Decent Work and a Fair Globalization

1
Decent Work and a Fair Globalization  the role
of ILO standards

• International Labour
• Standards Department

2
Policy views on the role of the law in the global
economy

• Private bargaining always leads to more efficient
  outcomes than statutory intervention
• Institutional legal framework necessary to
  produce efficient outcomes
• Institutional legal framework determines the
  distribution of costs and benefits among various
  stakeholders

3
World Commission on the Social Dimension of
Globalisation

• Global markets need  governance , i.e., a set
  of institutions and rules that maintain their
  smooth and equitable functioning
• Avoid market  failures  (e.g., economic crises)
• Redress vast inequalities between and within
  countries
• Strengthen mechanisms for delivering social
  protection-manage change

4
All standards are related to the four pillars of
Decent Work

• Out of 185 Conventions and 195 Recommendations,
  approximately 73 Conventions and 70
  Recommendations are up-to-date
• Fundamental Conventions subject to ratification
  campaign as part of the essential institutional
  framework
• Take stock of the contribution that other
  standards can make to the promotion of Decent
  Work

5
Standards as tools for the promotion of DW...

• Statements of basic principles or objectives
• Legitimacy, credibility and persuasive moral
  force
• Outcome of a democratic, transparent and
  participatory process at the international level
• Approved by tripartite constituents
• Acquired experience and expertise

6
...in different contexts

• Designing national policies and
  legislation/Setting up institutional framework
• Collective bargaining (including global framework
  agreements and regional collective agreements)
• Voluntary initiatives (e.g. CSR, ethical
  investment)
• Advocacy and social mobilisation

7
Employment promotion

• Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)
• Human Resources Development Convention, 1975
  (No. 142)
• Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized
  Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189)
• Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002
  (No. 193)
• Human Resources Development Recommendation (No.
  195)

8
Social protection- conditions of work

• Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1)
  
• Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14)
  
• Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention,
  1930 (No. 30)
• Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95)
• Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131)

9
Social protection - OSH

• Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981
  (No. 155) and Protocol of 2002
• Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001
  (No. 184)
• Hygiene (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1964
  (No. 120)
• Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115)
• Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162)

10
Social protection-social safety net

• Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention,
  1952 (No. 102)
• Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964
  Schedule I amended in 1980 (No. 121)
• Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors Benefits
  Convention, 1967 (No. 128)
• Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention,
  1969 (No. 130)
• Employment Promotion and Protection against
  Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168)
• Migration for Employment Convention (Revised),
  1949 (No. 97)
• Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions)
  Convention, 1975 (No. 143)

11
Social dialogue

• Tripartite Consultations Convention, (C144)

12
Relevant to the informal sector

• Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177)
• Rural Workers Organisations Convention, 1975
  (No. 141)
• Plantations Convention, 1958 (No. 110)

13
Linked to the implementation of the fundamental
Conventions

• Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183)
• Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention,
  1981 (No. 156)
• Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989
  (No. 169)
• Workers Representatives Convention, 1971 (No.
  135)
• Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) and
  Protocol of 1995
• Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969
  (No. 129)

14
Integrating standards in DW

• Emphasis on the essential message, or operational
  priorities, in each group of standards
• 20 families of standards
• Maritime Convention

15
20 families of standards

• freedom of association
• collective bargaining
• forced labour
• child labour
• equality of opportunity and treatment
• tripartite consultation
• labour administration
• labour inspection
• employment policy
• employment promotion
• vocational guidance and training
• employment security

• social policy
• wages
• working time
• occupational safety and health
• social security
• maternity protection
• migrant workers
• seafarers
• fishers
• dockworkers
• indigenous and tribal peoples
• other specific categories of workers

16
Integrating standards in DW

• Distil the core provisions, or basic principles,
  in each family of standards
• Use TC and advocacy to bridge the gap between
  current national capacities and the provisions of
  standards (beyond the fundamental ones)

17
Standards and TC where do we stand?

• Set operational targets to serve as TC objectives
  and benchmarks for the evaluation of TC outcomes
• Standards country profiles giving snapshot of
  national situation can serve as a basis for
  consultations and the setting of national
  priorities (e.g. OSH country profiles)
• Respect-ratify-implement cycle
• Integration in DWCP

18
Standards and advocacy

• Build capacity of participants in social dialogue
  and participatory processes (including PRSPs)
• Need for empirical studies making the economic
  case for standards
• Need for examples of best practices