International Labor Organization

THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919 as part of the Treaty of Versailles, which marked the creation of the League of Nations and it is the only surviving institution dating from that agreement. It was originally conceived as a humanitarian response to the plight of many millions of workers around the world and had been envisaged by the eminent industrialists Robert Owen (1771–1853) and Daniel Legrand (1783–1859). Its fundamental precepts are enshrined in the preamble to its constitution: “Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice. … Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labor is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries.” Specific objectives and principles of the ILO include these beliefs: “(a) labour is not a commodity; (b) freedom of expression and of association are essential to sustained progress; (c) poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere; (d) 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.” These four values were part of the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and this became part of the charter for the ILO.

In 1946 it became the first specialist institution to be affiliated with the then recently founded United Nations (UN). Its headquarters are in Geneva, which hosts the annual International Labor Conference. Major publications include the International Labor Review and the Year Book of Labor Statistics.

The ILO was initially involved primarily with codifying international labor standards in the Western world and, during the 1930s, trying to combat the effects of the Great Depression. However, its scope of operations broadened after World War II when the breakup of Western empires and the improved ability to address the issues facing developing nations allowed it to become a truly global organization. The ILO now has more than 200 members, and nearly all but the smallest or most obtuse states have joined. In 1969 the ILO was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.

The main activities of the ILO include creating and promulgating international labor standards, providing technical expertise, promoting good workplace governance, and research and publication. Conventions and recommendations include provisions on minimum labor rights in the areas of freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labor, equality of opportunity, and treatment. Technical expertise is provided in the areas of vocational training and rehabilitation, labor law and industrial relations, labor statistics, and occupational safety [Page 559]and health. The ILO provides services to both workers and employers and maintains a tripartite structure in negotiations uniting workers, employers, and government.

Convention No. 182, issued in 2002, called for an end to the worst abuses of child labor and was very rapidly ratified by more than 100 members. Public education and awareness of child labor and other abuses have helped to raise consciousness of the conditions facing many millions of workers in the 21st century, even though they may have disappeared almost entirely from the West.

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