News on International Labour Standards

Why do fundamental labour standards matter?

The ILO is seeking to achieve 100 per cent ratification of its eight Conventions covering fundamental labour standards by 2015. Tim de Meyer, ILO Senior Specialist on International Labour Standards and Labour Law, explains why these instruments are...

Poland ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)

Poland is the 26th ILO member State and the seventh EU member State to have ratified the Convention.

International Labour Standards: Three countries ratify ILO Conventions

Eight blocks for building better working lives

May 1st is Labour Day, an opportunity to reflect on the near-universal experience of work, its quality and quantity. One ILO initiative is seeking to achieve 100 per cent ratification of the eight ILO Conventions covering fundamental labour...

Domestic workers – ‘family’ or employees?

Almost a year ago, in June 2011, a milestone event took place that promised to improve the lives of millions of working people – mostly women - worldwide, including more than a quarter of a million in Hong Kong and potentially as many as 20 million...

ILO issues pioneering new "Global Labour Rights" report

The new General Survey examines for the first time the challenges and successes in implementing all eight of its fundamental labour standards on freedom of association and collective bargaining, forced and child labour and discrimination in the...

Uzbekistan approves action plan on implementation of ILO conventions

Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan approved an action plan on additional measures on implementation of the Convention on Forced Labour and convention on Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention in 2012-2013, which were ratified by Uzbekistan.

Pacific Growth and Employment - Fact Sheet

A joint initiative of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Council of Trade Unions with support of the Australian Government - ILO Partnership Agreement (2010-2015)

International Labour Standards: Four countries ratify ILO Conventions

Togo ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)

With the ratification of the MLC, 2006 by Togo, 25 ILO member States are now parties to the Convention. While the first condition for the entry into force of the Convention is already met, i.e. registered ratifications representing at least 33 per...

Azerbaijan to ratify several ILO Conventions

Domestic Workers: Activities and Campains for Ratification of ILO Instruments

Since the adoption in june 2011 of the the Convention 189 (C 189)and the Recommendation 201 (R 201)for domestic workers by government , worker and employer delegates of the ILO, ,Unions in collaborration with ILO-Bureau for Workers Activities...

Tuvalu ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)

The Government of Tuvalu deposited with the International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). Tuvalu, which became an ILO member in 2008, is the fifth member State from the Asia-Pacific...

Tuvalu ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)

Tuvalu is the fifth member State from the Asia-Pacific region – after Australia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Singapore – to have ratified the landmark Convention.

2012 Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations

The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, whose work constitutes the cornerstone of the ILO's supervisory system on international labour standards, has just published its annual report.

Campaign for domestic workers’ rights gathers pace

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, 8 March, is “Empower Rural Women, End Poverty and Hunger”. One path that many rural women take to escape poverty is to become a domestic worker in a big city household or overseas. Yet when they...

Saint Kitts and Nevis ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)

Saint Kitts and Nevis becomes the 24th member State to ratify the landmark Convention.

ILO launches comprehensive new database on labour standards

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched a comprehensive new database providing open access to the latest information on ILO international labour standards as well as national labour and social security laws.

New Belgian ratifications of ILO Conventions

The ILO-Brussels office welcomes the renewed ratification efforts by Belgium on up-to-date ILO Conventions, following a prolonged period of inactivity. Employers and workers in the Belgian National Labour Council insisted on the importance of...

Interview with Tim Lyons, Assistant Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions

Tim Lyons, who was the Workers' group spokesperson at the 15th ILO Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting, talks about the situation of workers in Fiji, the promotion of ILO Conventions in Australia, and what the Australian Council of Trade Unions...