ILO and the

8/8/2019 ILO and the

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INTRODUCTION ANDESTABLISHMENT OF ILOAND

THERATIFICATIONPROCEDURE


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INTRODUCTION The International Labour Organization was created in

1919, at the end of the First World War, at the time ofthe Peace Conference which convened first in Paris, thenat Versailles.

The need for such an organization had been advocated in

the nineteenth century by two industrialists, RobertOwen (1771-1853) of Wales and Daniel Legrand (1783-1859) of France.

The Constitution was drafted between January and

April, 1919, by the Labour Commission set up by thePeace Conference.

It was composed of representatives from nine countries:Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan,

Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.


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The initial motivation was humanitarian.

The second motivation was political.

The third motivation was economic.

Another reason for the creation of theInternational Labour Organization.


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HOW THE ILO FUNCTIONS

The International Labour Organization (ILO) seeks

peace and justice and aims to create a socially stable

climate in which the wealth that is produced byworkers benefits them as well as their employers. Since

its foundation in 1919, the ILO has sought to improve

the conditions of labour for workers worldwide.


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CONVENTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

An ILO Convention is a minimum standard, and

negotiation leading to the final text of a Convention

can take several years. Once it is ratified by a Member

State, a Convention is binding on that state under

international law, which means that the countrys laws

must be brought into conformity with the Convention.

If a Member State that has ratified a Convention later

modifies its legislation, it cannot go below the minimum

standard of the Convention.


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Recommendations are not open for ratification, andtherefore are not binding. They provide further details

or give guidelines for setting higher standards that go

beyond the minimum standards set in the Conventions in other words, they provide a certain direction

towards improvement.

Once a Convention is adopted by the ILO GeneralConference, it is open for ratification by all Member

States. A Convention enters into force one year after

two Member States have ratified it.


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RATIFICATION PROCESS OF ILO

CONVENTIONS

1)Submission to the competent national

authorities

Once an ILO Convention/Recommendation has beenadopted by the International Labour Conference, the

instrument is sent to all Member States for

consideration. The ILO Constitution requires that theinstrument be sent to the representatives of the national

organisations of employers and of workers as well as

to the governments.


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2) if A member state decides to ratify

When a Member State ratifies the Convention, it agrees

to two important things:

It agrees to implement the Convention. Thus, national

legislation must be reviewed vis--vis the provisions ofthe Convention. A country that ratifies is not allowed to

pick and choose parts of the Convention as it wishes. In the

long term, all of the provisions must be applied in national

law and practice.


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It must report at regular intervals to the

supervisory mechanisms of the ILO. The

regulatory supervisory machinery of the ILO comes

into force 12 months after the Director General of

the ILO has been notified of the ratification.


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3) if a member state takes no action

The Committee of Experts will remind the Member State

of its obligation to submit the ILO instrument to the

competent authorities. A first reminder is sent out 12

months after the closing of the ILO Conference session. A

second reminder is sent out after 18 months have elapsed.


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4) if a member state chooses not to ratify

the convention

After the state has submitted the instrument to its competent

national authorities, the Governing Body of the ILO may request

the state to report at appropriate intervals, showing the

impediments to ratification that exist at the level of national law

and practice. The example of Ghana highlights the potential role

and impact of civil society organisations in the early stages of the

ratification process.


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RATIFICATION PROCEDURE ININDIA

In India, the treaty making power is within the competence of thegovernment of India.

The power to enact and implement legislation lies in the hands of theParliament.

The Director General of the ILO sends a certified copy of the

convention, once it is born to all member states.

Since in India labour is in the concurrent list of the constitution, theGovernment of India dispatches the convention to the stategovernments, to the Ministries of Labour of the union, as well as tothe All India Organisations of workers and employers inviting their

views regarding the desirability and practicability of giving effect tothese standards.

A statement of action is drawn up, taking into account the commentsreceived, is considered by the union cabinet and is placed beforeParliament, where the proposals are discussed from all aspects.


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Copies of the statements are forwarded to the International labouroffice, the State governments, and the workers and employersorganizations.

Follow-up action, by way of ratification of conventions is taken upsubsequently.

The Tripartite committee of India was set up to draw up a programof implementation of the ILO conventions.

This committee makes a detail scrutiny of the ILO instruments.

It is on the recommendation of this committee that India ratifiesconventions & recommendations.

In case that the committee has not ratified a particular instrument iffocuses on the reasons of non-ratification.

India has so far ratified 32 conventions of the 148 adopted by ILO. Again 31 recommendations were ratified by India out of the 156

adopted by ILO.

The main criteria for adopting ILOs standards are its relevance tothe immediate needs and conditions of society.


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The largest number of conventions relate to seafarers, generalconditions of employment and social security.

Information on measures taken in pursuance of the ratifiedconventions has to be conveyed through annual reports to be sent tothe International labour Office.

These reports are examined by an independent committee of experts

to ensure compliance. Some of the factors responsible for non ratification of conventions by

India are constitutional and administrative.

Political difficulties sometimes prevent non ratification.


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ILO and the

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