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See also: List of International Labour Organization Conventions

Forced Labour

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Krychów forced labour camp 1940 (Krowie Bagno)

The ILO has considered the fight against forced labour to be one of its main priorities. During the interwar years, the issue was mainly considered a colonial phenomenon, and the ILO's concern was to establish minimum standards protecting the inhabitants of colonies from the worst abuses committed by economic interests. After 1945, the goal became to set a uniform and universal standard, determined by the higher awareness gained during World War II of politically and economically motivated systems of forced labour, but debates were hampered by the Cold War and by exemptions claimed by colonial powers. Since the 1960s, declarations of labour standards as a component of human rights have been weakened by government of postcolonial countries claiming a need to exercise extraordinary powers over labour in their role as emergency regimes promoting rapid economic development.[1]

Ratifications of the ILO's 1930 Forced Labour Convention, with non-ratifiers shown in red

In June 1998 the International Labour Conference adopted a Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its follow-up that obligates member states to respect, promote and realize freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, the effective abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

With the adoption of the declaration, the ILO created the InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration which is responsible for the reporting processes and technical cooperation activities associated with the declaration; and it carries out awareness raising, advocacy and knowledge functions.

In November 2001, following the publication of the InFocus Programme's first global report on forced labour, the ILO's governing body created a special action programme to combat forced labour (SAP-FL),[2] as part of broader efforts to promote the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its follow-up.

Ratifications of the ILO's 1957 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, with non-ratifiers shown in red

Since its inception, the SAP-FL has focused on raising global awareness of forced labour in its different forms, and mobilizing action against its manifestation. Several thematic and country-specific studies and surveys have since been undertaken, on such diverse aspects of forced labour as bonded labour, human trafficking, forced domestic work, rural servitude, and forced prisoner labour.

In 2013, the SAP-FL was integrated into the ILO's Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS)[3] bringing together the fight against forced and child labour and working in the context of Alliance 8.7.[4]

One major tool to fight forced labour was the adoption of the ILO Forced Labour Protocol by the International Labour Conference in 2014. It was ratified for the second time in 2015 and on 9 November 2016 it entered into force. The new protocol brings the existing ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labour,[5] adopted in 1930, into the modern era to address practices such as human trafficking. The accompanying Recommendation 203 provides technical guidance on its implementation.[6]

In 2015, the ILO launched a global campaign to end modern slavery, in partnership with the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The 50 for Freedom campaign aims to mobilize public support and encourage countries to ratify the ILO's Forced Labour Protocol.[7]

Minimum Wage Law

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To protect the right of labours for fixing minimum wage, ILO has created Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928, Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention, 1951 and Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 as minimum wage law.

Commercialized Sex

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'White Slavery'
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Before the creation of the ILO in 1919, legislation and preconceived notions about commercialized sex already existed around the globe. The first example of this legislation was passed by the British parliament in 1885. Local citizens in Britain demanded the abolishment of white slavery and the age of consent for girls raised.[8] The term 'White Slavery' became extremely popular in the late 19th century and was used to describe white prostitutes who had been taken advantage of by professional seducers who had manipulated the women into being prostitutes.[9] After the turn of the twentieth century the focus of laws in England shifted from the protection of young girls to protecting the country's borders from the threat of foreign girls.[8] England was the first country to ever have legislation limiting immigration into England, this legislation was established in 1905 and was at first used to prevent Jewish immigrants from entering England but also had unforeseen consequences for young women believed to be prostitutes.[8] The Alien Acts of 1905 created the foundation for future legislation that would be used to crack down on foreign prostitutes.[8] This law was written to prevent foreign prostitutes from entering England, unfortunately, it was not enforced to prevent the exploitation of young women, but instead was used to secure the borders of the country.[8]

