Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Organisation
Powerless yet Important? The ILO
and International Labor Standards
Referat von Yuan-Juhn Chiao, Veronika Rott, Stephanie Klein, Iris Hadrossek, Juliane Georg
Presentation Plan
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6.
Introduction
The ILO
Conventions and Core Conventions
Role of the ILO in Globalization
Codes of Conduct
Internal and External Monitoring
Principle objectives
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Functions
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Technical assistance
History
1919 founded, first annual International Labour Conference,
constitution
1920 established headquarters in Geneva
1926 set up of the supervisory system on the application of
its standards
1944 Declaration of Philadelphia
1946 became the first specialized agency associated with the UN
1960 creation of the International Institute for Labour Studies
1965 creation of the International Training Centre in Turin
1969 ILO awarded the Nobel Peace
at its 50th anniversary
1998 Declaration of Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work and 8 core conventions
Structure
The ILO has a unique
tripartite structure
with workers and
employers
participating as equal
partners with
governments in the
work of its governing
organs.
worker
25%
government
50%
25%
employer
Governing Body
- executive council
- decisions on ILOs policy
- establish programme and budget
Conventions
normal conventions and core
conventions
n Form of establishing labour standards
n Focuses on technical questions
concerning actual working conditions
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Core Conventions
Forced Labour Convention / No. 29
n The Freedom of Association and
Protection of Right to Organize
Convention / No. 87
n Right to Organize and Collective Bargain
Convention / No. 98
n Equal Remuneration Convention / No. 100
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Ratification
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Convention
Total ratifications
No. 29
Forced Labour
153
No. 87
Freedom of
Association
131
No. 98
Right to organize
147
No. 100
Equal Remuneration
148
No. 105
Abolition of Forced
Labour
146
No. 111
Employment and
Occupation
144
No. 138
Minimum Age
99
No. 182
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Enforcement
Enforcement mechanisms
sunshine
carrots
sticks
Enforcement Power
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Recent Developments:
1.
2.
3.
ILO initiatives:
1994 Working Party on the Social
Dimensions of the Liberalization of
International Trade
Remarks:
ILO
codes of conduct
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codes of conduct
Can be internal (company itself drafts the
code)
n Or external (ILO/OECD codes, South
Africa case, Starbucks case)
n Can address any issue (e.g. workplace
issues, workers rights or environmental
issues)
Overview
Systems for monitoring labor standards
1. Nongovernmental Monitoring Systems in
connection with the codes of conduct
2. Monitoring System of the ILO and the
tools for improving working conditions
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Nongovernmental Monitoring
Systems
Internal monitoring by brands and retailers
n External monitoring by third-party
organizations
n Independent investigations by NGOs,
unions, and private individuals
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Code of Conduct
1992
n On labor and environmental practices
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Monitoring System
Implementation of an internal compliance
division
n Monitoring of the suppliers by Nike staff
n Review by external consulting firms
Evaluation System
Performance rankings
n High scorers garner more lucrative orders
n Low scorers risk losing contracts
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External Monitoring
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Monitoring System
Combination of internal and external
monitoring
n External auditors and factories of
monitoring are selected by the FLA
n Announced and unannounced visits
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Certification
Applies for an entire brand
n Developing of a service mark, with
information on compliance
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Public disclosure
Summaries of audit results
n Participating companies are listed on the
FLA website
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Criticism
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Independent Investigations
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Strategies
Inspection of factories due to worker
complaints
n Proactive inspections in countries with low
labor standards
n Information disclosure requirements
WRC goals
Compliance with a base code of conduct
of factories that produce universitybranded apparel
n Education of workers about university
codes and reporting of code violations
n Collaboration with local NGOs and
activists for investigative efforts
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Public Disclosure
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Criticism
pointing out problems, instead of resolving
them
n Inspection system: limited scope and
coverage
Supervision of compliance
Follow-up Mechanism
Additional tool for implementing the 1998
Declaration
n Requires an annual reporting of countries
that have ratified none of the eight core
conventions, of what they are doing to
promote the conventions
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Technical Assistance
Dissemination of knowledge through
seminars
n Funding for less developed countries
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Enforcement of Conventions
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Consequences of Article 33
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Summing up...
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Literature
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ILO (Ed.): The Model Use of International Labour Standards, onli ne: <http://www.ilo.
org/public/english/standards/norm/howused/model/>. Download: 06.11.2004
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