Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Convention No. 98: The Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining in the 21st Century

The Bureau for Workers’ Activities of the International Labour Office is organizing an International Workers’ Symposium on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining, which will take place from 12 to 15 October 2009 in Geneva.

On 8 June 1949 the International Labour Conference adopted Convention No. 98 in San Francisco. Hence, it will be 60 years old in 2009. It will be most appropriate for the Bureau of Workers’ Activities and the Workers’ group to celebrate the anniversary of a Convention which not only establishes the right of a trade union to exist but also defines its essence and raison d’être – collective bargaining.

In recent years, the right to organize and to bargain collectively has faced the challenges stemming from falling trade union membership, increasing individualization of labour relations and the difficult quest for greater competitiveness and flexibility in the context of globalization. In the circumstances, the capacity of trade unions need to be strengthened in order to face these challenges and enhance the right to organize and collective bargaining and other fundamental rights and principles such as the global platform rules governing the increasing globalization of the economy and the promotion of decent work for all.

In recent years, the right to organize and to bargain collectively has faced the challenges stemming from falling trade union membership, increasing individualization of labour relations and the difficult quest for greater competitiveness and flexibility in the context of globalization. In the circumstances, the capacity of trade unions need to be strengthened in order to face these challenges and enhance the right to organize and collective bargaining and other fundamental rights and principles such as the global platform rules governing the increasing globalization of the economy and the promotion of decent work for all.

Aims

  • To examine recent trends and developments in collective bargaining and the protection of the right to organize.
  • To discuss the relationship between collective bargaining and the social and economic objectives of Decent Work.
  • To identify policies and strategies that would strengthen the capacity of trade unions to organize and to bargain collectively.
  • To identify ways and means of achieving the universal application of the right to organize and to bargain collectively.

Participants will be trade union representatives as well as experts.

Web page
Global Union Research Network (GURN) on Wages and Collective Bargaining
Publications
The Economic Effects of Collective Bargaining Coverage: A Cross-National Analysis [pdf 420KB] Collective bargaining: A fundamental principle, a right, a Convention [pdf 2015KB]