Workers' Rights in a Global Economy

ILO Convention: Treaty that becomes legally binding after ratification.
Recommendation: Not legally binding, but sets guidelines
Protocol: revises parts of a legally binding convention (e.g. Update)
Declaration: not legally binding but gives policy guidance to office and member states

• 189 conventions since 1919; 87 as actual relevant; 8 core conentions

Core characteristic:

• universality & flexibility

If a new ILO convention is submitted, all member states must submit it to the national legal authorities (it is not an obligation to ratify it, but to channel it to the relevant authorities, to consider this new convention in national practice) > raises possibility of ratification

Ratification: A Government accepts an international regulation as a legally binding instrument; Country has obligation to give effect to the convention (in law & in practice) > it is an all-or-nothing proposition

1. After ratification a country has one year to bring its laws into conformity with convention
2. After a year it has to apply the ratified convention; it has to report on its application on regular intervals & and be subject to supervision