission to

employment, medical examination for fitness for employment, vocational training and

apprenticeship, and night work

employment of women: maternity protection, night work, and employment in

unhealthy work

industrial health, safety, and welfare

social security

industrial) relations

labour inspection

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social policy in nonmetropolitan areas and concerning indigenous and tribal

populations

protection of migrants

trade unionism and collective bargaining

Labour and social standards, that would be internationally valid was considered by many

politicians, scientists and economists as an utopian goal, because international action used to

be unkown in these areas. The unrestrictedly accepted conventions and recommendations as

well as the ILO mechanism of mutual supervision has helped to improve the International

Labour Code. To keep pace with advancing concepts of the social and economic welfare as

well as to broaden its scope the code is being revised and extended on a continuous base.7

3. Mission and objectives of the International Labour Organization

“Universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice”8 is the

Preamble of the International Labour Organization. The organization is devoted to promoting

social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, to pursue the mission.

Nowadays ILO is still helping in creating decent work and giving working people a stake in

lasting peace, prosperity and development, through their main aims.

3.1 Rights at work

The first aim of the ILO is to promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and

rights at the work for everybody in the globalized economy, which requires enormous action

at the international level. This is a challenging heterogeneous aim for the world community,

which has to develop international legal instruments on trade, finance, environment, human

rights and labour.

The Globalization and Digitalization has created opportunities and benefits for many, yet at

the same time millions of workers and employers worldwide have had to face new challenges.

The globalized economy has displaced workers and enterprises to new locations, resulted in

7http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/United-Nations-Related-Agencies/The-International-Labour- Organization-ILO-ACTIVITIES.html#ixzz3qoaSGE26 8International Office Geneva; Constitution of the International Labour Organisation and selected texts; P.5; 2010

8

the sudden accumulation or flight of capital, and caused financial instability in certain regions.

Despite initial optimism, globalization has not ushered in an era of prosperity for all.

Figure 2: Poverty headcount ratio, at $1.90 a day

No nation is immune against the effects of the Globalization. 13% of our world population,

which means 900 Million people are living with less than $1.90 a day. 9 Furthermore the

inequality within many countries and between the world's richest and poorest nations has also

grown exponentially over the last few decades. In 1960 the income gap between the

wealthiest and the poorest fifth of the world's population was 30 to 1. By 1999, it had

increased to 74 to 1. In 1995, average GDP per capita in the richest 20 countries was 37 times

the average in the poorest 20 - a gap that doubled in 40 years.10 The continuous change of the

economy is neither sustainable nor desirable. Thus, the international members are establishing

basic rules to ensure that globalization offers a fair chance at prosperity for everyone.

3.2 Employment creation

Persistent poverty, an increasing income inequality and a slow growth of working

perspectives, aggravated by financial and environmental crisis, are critical barriers to increase

the living conditions. The second main objective of the International Labour Organization is

about creating greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income.

The insufficient pace in creating decent work on a national level points to the need for greater

international coordination. For that reason, the ILO identifies policies, which help

governments employers and workers to create and maintain decent work and income.

9 http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home/ 10 Werner Sengenberger; “The International Labour Organization- Goals, Functions and Political Impact”; P. 20

9

The Global Employment Agenda´s main goal is to place employment at the heart of economic

and social policy, which is pursuant with the eight Millennium Development Goals to lift

almost a billion people out of extreme poverty.

During the period 2010–15, the strategy for promoting full, productive and freely chosen

employment include the following key outcomes:11

coordinated and coherent policies to generate inclusive job-rich growth

skills development policies to increase the employability of workers, the

competitiveness of enterprises and the inclusiveness of growth

policies and programmes to promote sustainable enterprises and entrepreneurship

3.3 Social Protection

Social Protection is recognized by the International labour standards as well as the United

Nations as a basic right. Furthermore, social protection is widely considered to be

instrumental in promoting human welfare and social consensus on a broad scale.

About 6 billion people, 80 per cent of the world´s population has no adequate social security

coverage. They face deplorable conditions in the workplace, during their retirement and about

their health care. These conditions reflects levels of economic development and welfare, with

fewer than 10 per cent of workers in least-developed countries covered by social security. In

middle-income countries, coverage ranges from 20 to 60 per cent, while in most industrial

nations, it is close to 100 per cent.12

Thus, the International Labour Organization tries to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of

social protection for the world´s population in cooperation with other UN organizations. They

are focusing on three main objectives:

Extending the coverage and effectiveness of social security schemes

Promoting labour protection, which comprises decent conditions of work, including

wages, working time and occupational safety and health

Working through dedicated programmes and activities to protect such vulnerable

groups as migrant workers and their families; and workers in the informal economy.