Inter-War Period

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From the moment its creation in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, commercialized sex has been a controversial issue for the ILO. Prior to the creation of the ILO and League of Nations, the issue of sex work had been had been exclusively under the jurisdiction of the state, now, the ILO and League of Nations believed the issue transcended borders and within their jurisdiction.[10] After the creation of the ILO, commercialized sex was considered both immoral and criminal activity. Initially, the ILO strongly believed prostitution was linked to single women emigrating to other nations without being under the supervision of men and looking for work.[10] After the widespread destruction caused by World War I, and with rising fear of a similar conflict breaking out, the ILO and other European countries believed it was crucial to have a healthy labor force and military in order to defend their country, women selling sex and spreading contagion required regulation.[11]Under the leadership of the French socialist Albert Thomas, the ILO created a medical division whose primary focus was male sailors whose lives were viewed as "nomadic" and "promiscuous" which made these men susceptible to infection of STD's.[11] After the conclusion of the Genoa maritime conference in 1920, the ILO proclaimed itself as the critical member of the prevention and treatment of STD's in sailors. Under this new leadership, the ILO shifted it's stance from the medical treatment and prevention of STD's to a moralistic approach.[11]This shift occurred after the ILO began aligning itself with a religious approach which condemned sex outside the institution of marriage.[11]The ILO also sought to achieve labor rights for women that made up vulnerable groups. This approach can be credited to the presence of women at ILO conferences who would not let men ignore the trafficking of migrant workers.[12] During the 1930s, members that attended ILO Conferences agreed that sex was not considered work and even defined work as involving industrial labor, not activities involving sexual acts.[13]The ILO believed that if women worked industrial jobs, this would be a deterrent from them living immoral lives. In order to make these industrial jobs more attractive, the ILO realized that women had to be protected in the workplace, including migrant women. This meant better wages and safer working conditions were both used as tools to prevent women from falling victim to the temptation of trying to find a way out of industrial labor.[14]

Postwar Period

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After the surrender of the Japanese military and the end of World War II, a new inter-governmental governing body, the United Nations, was formed. After the war, the ILO never directly addressed the issue of prostitution. During the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the ILO never objected to calls by delegates to abolish both trafficking and prostitution.[15] Socialist countries proclaimed they had eliminated the issue of prostitution through the economic improvement of their citizens, this claim attempted the link prostitution with economic issues.[15] Following the creation of the United Nations, the ILO took a back seat to the newly formed organization on the issue of commercialized sex. In a report published by the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs in 1959, trafficking and prostitution were linked together and were thus, considered to be the same.[15] Different organizations like the UN Economic and Social Council and the International Police Organization sought to end any activity that resembled slavery in any manner.[15] These new initiatives created by the United Nations would directly lead to the debates that would occur at the World Conference on Women in Mexico City during International Women's Year in 1975.[16] Coming out of the Conference in Mexico City, delegates who were present pleaded with governments all over the globe to create legislation and take action to prevent the forced prostitution of both women and children.[16]

Post 1975 Conference
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Beginning in 1976, the ILO and other organizations began to examine the working and living conditions of rural women inside Third World and developing countries.[17] One example the ILO investigated was the “go-go” bars and the growing phenomenon of “hired wives” in Thailand, which both thrived because the development of U.S. military bases in the region.[17] In the late 1970s, the ILO established the “Programme on Rural Women,” which investigated the involvement of young masseuses in the sex trade in Bangkok.[17] As part of this investigation, Pasuk Phongpaichit, a Thai doctor who received their degree from Cambridge University, interviewed fifty masseuses and explored why these rural women were migrating from the countryside to Bangkok and why they chose to become prostitutes.[17] Phongpaichit also investigated the women’s experiences after migrating and the impact on the women’s families after leaving the countryside.[17] This report exposed the wide income gap between rural and urban families and emphasized economic motives.[17] It was critical because it was the first time in the history of the ILO or any of its branches that prostitution was described as a form of labor.[17] In the decades that followed, the increase in sexual tourism and the exploding AIDS epidemic strengthened ILO interest in the commercial sex trade.[18] An ILO Senior Specialist on Women Workers’ Questions for Asia and the Pacific, Lin Lim, published another study directly influenced by Phongpaichit’s findings. Lim’s study detailed the different social and economic factors that directly contributed to the growth of the sex industry in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.[18] The findings emphasized the economic reasons for and advantages of entering into the commercial sex trade, including increased wages, flexibility between work and home life and the ability to migrate.[18] The authors of this report argued the sex industry should be recognized as a legitimate economic sector.[18] It would take another decade until the ILO discussed commercialized sex, this time, it would be under the shadow of the exploding AIDS epidemic.

