Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS)
Today, in the world:
138 million
children are victims of child labour and 54 million of whom are in hazardous work
50 million
men, women and children are in modern slavery, including 28 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriage.
2.93 million
workers die as a result of work-related factors; 395 million workers sustain a non-fatal work injury; 2.41 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat.
More than 40 per cent
of the world’s population lives in countries with no protection for freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
Hundreds of millions
of people suffer from discrimination because of their skin colour, ethnicity or social origin, religion or political beliefs, age, gender, sexual identity or orientation, disability or HIV status.
Such a situation cannot and must not continue. These issues are at the core of the ILO mission: in 1998, the ILO's member States expressed their shared commitment to uphold basic human rights at work by adopting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
FUNDAMENTALS mission and vision
ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS) was established in 2013, bringing together the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and the Department for the Promotion of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (DECLARATION).
FUNDAMENTALS mission is to serve as a centre of excellence on policies and action to support the realization of fundamental principles and rights at work of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. FUNDAMENTALS supports member States to fulfil their obligations to respect, to promote and to realize, in good faith, the fundamental principles and rights at work by facilitating the strengthening of relevant legislation and institutions including employers’ and workers’ organizations and the commitment of national duty bearers, rights-holders and enterprises.
The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, is an expression of commitment by governments, employers' and workers' organizations to uphold basic human values - values that are vital to our social and economic lives. It affirms the obligations and commitments that are inherent in membership of the ILO, namely:
- 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;
- the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation;
- a safe and healthy working environment.
ILO's action on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
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Abolition of child labour
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Elimination of forced or compulsory labour
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A safe and healthy working environment
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Freedom of association
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Collective bargaining and labour relations
Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation