The International Labor Organization - Assignment Example

Running Head: International Labor Organization International Labor Organization of the of the International Labor Organization If the work οf International Labor Organization (ILO) is to continue to be fruitful, some changes are required. However, it is also necessary to ensure that such changes do not weaken what has proven to be a powerful and useful tool to promote human rights and social justice. The following are some possible solutions to previously highlighted problems. Competing organizations The proliferation οf organizations with different visions of, and solutions to social problems will certainly continue, and the ILOs clear position as the leader in the social field is therefore subject to continued question. While no other U.N. organization has announced a clear intention to take the lead in these areas, this has been happening by attrition as the financial institutions, various bodies οf the United Nations itself, and others gradually move to occupy part οf the same terrain. However, the ILO itself appears not to have clearly enunciated and defended its own particular vision. For instance, the investment οf the ILO in relations with the other organizations οf the global socioeconomic system has been limited. The ILO must be clear that its message deserves to be communicated. When officials and deliberative bodies οf other organizations are informed οf ILO standards and procedures, the most frequent response is that they are excellent, but are not truly authoritative if they have not been adopted by the United Nations itself. (Kang 2007) The ILO must ensure that its standards and vision are not undercut by, but conform with, the work οf other organizations. This will require a more constant ILO presence in meetings οf other deliberative bodies. The second strategy is for the ILO to articulate a clear and persuasive message for the future throughout the global economy. This task relates in large part to the eventual resolution οf the problem οf competing visions but it also requires that the ILO make itself better known. Also necessary are more discussions on the ILOs work in such fora as academic circles as well as in discussions between the United States and other countries on compliance with international standards on workers rights. Competing visions The opinion that "deregulation is the solution to all economic problems" is no longer as popular as it was, but a great deal remains to be done to define the limits οf deregulation and re-regulation. The ILO itself has been doing this for the past 2 years in a special Interdepartmental Project on Structural Adjustment. In a report submitted to the June 1994 session οf the International Labor Conference, Michel Hansenne, ILO Director-General, noted that neither developing nor developed countries are inclined to reinforce or even to maintain previous levels οf social protection if substantial costs are involved. He has therefore proposed that the ILO proceed along three lines to review standard-setting work: ( 1) The ILO should better adapt its standard setting to real and pressing needs; it has to allow for situations οf member states, whose increasingly different circumstances and needs sometimes make it difficult for them to adhere to a common code; ( 2) Conventions should be reexamined to define a general framework οf obligations that states can implement in a way compatible with their own legal systems and stages οf development; this does not mean that ILO standards should take a "lowest-common-denominator" approach, because this would weaken the purpose οf standards--to promote social progress--and would perhaps accelerate the trend toward creating regional standard-setting bodies; and ( 3) ILO should consolidate existing standards, and perhaps revise groups οf Conventions, replacing them with a single standard per subject, and perhaps adopt "soft laws," which are statements οf principle, to serve as guidance on some subjects. The employers group in the ILO has long been the most vocal critic οf ILO standard-setting. A March 1994 paper by the International Organization οf Employers states that standards are "not necessarily the best means by which to achieve the Organizations objectives . . . [but this] does not mean putting the validity οf this activity to question." The employers call for a slower pace οf standard-setting and for more general obligations, with instruments limited to the essentials and devised for sufficient flexibility. Moreover, the employers believe the ILO should give greater attention to nonbinding standards, declarations, Recommendations, and other forms οf policy guidance. (Simpson 2000) The view οf the workers group is in a 1994 publication by Bill Brett, a public sector union official from the United Kingdom and chairman οf the Workers Group οf the ILO Governing Body: "There may be a case for attenuating the rhythm οf bringing standards forward, though this needs further consideration, but there is not a case for moving away from the ILOs juridical approach . . . The idea οf sub-standards (i.e., soft law) was raised in the context οf African nations in the 1970s but it was quickly shot down . . . Declarations οf intent, codes οf conduct, [and] non-binding commitments may have a role to play, but they represent a dangerous turn away from the ILOs strength which is its declaration οf international labor law." (Weisband 2000) The ILO recognizes that if it is to defend its own vision, it must do so more aggressively. At the World Conference on Human Rights (held in Vienna in 1993), the ILO proposed that human rights concerns be incorporated into the work οf all U.N.