Collective bargaining and the right to strike have become contested issues at the International Labour Conference over the last few years. At this year’s conference, from 28 May to 12 June, trade unions from all over the world are working together to defend what they see as fundamental workers’ rights.
The International Labour Conference, which takes place annually in Geneva, Switzerland, brings together governments, employers, and trade unions from all over the world to discuss key issues in the world of labour, such as youth employment or decent working conditions. Another major role of the institution is to analyse the most serious cases of the violation of trade union rights. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is the oldest functioning international organisation, created before the United Nations, and the only one with a tripartite structure - of governments, employers, and trade unions - which makes it, at least in principle, the most democratic one.
Employers on the offensive
However, over the last few years, the institution has been challenged by employers. Annually since 2012, the employers’ group has tried to boycott the work of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, the central pillar of the ILO’s supervisory system. The group argues that the right to strike is not an explicit right in any ILO Convention, only in ILO jurisprudence. However, trade unions and the ILO Committee of Experts view the right to strike as a fundamental right, a last resort to balance power. The employers’ group also questions the concept of collective bargaining, arguing that the financial crisis needs ‘flexible’ austerity measures. It is not yet clear what tripartite recommendations will be issued this year, given this conflict, and the minimal results achieved during the two preceding conferences.
EI - defending education unions
During the presentation highlighting the most serious cases of violations of workers’ rights, EI will speak in the following sessions:
- On Cambodia, Algeria, and Swaziland, which will focus on the right to freedom of association under ILO Convention 87
- South Korea, on non-discrimination in employment, including dismissal of teachers because trade union activities are considered political
- Ecuador, on freedom of association and collective bargaining, under ILO Convention 98
- The Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger, on the right to education as fundamental in order to eradicate child labour and forced labour
Please click here to watch the video of the inauguration of the conference