By a highly symbolic record vote, the International Labour Conference decided at its last session in June 2017 to abrogate/ withdraw the following six international labour Conventions:

Abrogated:

• Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4)
• Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers) Convention, 1921 (No. 15) 
• Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1934 (No. 41) 
• Hours of Work and Rest Periods (Road Transport) Convention, 1939 (No. 67)

Withdrawn:

• Protection against Accidents (Dockers) Convention, 1929 (No. 28)
• Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention (Revised), 1937 (No. 60)

This decision comes exactly twenty years after the adoption of a constitutional amendment to article 19 of the ILO Constitution, which empowers the Conference to put an end, by two-thirds majority and upon recommendation by the Governing Body, to a Convention in force if it appears that it has lost its purpose or that it no longer makes a useful contribution to attaining the objectives of the Organization. The procedure for abrogation applies to Conventions which are in force. The procedure for withdrawal applies to Conventions which have never entered into force or are no longer in force due to denunciations, and to Recommendations.

By terminating the legal effects of the six obsolete Conventions vis-à-vis the Organization the Conference contributes to the current process aimed at ensuring that the Organization has a robust and up-to-date body of labour standards serving as a global reference.

A similar abrogation exercise is put on the agenda of the Conference for its next session in June 2018.

1. Provisional Record No. 10, 106th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2017)
2. Report VII(1), Abrogation of four and withdrawal of two international labour Conventions, ILC.106/VII/1 
3. Report VII(2), Abrogation of four and withdrawal of two international labour Conventions, ILC.106/VII/2

© International Labour Organization