100 Years of International Labour Organization

100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION

The International Labour Organization (ILO) came into existence in 1919. Over the course of 100 years, the ILO has witnessed significant developments and scaled new heights in their mandate to promote welfare of the workers. The ILO is the only Tripartite United Nations Agency that brings together Governments, employers and workers of 187 Member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes to promote decent work for all women and men and to provide social protection to workers. India is a founder member of the ILO and has a rich legacy of upholding the ILO’s objectives and spirit. India’s well-established Tripartite mechanisms that are at the heart of the ILO’s consultative process (where adequate representation is given to Workers’/Employers’ and the Government) have resulted in a robust and dynamic system of deliberative process for labour reform.

The main aims of the ILO are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues. The ILO achieves its mandate by way of setting up of international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations. Conventions are international treaties and instruments, which are legally binding obligations on the countries that have ratified them. Therefore, every ratified convention is embedded in the constitutional principles of a country or backed by a supporting legal or policy framework. Recommendations are non-binding and set out guidelines orienting national policies and actions.

The three organs of the ILO are:

• International Labour Conference – General Assembly of the ILO – Meets every year in the month of June.
• Governing Body – Executive Council of the ILO. Meets three times in a year in the months of March, June and November.
• International Labour Office – A permanent secretariat.

Except for the interruption caused by the Second World War, the International Labour Conference has been convening its first session in 1919 to meet at least once a year. The Conference, assisted by the Governing Body, adopts biennial Programme and budget, adopts International Labour Standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations and provides a platform for discussing social, economic and labour related issues. India has regularly and actively participated in the Conference and has sent tripartite delegations. The Conference has seen the presence of Indian Presidents viz. Sir Atul Chatterjee (1927), Dr. Nagendra Singh, the then Minister for Labour (1950), Dr. Nagendra Singh later served in the International Court of Justice (1970) and Shri Khandubhai Desai, the then Minister of Labour and Parliamentary Affairs (1971). There have also been 8 Indian Vice Presidents of the International Labour Conference, 2 from the Government group, 3 from the Employers’ group and 3 from the Workers’ group. India has also been part of important Committees of the Conference such as Committee on Application of Standards, Selection Committee and Resolutions Committee.

The Governing Body of the ILO is the executive wing of the Organization. It is also tripartite in character. Since 1922 India has been holding a non-elective seat on the Governing Body as one of the 10 countries of chief industrial importance. Indian employers’ and workers’ representatives have been elected as Members of the Governing Body from time to time. Four Indians have so far been appointed as Chair of the Governing Body. They are: Mr. Atul Chatterjee, Shri Shambhunath Jauhari, Secretary, Ministry of Labour (1937), Shri T. R. Mairani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour (1963) and Shri B. G. Deshmukh, Union Labour Secretary (1972). Indians have taken part in the proceedings of all the meetings and sessions of the Governing Body viz. Institutional Section (INS), Legal and International Labour Standards Section (LILS), Programme, Financial and Administrative Section (PFA); High-level Section (HL); and Workers’ Activities Functioning of the Governing Body and Policy Development Committee (WP/GBC).

The International Labour Office, Geneva, provides the Secretariat for all ILO Conferences and other meetings and is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of decisions taken by the Conference, Governing Body etc. Indians have held positions of prominence in the International Labour Office.

Out of the 190 ILO Conventions, of which, 8 Conventions are core conventions, India has ratified 47 Conventions and one Protocol of which include 6 core or fundamental human rights Conventions. The core ILO Conventions ratified by India are:
(i) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),
(ii) Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105),
(iii) Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100),
(iv) Discrimination (Employment & Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111),
(v) Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and
(vi) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

The ILO has rendered 100 years of sustained service to the cause of humanity by seeking universal peace through social justice. All these years, the ILO has made a lasting impact on the world of work and has brought about remarkable improvements in the lives of millions of women and men. The ILO has completed 100 years of its existence. This also marks India’s association with the ILO for 100 years.