HIV/AIDS

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The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the lead UN-agency on HIV workplace policies and programmes and private sector mobilization. ILOAIDS[19] is the branch of the ILO dedicated to this issue.

The ILO has been involved with the HIV response since 1998, attempting to prevent potentially devastating impact on labour and productivity and that it says can be an enormous burden for working people, their families and communities. In June 2001, the ILO's governing body adopted a pioneering code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work,[20] which was launched during a special session of the UN General Assembly.

The same year, ILO became a cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

In 2010, the 99th International Labour Conference adopted the ILO's recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the world of work, 2010 (No. 200),[21] the first international labour standard on HIV and AIDS. The recommendation lays out a comprehensive set of principles to protect the rights of HIV-positive workers and their families, while scaling up prevention in the workplace. Working under the theme of Preventing HIV, Protecting Human Rights at Work, ILOAIDS undertakes a range of policy advisory, research and technical support functions in the area of HIV and AIDS and the world of work. The ILO also works on promoting social protection as a means of reducing vulnerability to HIV and mitigating its impact on those living with or affected by HIV.

ILOAIDS ran a "Getting to Zero"[22] campaign to arrive at zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero-discrimination by 2015.[23][needs update] Building on this campaign, ILOAIDS is executing a programme of voluntary and confidential counselling and testing at work, known as VCT@WORK.[24]

Migrant Workers

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As the word "migrant" suggests, migrant workers refer to those who moves from one country to another to do their job. For the rights of migrant workers, ILO has adopted conventions, including Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 and United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in 1990.[25]

Domestic Workers

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Domestic workers are those who perform a variety of tasks for and in other peoples' homes. For example, they may cook, clean the house, and look after children. Yet they are often the ones with the least consideration, excluded from labour and social protection. This is mainly due to the fact that women have traditionally carried out the tasks without pay.[26] For the rights and decent work of domestic workers including migrant domestic workers, ILO has adopted the Convention on Domestic Workers on 16 June 2011.

ILO and Globalization

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Seeking a process of globalization that is inclusive, democratically governed and provides opportunities and tangible benefits for all countries and people. The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization was established by the ILO's governing body in February 2002 at the initiative of the director-general in response to the fact that there did not appear to be a space within the multilateral system that would cover adequately and comprehensively the social dimension of the various aspects of globalization. The World Commission Report, A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All, is the first attempt at structured dialogue among representatives of constituencies with different interests and opinions on the social dimension of globalization.[27]

Future of Work

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The ILO launched the Future of Work Initiative in order to gain understanding on the transformations that occur in the world of work and thus be able to develop ways of responding to these challenges.[28] The initiative begun in 2016 by gathering the views of government representatives, workers, employers, academics and other relevant figures around the world.[29] About 110 countries participated in dialogues at the regional and national level. These dialogues were structured around "four centenary conversations: work and society, decent jobs for all, the organization of work and production, and the governance of work." The second step took place in 2017 with the establishment of the Global Commission on the Future of Work dealing with the same "four centenary conversations". A report was published for the 2019 Centenary International Labour Conference. ILO also assessed the impact of technological disruptions on employments worldwide. The agency was worried about the global economic and health impact of technology, like industrial and process automation, artificial intelligence (AI), Robots and robotic process of automation on human labour and was increasingly being considered by commentators, but in widely divergent ways. Among the salient views technology was going to bring less work, make workers redundant or end work by replacing the human labour. The other fold of view was technological creativity and abundant opportunities for economy boosts. In the modern era, technology has changed the way we think, design, and deploy the system solutions, but no doubt there are threats to human jobs. Paul Schulte (Director of the Education and Information Division, and Co-Manager of the Nanotechnology Research Center, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control) and DP Sharma, (International Consultant, Information Technology and Scientist) clearly articulated such disruptions and warned that it will be worse than ever before if appropriate, timely actions are not taken. They said that human generation needs to reinvent in terms of competitive accuracy, speed, capacity and honesty. Machines are more honest than human labours and pose a crystal clear threat to this generation. The science and technology have no reverse gear and accepting the challenge "Human vs. Machine" is the only remedy for survival.[30][31][32][33]