11 ILO, Implementing the Global Employment Agenda : employment strategies in support of decent work, "Vision" document, 200612 Roland Sigg; A global overview on social security in the age of longevity; P. 165f.

10

3.4. Social Dialogue

Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue is the fourth and last objective of the International

Labour Organization, which plays a critical role in achieving advanced working opportunities

for women and men, in conditions of freedom, equality, security and human dignity.

All types of social Dialogue are based on isssues of common interests between goverments´

representatives, employers and workers.

The aim of the ILO is to help governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations to

establish sound labour relations, to adapt labour laws to changing economic and social

circumstances and to improve labour administration. This aim is very time consuming caused

by the tripartite process with the government as an official party and bipartite relations

between labour and management.

To encourage an approach the ILO tries to strengthen the dialogue among the constituents

and improve the effectiveness, which is based on the following declarations.13

Respect for the fundamental rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining

13 http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/decent-work-agenda/social-dialogue/lang--en/index.htm

Negotiations

Informationexchange

Social Dialogue

Consultatios

11

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

4. Structure

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has its advantage over other organizations due

to its unique structure. The ILO achieves its objectives through the cooperation of three main

bodies, mainly: The International Labour Conference (which meets annually), the Governing

body (which meets three times a year) and the Office. The Governing Body is composed of

28 government representatives:14 workers' representatives, and 14 employers' representatives.

Due to such division the organization is the only tripartite U.N. agency. Such distribution

enables the Member States to openly and implicitly talk, debate, invent, develop and improve

labour standards, policies and rules with the governments and other social partners within the

economy on a daily basis. This undeniably improves the communication between the

constituents. Moreover it ensures that the opinions of the social partners are closely reflected

in ILO labour standards, policies and programmes. ILO emphasizes the role of social dialogue

between trade unions and employers as far as any national policies and regulations on social,

economic, and many other significant issues are concerned.

4.1. International Labour Conference

The major objective and task of the International Labour Conference is setting the ILO

policies. Apart from that, the Conference establishes and adopts international labour standards

and is a forum for discussion of key social and labour questions. It also adopts the

Organization's budget and elects the Governing Body. It meets once a year in June, in

Geneva, Switzerland.  This annual Conference brings together governments', workers' and

employer's delegates of the ILO member States. Each member State is represented by a

delegation consisting of two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate,

and their respective advisers. Employer and Worker delegates are nominated in agreement

with the most representative national organizations of employers and workers.

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What is very important, every delegate has the same rights, and all can express themselves

freely and vote as they wish. Worker and employer delegates may sometimes vote against

their government's representatives or against each other. Heads of State and prime ministers

also take the floor at the Conference. International organizations, both governmental and

others, attend as observers.

Figure 3: The Conference’s meeting in Geneva

4.2. The Governing Body

The Governing Body plays the executive role in the management of the International Labour

Organization. Its meetings take place three times a year, in March, June and November. The

Governing Body is responsible for deciding on couple of issues:

taking care of the ILO policies;

deciding the agenda for International Labour Conference;

adopting the draft Programme and Budget of the Organization for submission to the

Conference;

electing the Director-General.

The Governing Body is composed of 56 titular members. Ten of the titular government seats

are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance (Brazil, China, France,

Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United

States).

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4.3. ILO Director-General

From 1 October 2012 this seat is taken by Guy Ryder, who perceives the ILO as absolutely

central to the questions of the day as far as jobs, social protection, the fight against poverty,

and equality are concerned. For this reason, he wants the ILO to influence global situations –

such as economic crisis – and to have impact on the national agendas of countries undergoing

change.

Figure 4: Guy Ryder during one of his speeches

4.4. International Labour Office

The International Labour Office serves the role of being a secretariat of the ILO. Because of

that, this is the place where all activities are conducted under the supervision of the Governing

Body and under the leadership of the Director-General.

The Office employs some 2,700 officials from over 150 nations at its headquarters in Geneva,

and in around 40 field offices around the world. Among these officials, 900 work in technical

cooperation programmes and projects.

