Black-and-white photograph of delegates seated in a conference room during an International Labour Conference session in 1976.

Social dialogue and tripartism

50 years of ILO Convention No. 144: putting tripartism into practice

Marking 50 years since its adoption, Convention No. 144 remains a key instrument for promoting tripartism and effective consultation on international labour standards.

29 May 2026

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For 50 years, the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), has helped turn one of the ILO’s founding principles into national practice: governments, employers and workers should come together to discuss international labour standards.

Convention No. 144 promotes effective consultation between governments and representative employers’ and workers’ organizations on ILO standards-related matters. It helps ensure that decisions on international labour standards are informed by the views of those most directly concerned with them.

In a period marked by economic uncertainty, digital transformation, climate change and growing pressure on public institutions, Convention No. 144 remains highly relevant. It helps build trust between representatives of the government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, supports better-informed decision-making, and strengthens institutions for the achievement of social justice and decent work. 50 years after its adoption, it remains a key instrument for promoting tripartism at the national level.

Ratifications over 50 years

Since its adoption in 1976, Convention No. 144 has become one of the most widely ratified ILO Conventions. To date, it has been ratified by 159 ILO Member States, representing 85 per cent of the ILO’s 187 Member States. The most recent ratification was by Saint Lucia, registered on 29 April 2026.

World map showing the ratification status of the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144). Ratifying countries are shown in light blue and countries that have not ratified are shown in dark purple. The map shows a global ratification rate of 85 per cent, with regional rates of 100 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, 91 per cent in Africa, 89 per cent in the Americas, 67 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, and 36 per cent in the Arab States. — Ratification of Convention No. 144 by ILO region and Member State, as of June 2026.

Why Convention No. 144 matters

Convention No. 144 is one of the ILO’s Governance Conventions. It should be read in conjunction with the Tripartite Consultation (Activities of the International Labour Organization) Recommendation, 1976 (No. 152).

Ratifying and implementing the Convention can help countries:

Ensure that governments take into account the views, needs and priorities of employers’ and workers’ organizations, including on matters beyond those expressly set out by the Convention.
Keep employers’ and workers’ organizations better and more regularly informed about government views and proposals on ILO matters.
Promote policy decisions that are more informed and representative, and grounded in the realities of the world of work.
Build trust and strengthen a culture of tripartism and social dialogue, including in times of crisis and heightened social tensions.
Improve ownership of decisions and support their effective implementation.
Promote the better application of ILO Conventions and Recommendations, including by helping to address implementation issues at an early stage, and can minimize the need to raise these issues before ILO supervisory bodies.

Convention No. 144 also supports the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth and Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions. By promoting inclusive and representative decision-making, it contributes to more effective, accountable and participatory institutions.

Consultations required under Article 5

Convention No. 144 requires ratifying countries to operate procedures for effective consultations between representatives of government, employers and workers on matters related to international labour standards.

Under Article 5, these consultations should cover five main areas:

Items placed on the agenda of the International Labour Conference. These include governments’ replies to questionnaires on agenda items and their comments on draft texts of instruments. The final content of the replies and comments remains the responsibility of governments.
Submission of newly adopted ILO Conventions and Recommendations to the competent national authorities, such as parliaments or other legislative bodies, so that they can be considered for ratification or implementation. This is required under the ILO Constitution and is to be undertaken in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations.
Re-examination of unratified Conventions and Recommendations to promote their ratification and application. This re-examination is to take place at “appropriate intervals”, which is determined by national practice. It provides an opportunity to assess whether developments may have improved prospects for ratification and application.
Reports to the ILO on ratified Conventions. Upon ratification of a Convention, Member States must report on its implementation in law and practice on a regular basis. Employers’ and workers’ organizations should be consulted before each report on ratified Conventions is finalized and forwarded to the ILO.
Proposals for the denunciation of ratified Conventions.

Additionally, Recommendation No. 152 provides for other related issues that could be the subject of consultations, including:

ILO technical cooperation activities;
resolutions and conclusions of ILO Conferences and meetings;
promotion of better knowledge of ILO activities.

Effective consultations in practice

Consultation under Convention No. 144 is more than merely sharing information. It is also different from negotiation: consultations do not necessarily need to lead to an agreement, but are intended to help the government make informed decisions.

For consultations to be effective, they should be undertaken in good faith and take place before decisions are taken. Employers’ and workers’ organizations should receive the necessary information in time to express their views, and those views should be given serious consideration.

Flexible procedures adapted to national practice

Convention No. 144 does not impose a single model of consultation. Countries can decide how to organize consultations in line with national practice, after consulting representative employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Consultations may take place through permanent or ad hoc bodies, existing institutions dealing with labour, economic or social policy, dedicated committees constituted for questions concerning the activities of the ILO, written procedures or other suitable arrangements. Employers and workers should be represented on an equal footing. In practice, this does not require equal numbers of representatives, but rather that the views of each side be given equal consideration.

A practical step towards stronger tripartism

Ratifying Convention No. 144 is a practical way towards strengthening tripartism and social dialogue at national level. Its flexibility allows countries to build on existing consultation arrangements, provided that they ensure effective consultations on the matters covered by the Convention.

By ratifying and implementing Convention No. 144, countries reaffirm the value of dialogue between governments, employers and workers in shaping international labour standards and promoting decent work.

Questions and answers on Convention No. 144

No, it is not a prerequisite, but effective tripartite consultation requires an environment in which employers’ and workers’ representatives enjoy freedom of association and can express their points of view in full freedom and independence. All Member States, whether or not they have ratified Convention No. 87, are bound to respect the principle of freedom of association by virtue of their membership of the ILO.
Not necessarily. Convention No. 144 is flexible and can often be implemented through existing laws, institutions or practices. The main requirement is that these arrangements ensure effective consultation on the matters covered by the Convention.

The competent authority is responsible for providing administrative support for the consultation procedures. Where training is needed, appropriate arrangements should be made with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations to help participants take part effectively. While Convention No. 144 does not require the financing of the training to be borne by the government, Recommendation No. 152 suggests this where necessary, for instance in cases where the organizations of employers and workers cannot provide training programmes.
Convention No. 144 does not require countries to establish a national social dialogue institution (NSDI). However, many countries have chosen to institutionalize social dialogue: around 87 per cent have an NSDI with a mandate covering multiple social and labour market policy areas. Where such institutions exist, they can provide an important channel for consultations on international labour standards, provided that their mandate, composition and working methods allow for effective consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations.
The ILO supports constituents in establishing and strengthening social dialogue institutions, including through tools such as the Self-Assessment Methodology for Social Dialogue Institutions (SAM-SDI). This methodology helps institutions assess and improve their effectiveness and inclusiveness, including in areas such as membership, gender and diversity, agenda setting, consensus-building, policy influence, communication and operational capacity.

For more information on the SAM-SDI, please contact the ILO’s Social Dialogue, Labour Relations and Governance of Work Branch (LABGOV) at [email protected].