Chap 2- ILO standards
How do Trade Unions play a role in ILO?
- typically unions monitor and submit - they move the agenda
- Union Lawyers can use ILS in courts
Trade unions are crucial in pressuring to get their governments to ratify ILO Conventions
ILO Standards and their Forms
- Conventions (189) - treaty that becomes legally binding after ratification
- Recommendations (203) - guidelines and suggestions, not legally binding
- Protocols (6) - revision of a previous convention - update
- Declarations - not legally binding, but offer critical policy guidance
1998 Declaration on Fund. Rights at Work
2008 Social Justice for Fair Globalization
8 Core Conventions
- 1998 Fund Rights (4 main ones)
- Labor Inspection, Tripartite consultation, Employment policy
Just 82 Conventions are considered up to date
ILO Instruments- universality and flexibility
Look to promote progress as well as something that many countries can actually commit to. Balance
Cannot reduce a standard already in place in their country to new "minimum level" of an ILO standard
Creating a New ILS
ILO Gov Body places subject on the Conference Agenda
- Advocacy and Research play key role in raising the profile of a Standard
- Double Discussion Procedure
- ILO staff preps a report and questionnaire for Govs
- Comments are cataloged in a digest
- First Conference discusses subject and proposes content for the ILS
- Second Conference is used to decide on the Standard- need 2/3 majority to become official.
Obligation of Member States to Submit Standards
Each member country has a "Duty to Submit" a newly adopted instrument
- competent authority (Parliament or Legislature)
- want to promote the instrument at a domestic level
- Member doesn't need to explicitly "Ratify" an instrument
- Member doesn't even need to support an instrument
Ratification
a national government accepts ILO Convention as legally binding
- all or nothing - no cherry picking of preferable language
- member reports it ratification to ILO
- member brings its national law into conformity
- member now becomes subject to supervision and possible complaints