14

Main departments and offices of the ILO

Policy (DDG/P) 

Management and Reform (DDG/MR) 

Field Operations and Partnerships (DDG/FOP) 

Reporting to the Director-General (DGREPORTS) 

Administrative Tribunal (TRIB) 

Associations 

4.5. ILO Centres and Institutes

If it comes to the world of work the ILO is a major resource centre for information, analysis

and guidance. Investigations conducted by the ILO are regarded as an authoritative source of

knowledge on that field. For this reason its Institutes and Centres are specialized departments

of the Organization which provide specialized support for ILO’s offices and constituents. 

The ILO International Institute for Labour Studies in Geneva promotes policy research and

public discussion on emerging issues of concern to the ILO and its constituents – labour,

business and government. They emphasize the importance of “decent work”. Thus, the

Institute provides the international research programmes and networks linking academics with

business, labour, and government practitioners, to explore emerging policy issues of potential

relevance for the ILO and contribute to policy formulation. Secondly, it takes into

Figure 5: International Labour Office in Geneva

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consideration the educational programmes to assist trade unions, employers’ organizations

and labour administrations in developing their institutional capacities for research, analysis,

and policy formulation in the economic and social fields. 

International Training Centre of the ILO  is an institution which deal with trainings for

people, as skilled human resources are central to the pursuit of decent work. In order to

achieve social and economic development countries need to be prepared through training

schemes. The Centre offers training and/or learning opportunities and related services to

decision makers, managers, practitioners and trainers from governments, workers’

organizations, employers’ organizations and their partner institutions. It has partnerships with

regional and national training institutions and its services are available to the United Nations

system as a whole, including ILO staff.

4.6. Membership

As of 2015, the ILO has 186 state members. ILO comprises of 185 of the 193 member states

of the United Nations plus the Cook Islands (joined ILO in June 2015). The UN member

states which are not members of the ILO are Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Mo

naco, Nauru, North Korea and Tonga.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/country.htm---> alphabetical list of Member

States.

There are no restriction concerning how to become a member of the ILO by any member of

the UN. However in order to gain membership, one nation should inform the Director-

General about the acceptance of the obligations of the ILO constitution. When it comes to

states outside UN, they should be acclaimed by a two-thirds vote of all delegates, including a

two-thirds vote of government delegates, at any ILO General Conference.

4.7. ILO supervision

No rule can exist without enforcing it. That is exactly why international labour standards are

backed by a supervisory mechanism. This system is unique at the international level in order

to enable the Member States to implement the conventions they ratify. The ILO has proved

that it considers it important to be updated with the developments in all countries, whether or

not they have ratified them. As the ILO pays attention to details in application of rules it

16

regularly examines the standards in all of the countries and points out what they can better

apply to improve the situation. If there are any problems in the application of standards, the

ILO helps and seeks to assist countries with dialogue and technical assistance when needed.

There are two kinds of supervisory mechanism that can be listed. The first one is a regular

system of supervision, which means simply that two of ILO bodies examine the reports on the

application of rules, which are sent to them by Member States themselves. On the other hand,

special procedures involve the submission of a representation or a complaint.

4.8 Trade unions

An organization whose membership consists of workers and union leaders, united to protect

and promote their common interests. The principal purposes of a labor union are to negotiat

ewages and working condition terms, regulate relations between workers (its members) and

the employer, take collective action to enforce the terms of collective bargaining, raise

new demands on behalf of its members, and help settle their grievances14.

The main objective of trade unions in a rapidly globalizing world is to acquire and secure

a decent work with good conditions, wages, equality and fair income distribution. Trade

unions wish for equal rights and fair implementation of labour standards all around the globe.

For that reason trade unions have perceived the ILO as an essential institution for promoting

the protection of workers. It is the social dialogue they value the most, same as the ILO. As

the main link between the International Labour Office and workers, the Bureau for Workers'

Activities (ACTRAV) - a specialized unit within the ILO Secretariat- coordinates all the

activities of the Office related to workers and their organizations. The Bureau for Workers'

Activities role is to strengthen representative, independent and democratic trade unions in all

countries, to enable them to perform effectively in protecting workers' rights and interests and

in providing effective services to their members at national and international levels.

4.9 Financing

14 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/trade-union.html

17

The outcomes and achievements of the ILO are financed through three main funding sources:

the Regular Budget;

the Regular Budget Supplementary Account;

and Extra-Budgetary resources for Technical Cooperation.