The ILO has also looked at the transition to a green economy, and the impact thereof on employment. It came to the conclusion a shift to a greener economy could create 24 million new jobs globally by 2030, if the right policies are put in place. Also, if a transition to a green economy were not to take place, 72 million full-time jobs may be lost by 2030 due to heat stress, and temperature increases will lead to shorter available work hours, particularly in agriculture[34][35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Daniel Roger Maul (2007). "The International Labour Organization and the Struggle against Forced Labour from 1919 to the Present". Labor History. 48 (4): 477–500. doi:10.1080/00236560701580275. S2CID 154924697.
  2. ^ "Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery". ilo.org.
  3. ^ "FUNDAMENTALS". ilo.org.
  4. ^ "Alliance 8.7". alliance87.org.
  5. ^ "ILO Convention 29".
  6. ^ "ILO Recommendation 203".
  7. ^ "50 for freedom".
  8. ^ a b c d e Lammasniemi, Laura (November 16, 2017). "'White Slavery': The Origins of the Anti-Trafficking Movement". OpenDemocracy. Retrieved May 6, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "A Brief History of Prostitution in the US | The Libertarian Institute". https://libertarianinstitute.org/. Retrieved 2022-05-09. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  10. ^ a b Boris, Eileen; Rodriguez Garcia, Magaly (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: pp. 197 – via Project MUSE. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  11. ^ a b c d Boris, Eileen; Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: pp. 198 – via Project MUSE. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  12. ^ Boris, Eileen; Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: pp. 199 – via Project MUSE. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  13. ^ Boris, Eileen; Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: pp. 200 – via Project MUSE. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  14. ^ Boris, Eileen; Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: pp. 201 – via Project MUSE. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  15. ^ a b c d Boris, Eileen; Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: pp. 202 – via Project MUSE. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  16. ^ a b Boris, Eileen; Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (Winter 2021). "(In)Decent Work: Sex and the ILO". Journal of Women's History. 33: 203 – via Project MUSE.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (2018). Bosma, Ulbe; Hofmeester, Karin (eds.). The ILO and the Oldest Non-Profession in The Lifework of a Labor Historian: Essays in Honor of Marcel van der Linden. Brill. p. 105.
  18. ^ a b c d Garcia, Magaly Rodriguez (2018). Bosma, Ulbe; Hofmeester, Karin (eds.). The ILO and the Oldest Non-Profession in The Lifework of a Labor Historian: Essays in Honor of Marcel van der Linden. Brill. p. 106.
  19. ^ "HIV/AIDS and the World of Work Branch (ILOAIDS)". ilo.org.
  20. ^ "The ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work". ilo.org. June 2001.
  21. ^ "Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010 (No. 200)". ilo.org.
  22. ^ "Getting to Zero". Archived from the original on 9 December 2014.
  23. ^ "UNAIDS". unaids.org.
  24. ^ "VCT@WORK: 5 million women and men workers reached with Voluntary and confidential HIV Counseling and Testing by 2015". ilo.org.
  25. ^ Kumaraveloo, K Sakthiaseelan; Lunner Kolstrup, Christina (2018-07-03). "Agriculture and musculoskeletal disorders in low- and middle-income countries". Journal of Agromedicine. 23 (3): 227–248. doi:10.1080/1059924x.2018.1458671. ISSN 1059-924X. PMID 30047854. S2CID 51719997.
  26. ^ "Domestic workers". ilo.org. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  27. ^ "The Future of Work".
  28. ^ "The Future of Work".
  29. ^ Silva, Vicente (2021). "The ILO and the future of work: The politics of global labour policy". Global Social Policy. doi:10.1177/14680181211004853. S2CID 233605885.
  30. ^ Howard, Paul Schulte & John (2019-03-09). "The impact of technology on work and the workforce". www.ilo.org. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  31. ^ "इंडस्ट्रियल इंटरनेट ऑफ़ थिंग्स से 5 साल में 20-34 प्रतिशत रोजगार हो जाएंगे कम : प्रोफेसर शर्मा". Patrika News (in Hindi). Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  32. ^ "An Entrepreneur Should Be Aware of the Dangers in Human Resource Tech". www.internationalnewsandviews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  33. ^ "Industrial development should be balanced with natural justice and development". www.internationalnewsandviews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  34. ^ Green economy could create 24 million new jobs
  35. ^ Greening with jobs – World Employment and Social Outlook 2018

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