The ILO at a glance

“Universal and
lasting peace can be
established only if it
is based on social
justice."
I LO Con st i t ut i on , 1 9 1 9
T H E I LO AT A G LAN CE

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is

the United Nations agency 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.

The ILO is the only “tripartite” United Nations

agency in that it brings together representatives
of governments, employers and workers to
jointly shape policies and programmes.

The ILO is the global body responsible for drawing

up and overseeing international labour standards.
Working with its 181 member States, the ILO seeks
to ensure that labour standards are respected in
practice as well as principle.


 Past...

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 ILO’s founders were committed to spreading humane
working conditions and combating injustice, hardship and poverty.
In 1944, during another period of international crisis, ILO members
built on these aims by adopting the Declaration of Philadelphia,
which states that labour is not a commodity and sets out basic
human and economic rights under the principle that “poverty
anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere”.

The ILO in 1946 became the first specialized agency associated with
the newly formed United Nations. On its 50th anniversary in 1969, the
ILO was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The vast expansion in the number of countries belonging to the ILO in

the decades after World War II brought much change. The organization
launched technical assistance programmes to provide expertise
and assistance to governments, workers and employers worldwide,
especially in developing nations. In countries such as Poland, Chile and
South Africa, the ILO’s strong support for trade union rights helped in
the fight for democracy and freedom.


...to Present

Another important date for the ILO was 1998, when delegates to
the International Labour Conference adopted the Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These principles and
rights are the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining
and the elimination of child labour, forced labour and discrimination
linked to employment. The guarantee of these fundamental
principles and rights at work, according to the Declaration, is
important because it enables people “to claim freely and on the
basis of equality of opportunity, their fair share of the wealth which
they have helped to generate and to achieve fully their human
potential”.


 Decent Work...

Work is central to people’s well-being. In addition to providing income,

work can pave the way for broader social and economic advancement,
strengthening individuals, their families and communities. Such
progress, however, hinges on work that is decent.

Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives.

It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair
income, security in the workplace and social protection for families.
Decent work means better prospects for personal development and
social integration, and freedom for people to express their concerns,
organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives. It
entails equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and
men.

Decent work is the key to the eradication of poverty. If women

and men have access to decent work, they can share in the gains
brought by increased international economic integration. Extending
opportunities for decent work to more people is a crucial element
in making globalization more inclusive and fair. Creating decent
employment must therefore be at the heart of development policy.


...in a Globalizing World

In 2004, the role of the ILO in promoting strategies for a fair

globalization was backed by the report of the World Commission on
the Social Dimension of Globalization.

The drive to foster decent work spans the ILO, integrating what the
organization does at international, regional, national and local levels.
In bringing together governments, employers and workers to set
labour standards, supervise their implementation, raise awareness,
develop policies and devise programmes, the ILO aims to ensure that
its efforts are rooted in the needs of working women and men.

The ILO works actively with the UN and other multilateral agencies
to develop policies and programmes that support the creation of
decent work opportunities as a central plank of efforts to reduce and
eradicate poverty.


 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. Dialogue between the governments and
the two “social partners” promotes consensus-building and democratic
involvement of those with vital stakes in the world of work.

This “social dialogue” can mean negotiation, consultation or simply

an exchange of views between representatives of employers, workers
and governments. It may consist of relations between labour and
management, with or without direct government involvement. Social
dialogue is a flexible tool that enables governments and employers’
and workers’ organizations to manage change and achieve economic Social
and social goals.
Dialogue is a
The very structure of the ILO, where workers and employers together
have an equal voice with governments in the work of its governing flexible tool
councils, shows social dialogue in action. It ensures that the views
of the social partners are closely reflected in ILO labour standards, for achieving
policies and programmes.
economic and
social change.


At the same time, the ILO helps governments and employers’ and
workers’ organizations establish sound labour relations, adapt labour
laws to changing economic and social circumstances and improve
labour administration. In supporting and reinforcing employers’ and
workers’ organizations, the ILO helps to create the conditions for
effective dialogue with governments and with each other.

G ove r nance and P olic y m a k ing

The ILO’s broad policies are set by the International Labour

Conference, which meets once a year and brings together
the organization’s constituents. The Conference also adopts
new international labour standards and approves the ILO’s
work plan and budget.

