ILO History
David MORSE accepting the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the ILO, 1959
The International Labour Organization was created in 1919, at the end of the First World War,
at the time of the Peace Conference which convened first in Paris, then at Versailles.
The need for such an organization had been advocated in the nineteenth century by two industrialists,
Robert OWEN (1771-1853) of Wales and Daniel LEGRAND (1783-1859) of France. After having been put to the
test within the International Association for Labour Legislation, founded in Basel in 1901, their ideas
were incorporated into the
Constitution of the International Labour Organization,
adopted by the Peace Conference in April of 1919.
The initial motivation was humanitarian. The condition of workers, more and more numerous and exploited
with no consideration for their health, their family lives and their advancement, was less and less acceptable.
Another reason for the creation of the International Labour Organization was added by the participants of the
Peace Conference, linked to the end of the war to which workers had contributed significantly both on the
battlefield and in industry. This idea appears at the very beginning of the Constitution: "universal and
lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice."
The first annual International Labour Conference met in Washington beginning on 29 October 1919.
It adopted the first six International Labour Conventions, which dealt with hours of work in industry,
unemployment, maternity protection, night work for women, minimum age and night work for young persons in industry.
The Governing Body chose Albert THOMAS as the first Director of the International Labour Office, which
is the permanent Secretariat of the Organization. He was a French politician.
The ILO was set up in Geneva in the summer of 1920. In less than two years, 16 International Labour
Conventions and 18 Recommendations had been adopted. The zeal which drove the Organization was very
quickly toned down. Certain governments felt that there were too many Conventions, the publications
were too critical and the budget too high.
In 1926, an important innovation was introduced when the International Labour Conference set up a
supervisory system on the application of its standards, which still exists today. It created the Committee
of Experts composed of independent jurists responsible for examining government reports and presenting
its own report each year to the Conference.
In 1932, Albert THOMAS suddenly died. His successor, Harold BUTLER of England, was soon confronted by the
Great Depression with its resulting massive unemployment. During this period, workers' and employers'
representatives confronted each other on the subject of the reduction of working hours, without any
appreciable results. In 1934, under the presidency of Franklin D. ROOSEVELT, the United States, which
did not belong to the League of Nations, became a Member of the ILO.
In 1939, John WINANT, an American, succeeded Harold BUTLER who had resigned. His main task was to prepare
the Organization for the imminent war. In May 1940, the situation in Switzerland, isolated and threatened
in the heart of a Europe at war, led the new Director to move the headquarters of the Organization
temporarily to Montreal, Canada.
Edward PHELAN of Ireland was named Director in 1941. He knew the ILO in depth, having participated in
the drafting of its Constitution. He played an important role once again during the Philadelphia meeting
of the International Labour Conference, in the midst of the Second World War, attended by representatives
of governments, employers and workers from 41 countries. The delegates adopted the
Declaration of Philadelphia
which, annexed to the Constitution, still constitutes the Charter of the aims and objectives of the ILO.
In 1948, an American, David MORSE, was named to head the ILO, where he remained until 1970. During
this long twenty-two year period, the number of member States doubled, the Organization took on its
universal character and industrialized countries became a minority among developing countries.
In 1960, the ILO created the International Institute for Labour Studies at its Geneva headquarters,
and the International Training Centre in Turin in 1965. And finally, in 1969, the ILO was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize as it commemorated its 50th anniversary.
The Englishman Wilfred JENKS, Director-General from 1970 until his death in 1973, was faced with a
politicization of labour problems resulting from the East-West conflict. As renowned jurist, he was a
firm advocate of human rights, the rule of the law, tripartism and the moral authority of the ILO in international problems.
He was succeeded by Francis BLANCHARD, formerly a senior French Government official. Mr. BLANCHARD played
an active part in the large-scale development of technical cooperation. He remained in that post for fifteen
years, from 1974 to 1989. He succeeded in averting major damage to the ILO when a crisis triggered by the
withdrawal of the United States from the Organization (1977 to 1980) resulted in the loss of one-fourth of
its budget. The United States returned to the Organization at the beginning of the Reagan Administration.
During this period, the ILO resolutely continued its work in defence of human rights. Thus, the ILO played
a major role in the emancipation of Poland from dictatorship, by giving its full support to the legitimacy
of the Solidarnosc Union based on respect for Convention No. 87 (1948) on freedom of association which Poland had ratified in 1957.
In 1989, Michel HANSENNE, former Belgian Minister of Employment and Labour and Civil Service, became the first
Director-General of the post-Cold War period. Re-elected for a second term in 1993, he indicated that his primary
responsibility was to lead the ILO into the 21st century with all the moral authority, professional competence
and administrative efficiency which the Organization has demonstrated for 75 years. In the face of new challenges,
he intends to give the ILO the means to play a full part in the major international councils on economic and
social development, in order to place social justice at the heart of the debate. Under the leadership of Michel
HANSENNE, the International Labour Conference on 18 June 1998 adopted the ILO Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work which obliges all members of the ILO, even if they have not ratified the Conventions,
"to respect in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamentals
rights which are subject of those Conventions" and to make progress reports on how they implement the principles
enshrined in them.
On 4 March 1999 Juan SOMAVIA, took up office as the ILO's ninth Director-General. Mr. SOMAVIA has had a long
and distinguished career in civil and international affairs, serving, inter alia, as Chairman of the preparatory
Council of the World Summit for Social Development (held in Copenhagen in 1995) and President of the UN Economic
and Social Council (from 1993 to 1994). He has held the post of Ambassador of Chile and served as an Adviser to the
Foreign Minister of Chile on Economic and Social Affairs. He was born on 21 April 1941, and earned degrees in law and
economics from the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Paris.
After his appointment, Mr. SOMAVIA launched a worldwide campaign for the promotion of "decent work". The aim of this
programme is to ensure that national and international employment policies, besides the creation of new jobs, should also
emphasize the quality of work and of working conditions in order to enhance social justice in the world.
On 25th March 2003, Juan SOMAVIA was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second 5 years term.
He has pledged to "work for a new social contract based on decent work for all and a globalization that leaves no one behind".