Introduction
The
International Labour Organization (ILO) is 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.
In
promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour
rights, the organization continues to pursue its founding mission that labour
peace is essential to prosperity. Today, the ILO helps advance the creation of
decent jobs and the kinds of economic and working conditions that give working
people and business people a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.
What
the ILO is and what it does?
The
International Labour Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United
Nations system which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally
recognized human and labour rights
The
ILO formulates international labour standards. These standards set minimum
standards in the field of fundamental labour rights: freedom of association,
the right to organize, the right to collective bargaining, equality of
opportunity and treatment as well as other standards.
The
ILO provides technical assistance, mainly in the following fields:
·
Locational
training and vocational rehabilitation;
·
Employment
policy;
·
Labour
administration;
·
Labour
law and industrial relations;
·
Conditions
of work;
·
Management
development;
·
Cooperatives;
·
Social
security;
·
Labour
statistics, and occupational safety & health.
The
ILO Constitution:
“Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is
based upon social justice…”
Objectives
of ILO:
The
ILO has four principle strategic objectives
Other
objectives:
·
Full
employment and raising of living.
·
Protection
for the life and health of workers in all occupation.
·
To
promote better working and living conditions.
·
To
support and protect peaceful industrial relations.
·
To
support economic development by homogeneous standards.
·
To
hinder war by ensuring social justice.
Functions:
·
Creation
of international labour standards.
·
Formulation
of international policies.
·
Technical
assistance.
·
Training,
education, research and publishing activities.
International
Labour Conference (ILC):
·
The
ILC meets in June every year, in Geneva where conventions and recommendations
are crafted and adopted.
·
Highest
authority of the ILO.
·
Also
known as the "parliament of labour".
·
The
conference also makes decisions about the ILO's general policy, work programmer
and budget.
·
The
ILC elects the Governing Body of the ILO.
·
Each
member State has four representatives:
ü One Employer
representative
ü Two Government
representatives
ü One Worker
representative
·
All
of them have individual voting rights, and all votes are equal, regardless of
the population of the delegate's member state.
·
It
sets minimum international labour standards and defines the broad policies of
the organization.
·
The
ILC also provides an international forum for the discussion of world labour and
social problems.
Governing
Body:
·
It
is the executive council of the ILO which establishes the strategic objectives
and policies.
·
The
Governing Body meets three times a year in Geneva and makes decisions on ILO
policy and establishes the programmer and budget, which it subsequently submits
to the Conference for adoption.
·
The
Governing Body also elects the Director-General for a five-year renewable term.
·
The
ten States of chief industrial importance have permanent seats on the Governing
Body,
·
The
nations are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.
·
The
other members are elected at the Conference every three years from
representatives of the other member countries, taking into account geographical
distribution.
·
This
governing body is composed of:
ü 14 Employer
representatives.
ü 28 Government
representatives.
ü 14 Worker representatives.
Tripartite
structure of the ILO:
The
ILO has a tripartite structure unique in the United Nations system, in which
employers’ and workers’ representatives – the “social partners” – have an equal
voice with those of governments in shaping its policies and programmers.
Ø Employers
Ø Workers
Ø Governments
International
Labour Standards
International
labour standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO’s constituents
(governments, employers and workers) which set out basic principles and rights
at work.
ILS
are divided into:
·
Convention:
These are legally binding international treaties that are subject to
ratification by member States.
·
Recommendations:
These serve as non-binding guidelines. They can also be autonomous, namely not
linked a Convention.
In
many cases, a Convention lays down the basic principles to be implemented by
ratifying countries, while a related Recommendation supplements the Convention
by providing more detailed guidelines on its implementation. Binding means
mandatory as soon as a country has ratified a Convention and integrated it into
national law.
· The ILO Country Office for Pakistan was set up in 1970 in Karachi and later moved to Islamabad where it is housed in its own building on land donated by the Government of Pakistan.
· The ILO’s major work in Pakistan has covered a wide range of activities: promotion of International Labour Standards; prevention and elimination of child and bonded labour; job creation through employable skills; mainstreaming gender equality; strengthened labour market governance; employment and livelihoods recovery in response to conflicts and crises; expansion of social security schemes and social safety nets, especially in the informal economy and the promotion of tripartism and social dialogue.
· Pakistan has been an important and active member State of the ILO since its inception in 1947, and has ratified 36 Conventions, including the eight core Conventions. Representatives of the Government, employers’, and workers’ organizations have served repeatedly on the ILO’s Governing Body over the years.
· The CO-Islamabad supports the constituents in their efforts to achieve decent work and social justice in Pakistan.