Between sessions of the Conference, the ILO is guided by its

Governing Body, which is composed of 28 government
members, 14 employer members and 14 worker members.
The ILO’s Secretariat, the International Labour Office, has
its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and maintains field
offices in more than 40 countries.

In 1999, Juan Somavia of Chile became the ILO’s ninth Director-

General. He is the first person from the Southern Hemisphere
to head the organization.


 S TA N DARDS
Since its early days, the ILO has sought to define and guarantee
labour rights and improve conditions for working people by building
a system of international labour standards expressed in the form of
Conventions, Recommendations and Codes of Practice.

The ILO has since adopted more than 180 ILO Conventions and
190 Recommendations covering all aspects of the world of work.
This body of international labour law was recently reviewed
by the Governing Body which determined that more than 70
of the Conventions adopted before 1985 remained fully up to
date and the remainder required revision or withdrawal. In
addition, dozens of Codes of Practice have been developed.
In areas as varied as maternity leave and protection of migrants,
these standards play an important role in the drawing up of national Core labour
legislation. A supervisory process helps to ensure that standards
ratified by individual member States are applied and the ILO provides standards are
advice in the drafting of national labour laws.
a central plank
With the adoption of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and
Rights at Work in 1998, ILO member States decided to uphold a set
of core labour standards regardless of whether they had ratified the
of decent work
relevant conventions. These are basic human rights and a central
plank of decent work.


 Freedom of Association

The right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of

Freedom of their choice is an integral part of a free and open society. It is a basic
civil liberty that serves as a building block for social and economic
Association progress. Linked to this is the effective recognition of the right to
collective bargaining. Voice and representation are an important
is a building part of decent work.

block for social The existence of independent organizations for workers and
employers serves as a foundation to the ILO’s tripartite structure,
and economic and their involvement in ILO actions and policies reinforces freedom
of association, directly and indirectly. From advising governments on
progress labour legislation to providing education and training for trade unions
and employer groups, the ILO is regularly engaged in promoting
freedom of association.

The ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association was set up in 1951 to

examine violations of workers’ and employers’ organizing rights. The
committee has examined more than 2,000 cases, including allegations
of murders, disappearances, physical attacks, arrests and forced
exile of trade union officials. The committee is tripartite and handles
complaints in ILO member States whether or not they have ratified
freedom of association conventions.

Through the Committee on Freedom of Association and other

supervisory mechanisms, the ILO has frequently defended rights of
trade unions and employers’ organizations. In many cases, these
organizations have played a significant role in their countries’
democratic transformation.


 Forced Labour

An estimated minimum of at least 12 million people worldwide are

victims of forced labour. Of those, 10 million are exploited by forced
labour in the private economy, rather than that imposed directly
by states. The ILO estimates that US$32 billion in annual profits are
generated by the forced labour of trafficked people.

Forced labour takes different forms, including debt bondage, trafficking

and other forms of modern slavery. The most vulnerable victims are
women and girls forced into prostitution, migrants trapped in debt
bondage, and sweatshop or farm workers kept there by clearly illegal
tactics and paid little or nothing.

The ILO has worked since its inception to tackle forced labour and
the conditions that give rise to it and has established a Special Action
Programme on Forced Labour to intensify this effort. In partnership with
workers, employers, civil society and other international organizations,
the ILO seeks to address all aspects of forced labour. These range from
preventive measures including livelihood improvement projects in
communities where trafficking victims originate, to support for freed
workers. Programmes can include microfinance, training opportunities
and facilitating access to education.

The ILO is also pressing for effective national laws and stronger
The ILO seeks
enforcement mechanisms, such as legal sanctions and vigorous
prosecution against those who exploit forced labourers. By raising
to address
public awareness, the ILO seeks to shine a spotlight on such human
and labour rights violations. all aspects of
forced labour

10
 Child Labour

There are more than 200 million children working throughout the
Child labour is world, many full-time. They are deprived of adequate education,
good health and basic freedoms. Of these, 126 million — or one in
on the decline every 12 children worldwide — are exposed to hazardous forms of
child labour, work that endangers their physical, mental or moral
globally well-being.

Over the past 15 years, the world has awakened to child labour as a
pressing social, economic and human rights issue. Today, child labour
globally is on the decline, and if this trend continues, its worst forms
may be eliminated in the coming decade. This is the direct result of
a powerful international movement to eliminate child labour.