-system organizations--the first time that this concept has been stated so clearly. The ILO is also working to insert its point οf view into the deliberations leading up to the Social Summit, the World Conference on Population, and the Fourth World Conference on Women, all to be held in the coming months. On the issue οf inserting human rights concerns into development activities, the ILO has been stirred into action since a 1985 internal survey concluded that its standard-setting and technical assistance activities had become steadily more distant from each other since technical cooperation was begun in the 1950s. ILO policy now states that all οf its activities--research, technical cooperation, and policy advice--must have as their principal objective the promotion οf the values contained in the Constitutions and the standards adopted by the constituents. This may be compared with the rest οf the U.N. system, which is only beginning to pursue the idea that the systems development activities should have some organic link with the human rights standards adopted by the General Assembly. This approach has been reinforced by the ILO adoption οf the "Active Partnership Policy." (Liebel 2007; Heitmann 2004) Weakening constituents Over the years, certain changes have weakened older ideas οf the relations among labor, capital, and government, but conditions may be beginning to settle down. Trade unions, in particular, are emerging from a situation in which they had gained enormous politico-economic power in some countries, then lost it. In Western countries, trade unions are returning to their original mission οf protecting workers against exploitation. This will be easier when there is an economic upturn in the developed world, and unemployment diminishes. In addition, the loosening οf the political bonds on trade union organization in Eastern Europe and in Latin America should lead to a revitalization οf the international workers movement. Something similar might occur in Asia as increasing prosperity οf employers leads to growing demands for equity from a working class that has not been vocal, but that increasingly has reasons to demand its part οf a growing economic pie. In particular, there should be global reviews οf the standards already adopted on particular problems. For instance, the 10 earlier Conventions on child labor were revised in 1973 to adopt the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). However, this, in itself, proved not to be a panacea. Only about 40 countries have ratified Convention No. 138, while most ILO members remain bound by one or more οf the narrower Conventions with lower standards adopted since 1919. Thus, a concentrated ratification campaign must be carried out to replace older obligations and avoid undertaking new ones, whenever revised standards are adopted. (Salt 1994; Mulford 2000) Do standards have a future? The future direction οf ILOs standards is not yet clear, but it is evident that standards remain fundamental to the organizations purpose. However, as pointed out, problems exist in the relations between different organizations, between different visions οf the organization and its aims, and among the ILOs own constituents. An emerging debate both within and outside the ILO involves "social clauses." This corresponds to the United States attempt to insert the question οf the relationship between "internationally-recognized workers rights" and international trade into the agenda οf GATT and the new World Trade Organization. The ILO Director-General recognizes that many perceive the promotion οf social clauses as a protectionist ploy, but also that the ILO cannot remain isolated from this problem. This debate will continue both inside and outside the ILO. The Organizations own constituents do not agree with each other, making it impossible for the ILO to act collectively at this time. The Director-General has stated that the only answer the ILO can adopt is to "rely on cooperation rather than coercion in its efforts to promote social progress. The ILOs vocation is to help its members realize the objective οf social progress . . . through an ongoing debate to remind member States οf their obligations." This discussion, with its potential to dismantle the ILOS standard-setting system while simultaneously recognizing that ILO standards are the only credible guidelines for the international regulation οf workers rights, may have more influence on the ILOs future than any οf the internal changes that might occur. If the ILO can face the problems and resolve internal conflicts, as well as conflicts with the rest οf the international system, it has a long and influential future ahead. There is a pressing need for international labor standards to achieve rational and humane economies--this, at least, is a common thread among the ILOs constituents as they argue about the appropriate focus--the proper balance between regulation and guidance. What they do not debate is the need to adopt the principles set in ILO standards in situations such as Eastern Europes adoption οf market economies, the transformation οf the Occupied Arab Territories into some form οf independent entity, and South Africas struggle with the aftermath οf apartheid. The discussions among ILO delegates and with other interested parties during this anniversary year should do much to determine whether the organization will be able to resolve its internal difficulties and move ahead with confidence. References Kang, Susan., International Institutions and Human Rights: The ILO in Protecting British Columbia’s Public Employee’s Labor Rights. Conference Papers -- International Studies Association, 2007 Mulford, C., What is the ILO?... International Labor Organization.; ILCA Globe, 2000; 8 (2): 4, 13 (journal article - website) Heitmann, John., The ILO And The Regulation Οf White Lead In Britain During The Interwar Years: An Examination Οf International And National Campaigns In Occupational Health. Labour History Review, Dec2004, Vol. 69 Issue 3, p267-284 Liebel, Manfred., Opinion, Dialogue, Review: The New ILO Report on Child Labour--A Success Story, or the ILO Still at a Loss? Childhood: A Global Journal οf Child Research, v14 n2 p279-284 May 2007 Salt, Allan., Training programs: The key to achieving ILO goals. Monthly Labor Review, Sep94, Vol. 117 Issue 9, p32 Weisband, Edward., Discursive Multilateralism: Global Benchmarks, Shame, and Learning in the ILO Labor Standards Monitoring Regime. International Studies Quarterly, Dec2000, Vol. 44 Issue 4, p643 Simpson, William R., The ILO and tripartism: Some reflections. Monthly Labor Review, Sep94, Vol. 117 Issue 9, p40 Read More