Governance and Tripartism Department (GOVERNANCE)

Mission and vision

The Governance and Tripartism Department (GOVERNANCE) provides advice and assistance on a range of topics related to the governance of labour and employment relations. It provides technical inputs for labour law reforms based on ILO conventions and recommendations. It renders state-of-the-art technical support and capacity-building to labour inspectorates and labour administrations in general and assists in developing strategies to achieve compliance with labour laws and occupational safety and health standards. It advocates and helps constituents to build strong and functional institutions and processes for social dialogue. It carries out technical cooperation, research and advocacy functions to assist ILO member States to respect, promote and realize the fundamental principles and rights at work, which are: freedom of association and the effective recognition of 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. It also includes the Better Work Programme which is a joint ILO and IFC technical programme to improve the working conditions in ready-made garment and footwear industry in several countries through participatory and multi-stakeholder arrangements. Read more

Key resources and databases

  1. EPLex

    Employment protection legislation database

    EPLex provides information on all the key topics that are regularly examined in national and comparative studies on employment termination legislation.

  2. AICESIS

    International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions

    The database features an interactive map, contact information and lists that can be sorted by name, country and date of entry.

  3. LEGOSH

    Global database on occupational safety and health legislation

    The database compiles the wealth of OSH legislation and serves as a snapshot of the current major national legislative requirements around the globe.

Focus on

Technical cooperation

  1. Global Flagship Programmes

    GOVERNANCE is host to three flagship programmes of the ILO, which are among the largest development assistance technical cooperation programmes of the Organization: