ILO Standards

The Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO), created in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles, has as its agenda the maintenance of social peace and the improvement of working conditions for the world's workers. First among the organization's tools for achieving its aims are international labor standards. Often referred to as the "International Labor Code," these standards have helped form the basis for many social and labor laws in most of the countries that have gained their independence since 1919; that is, most countries in the world. The ILO's mission, as crafted by its founders, was to parallel that of the League of Nations: the League was to keep the physical peace, and the ILO was to keep the social peace by adopting standards that would improve the situation of workers. Following the Russian Revolution, however, the League did not survive, but the ILO did.

The "Declaration of Philadelphia" in 1944, which was a renewed statement of purpose, marked the beginning of the ILO's period of greatest creativity in the adoption of standards- 1948 to 1964. During this time, the ILO addressed freedom of association, equal treatment, abolition of forced labor, minimum wages, treatment of indigenous and tribal peoples, and employment policies, among other issues. These standards have become fundamental to worldwide labor and human rights legislation, as the ILO's body of standards continues to develop. There are presently 175 ILO Conventions and 182 Recommendations setti

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ough far from 100-percent effective, essentially works to persuade, cajole, and often embarrass governments into keeping the promises they have made voluntarily. Each member nation sends a delegation to the annual International Labor Convention which adopts the ILO budget, enacts labor standards, and discusses social and labor problems. The United States delegation, for example, consists of the Secretaries of Labor and State, a representative from the AFL-CIO, and one from the U.S. Council for International Business. Much of the ILO's work is investigative: "As a result of ILO investigations and other actions, more than 1,500 changes in international law and practices have been enacted" ("Why International", 1993, p. 25). Complaints may be lodged in three ways: first, the ILO Governing Body or any delegate to the International Labor Conference can simply engage the formal complaint procedure; second, a less formal, but more frequently used, procedure allows any employers' or workers' organization to bring a "representation" against a state alleging that the state is not applying a Convention it has ratified; and third, a special procedure allows complaints related to freedom of association violations to be brought against membe

Category: Foreign - I