This movement is reflected in the unprecedented pace with which

countries are ratifying the ILO’s Worst Forms of Child Labour
Convention. Adopted in 1999, the Convention has been ratified by
nine out of every 10 of the ILO’s 181 member States. Similarly, the
ILO’s Minimum Age Convention adopted in 1973 has now been ratified
by four out of five ILO member States.

The ILO has been a principal engine behind this growing movement.
The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour
(IPEC), launched in 1992, now encompasses activities in over 80
countries. As with other aspects of decent work, eliminating child
labour is a development as well as human rights issue. ILO policies
and programmes aim to help ensure that children receive the
education and training they need to become productive adults in
decent employment.

11
 Discrimination

Hundreds of millions of people suffer from discrimination in the

world of work. This not only violates a most basic human right, but
has wider social and economic consequences. Discrimination stifles
opportunities, wasting the human talent needed for economic
progress and accentuating social tensions and inequalities. Combating
discrimination is an essential part of promoting decent work, and
success on this front is felt well beyond the workplace.

Issues linked to discrimination are present throughout the ILO’s sphere

of work. By bolstering freedom of association, for example, the ILO
seeks to prevent discrimination against trade union members and
officials.

Programmes to fight forced labour and child labour include helping

girls and women trapped in prostitution or coercive domestic labour. Discrimination
Non-discrimination is a main principle in the ILO’s code of practice on
HIV/AIDS and the world of work. ILO guidelines on labour law include stifles
provisions on discrimination.
opportunities,
At the same time, gender equality is integrated into all ILO activities.
This reflects the persistent and varied problems faced by women in
the labour market. Women continue to earn less than men, dominating
wasting human
low-paid and less-protected occupations and accounting for the
majority of workers in informal, atypical and unpaid situations. The talent needed
ILO works to expand employment opportunities for women, enhance
conditions of employment and eliminate gender discrimination. It for economic
encourages women’s entrepreneurship through support services,
business development, training, microfinance and documentation of
good practices. And it helps workers’ organizations defend and expand
progress
the rights of women at the workplace and promote their role in trade
unions and society at large.

12
EMPLOYM EN T AND IN COM E
There has With global unemployment at historically high levels, there has never
been a greater need to put employment at the centre of economic
never been and social policies. Even among those who work, the extent of
poverty underscores the need for a far greater number of productive
a greater and decent jobs.

need to put The insufficient pace in creating decent work worldwide points to
the need for greater international coordination of macro-economic

employment at policies, as well as active labour market policies at the national

level.

the centre of Productive and freely chosen employment is at the core of the ILO’s

economic and mandate, and the organization is committed to full employment.

The ILO identifies policies that help create and maintain decent

social policies work and income — policies that are formulated in a comprehensive
Global Employment Agenda worked out by the three ILO constituents.
The organization carries out research and takes part in international
discussion of employment strategies.

13
 The ILO is particularly concerned about the massive unemployment
of young women and men — nearly half the world’s unemployed are
young people — and it seeks to help them and their governments
through policy advice and concrete training and employment
initiatives.

The ILO has pioneered analysis and action on the informal economy.
This term is used to describe work done beyond the reach of formal
laws and enforcement mechanisms. In many developing countries,
more than half of the non-agricultural workforce is in the informal
economy. Most women in these countries work informally often as
street traders. Informal work is mostly unproductive, insecure, poorly
remunerated and done under adverse conditions. Helping employers
and workers to move out of informality requires comprehensive
strategies to raise skills and productivity, improve laws and their
application and foster self-support institutions.

Periodic ILO publications including Key Indicators of the Labour

Market analyse trends and provide extensive statistical data.

The ILO provides technical support and advice in areas ranging from
training and skills to microfinance and small business development.

It has advised countries making the transition from centrally

planned to market economies on employment, labour market and
human resource policies. The organization also works to promote
employment-intensive investment in developing countries.

14
Wages and Other Conditions
of Employment

While wages may rise in many countries, they often remain too
low for many workers to meet their basic needs. And while some
workers may see decreases in the time they devote to work, the
accompanying unpredictability can weaken job security and pose
new difficulties for reconciling work and family. Dirty and dangerous
working conditions, on the decline in industrialized countries, are
still prevalent in the developing world. Meanwhile, job related
stress and violence are starting to be recognized globally as major
problems.

