A major means of ILO action
The adoption of labour laws and regulations is an important means
of implementing ILO standards, promoting the ILO Declaration and
the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and putting the
concept of Decent Work into practice. Under the ILO Constitution,
the Office is committed to offering technical cooperation and advisory
services to member States and to assist them in assessing and,
where necessary, framing or revising their labour laws. This includes
assistance in the development of national laws and regulations
to allow ratification of Conventions or implementation of the corresponding
principles.
How the ILO helps
- First, the elaboration of standards requires that the Office
undertakes thorough research on the national law and practice
of member States, which provide the basis for proposals to the
International Labour Conference as to the shape and content of
an international instrument - to be eventually adopted in the
form of a Convention, a Recommendation or both.
- Secondly, the implementation of ILO standards must be based
inter alia on national laws and regulations, whose elaboration
may require ILO technical assistance if requested. Furthermore,
ILO assistance in the field of labour legislation may be requested
by member States irrespective of whether they have ratified ILO
Conventions, and/or in respect of fields which have not yet been
addressed by ILO standards.
The challenges
The changing economic and technological patterns of the last decade
as well as the globalization of the economy have lead to an increase
in international trade between countries with different levels
of social and labour protection. It is against this changing background
that the role of labour law has been called in question, especially
from the standpoint of the relationship between workers protection
and international cooperation.
It is now increasingly accepted that a regulatory framework is
essential if globalization is to be both socially and economically
sustainable in the long term. Such a framework must include, as
a minimum, all the rights and principles laid out in the ILO fundamental
Conventions but the content and scope of the other work-related
rules remain open to question. The Office is frequently called
upon to provide advice on the basis of international and comparative
labour law in order to help to cast light on the debate at the
national level.
Member States request ILO advice in the field of labour law with
a view to responding to various needs such as:
- to develop national law so that it can fully implement ratified
ILO standards;
- to assess and, where necessary, reorganize the framework regulating
the labour market with a view to adapting it to meet the country's
current needs and challenges;
- to take account of emerging types of employment relationships
so that they can be provided with a suitable regulatory framework;
- to be informed on good practices with regard to a given field.
Various forms of ILO intervention in the field of labour law
The labour law assistance provided by the Office can take different
forms, including the following:
- expertise for assessing the labour law framework in a given
country, or, as the case may be, sub-region;
- advice on the revision of labour law;
- the drafting of laws or regulations;
- technical comments on draft labour legislation, including comments
in the light of ILO standards; this may include proposals for
alternative wording;
- assessment of the existing law enforcement machinery and procedures,
including recommendations for improvements;
- technical information on a wide variety of labour law subjects;
- participation in national discussion fora, including parliamentary committes, on the assessment
and revision of labour law;
- training of national officials - support for the development
of national competency.
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