The ILO's activities are financed by a biennial budget fixed by the International Labour

Conference and raised from the governments of member states according to a scale of

contributions approved by the conference. The scale ranges from 0.001% for the least

developed countries (LDCs) to 5.45% for the United Kingdom, 6.37% for France, 9.62% for

Germany, 19.22% for Japan, and 22% for the United States. In addition, the ILO receives for

its technical assistance programs a share of the funds raised from voluntary government

contributions to UNDP. As the ILO promote decent work for all globally it gains a lot of

partners worldwide. It mobilizes extra-budgetary funding for development cooperation and

funds for the Regular Budget Supplementary Account (RBSA), to complement and enhance

actions undertaken through the regular budget. The ILO promotes decent work for all as a

global goal by partnering and forging relations with the donor community, the multilateral

system and other development actors.

5. The key issue for the ILO

Promoting Decent work for all

The International Labour Organization puts people’s well being in focus. It is not only about

providing income, but it resolves down to the broader social and economic advancement. It

means that work can pave the wat to strengthening individuals, their families and

communities. To make things more difficult here comes the notion decent work, which sums

up the aspirations of people in their working lives. The ILO has done a lot in order to help

their Member States. It provides support through integrated Decent Work Country

Programmes developed in coordination with its constituents.

Taking into account aims of the ILO four of them can be listed:

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promoting jobs 

guaranteeing rights at work – it is of high significance for the ILO to gain and

guarantee the respect or the rights of workers. There is no doubt that all workers,

especially if they have some problems, need representation.

extending social protection  – ensuring that everyone enjoys safe working conditions,

which means adequate free time and rest, family and social values etc.

promoting social dialogue  – it is a source of increased productivity, lack of disputes at

work etc.

Gender equality is identified as a major priority of the ILO’s activities. It is so because work

is described as a source of personal dignity, family stability, peace in the community,

democracies that deliver for people, and economic growth that expands opportunities for

productive jobs and enterprise development. 

The overall goal of the ILO is to make Decent Work both national and global. The ILO

operates with other partners within and beyond the UN family to provide in-depth expertise

and key policy instruments for the design and implementation of many programmes. It also

provides support for building the institutions needed to carry them forward and for measuring

progress. The balance within these programmes differs from country to country, reflecting

their needs, resources and priorities. Progress also requires action at the global level. 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.

Cooperatives and refugees

On November in Turkey ILO News spoke with Simel Esim, head of the ILO’s Cooperatives

Unit in order to discuss different ways in which cooperatives can contribute to the high

number of refugees nowadays. Due to the fact that the number of refugees has recently

reached record levels around the globe this issue gains the importance in the ILO’s activities.

Because of that alarming situation the cooperatives try to step in and help somehow. They

step in providing direct assistance for refugees and delivering basic goods and

services. Cooperatives create jobs and promote self-employment.

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It is worth mentioning that in many countries, including Bosnia, East Timor, El Salvador,

Guatemala, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Nepal, cooperatives

have influenced strongly a critical role in post-conflict reconstruction by creating jobs for

returning minorities and ex-combatants, rebuilding businesses and homes, giving refugees and

internally displaced persons access to markets, and facilitating reconciliation and peace

building.

Conclusion

"Employment—the best possible employment for all—has always been, and will remain, the

principal objective of our Organization, whose mission is to link economic growth, social

justice and the creation and distribution of wealth."15

The International Labour Organization (ILO) mission and objectives are directly related to the

importance of cooperation between governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations

in fostering social and economic progress. It is mainly achieved by its uniqueness among

international governmental organizations—the only one in which private citizens, namely

representatives of labour and of employers, have the same voting and other rights as are

possessed by governments. This leads to the fact that its name can be actually described as too

narrow, for it is an organization neither of nor for labour alone. There is no doubt that the ILO

gives a lot of attention to help raise general standards of living and thus can be more

accurately described and termed: an International Organization for Social Justice. Its work

now even comprises various activities such as productivity training courses for management

personnel and high government.

The ILO's activities are making the world a better place due to the fact that it mainly works as

a promoter of human rights. One of the principal achievements of the ILO has been the

formulation of an extensive international labour code through the drafting and adoption of

15 http:// www.encyklopedia.com

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various standard-setting conventions and recommendations.

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.

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21

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22

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23