Wages, working time, work organization, working conditions and

adapting working life to the demands of life outside work are core
elements of the employment relationship and of workers’ protection,
as well as key dimensions of economic performance, and thus are of
principal interest to the ILO. These issues are major components
of human resources management, collective bargaining and social
dialogue, as well as of government policies.

15
 S O C I A L PROT EC T ION
Most men and women do not have adequate levels of social protection.
They face dangers in the workplace and poor or non-existent pension
and health insurance coverage. Some are not allowed sufficient rest
times and many women lack maternity benefits. International labour
standards and the UN recognize social protection as a basic human
right. Moreover, well-designed social security systems improve
economic performance, contributing to competitiveness. The ILO
is committed to helping countries extend social protection to all
groups in society and to improving working conditions and safety at
work.

The ILO is
committed
to helping
countries
extend social
protection to
all groups in
society

16
Social Security

Only 20 per cent of the world’s population have adequate social

security coverage, and more than half lack any coverage at all. The
situation reflects levels of economic development, 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.

Social security involves access to health care and income security,

particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity,
work injury, maternity or loss of a main income earner.

Concern among governments, employers and workers led the ILO

to launch a “Global Campaign on Social Security and Coverage for
All” in 2003. The campaign builds on ILO efforts already underway
in more than 30 countries. These include projects to help countries
extend coverage at the national level and to strengthen community-
based social security organizations. The ILO is also doing important
research to identify factors that undermine security among people
in the developing and developed world.

17
 International Migration

Close to half of all migrants and refugees worldwide — or some 86 million

adults — are economically active, employed or otherwise engaged in
remunerative activity. And the number of migrants crossing borders
in search of employment and human security is expected to increase
rapidly in the coming decades due to the failure of globalization to
provide jobs and economic opportunities. Strict immigration controls
and barriers imposed by major receiving countries have led to a
number of issues of concern, including a high incidence of abuse and
exploitation of migrant workers in host societies.

The ILO sees today’s global challenge as forging the policies and the
resources to manage labour migration better so that it contributes
positively to the growth and development of both home and host
societies, as well as to the well being of the migrants themselves.

18
 Health and Safety

Every year, more than 2 million people die from occupational

The ILO places accidents or work-related diseases. By conservative estimates,
there are 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million cases
special of occupational disease.

importance The safety of work varies enormously between countries, economic

sectors and social groups. Deaths and injuries take a particularly
on developing heavy toll in developing nations, where large numbers of people are
engaged in hazardous activities such as agriculture, construction,
and applying logging, fishing and mining. Throughout the world, the poorest and
least protected — often women, children and migrants — are among
a preventive the most affected.

safety and Given the progress that many industrialized countries have made in
reducing serious injuries, it is clear that improvements in workplace
safety yield results. Yet there is a lack of awareness, knowledge and
health culture information about the issue. The ILO works to fill this gap through
research, advocacy and technical assistance. It helps countries
in workplaces develop management tools, monitoring and information services,
with the primary focus on hazardous occupations.
worldwide
The ILO places special importance on developing and applying a
preventive safety and health culture in workplaces worldwide.

19
 HIV/AIDS

In a relatively short period, the pandemic of HIV/AIDS has become one

of the most critical workplace issues in our time. Nearly 40 million
people of working age have HIV and the global labour force has lost an
estimated 28 million workers to AIDS since the start of the epidemic
20 years ago.

In addition to the epidemic’s devastating impact on these women and

men and their families, it affects the world of work in many ways.
For example, discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS threatens
fundamental rights at work, undermining opportunities for people to
obtain decent employment.

Following consultations among governments, employers and workers,

the ILO in 2001 adopted a Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World
of Work.

The pioneering Code is designed to help prevent the spread of

HIV/AIDS while managing and mitigating its workplace impact.
Among the Code’s key principles are non-discrimination, gender
equality, a healthy working environment, no HIV testing for
purposes of employment, confidentiality and the continuation of
the employment relationship. Increasingly, the code is serving
as a reference point for employers and trade unions negotiating
agreements on handling HIV/AIDS in the world of work.

20
International Labour Office
Department of Communication and Public Information
4, route des morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 799 7912
Fax: +41 22 799 8577
Email: communication@ilo.org
www. ilo.org

978-92-2-118961-9 ISBN 978-92-2-118960-2

12/2007
Photos © ILO . Design www.paprika-annecy.com