ILO Deputy Director-General reflects on trade, decent work and global supply chains

Over 80% of trade agreements entering into force since 2013 include social and labour provisions and requirements. These provisions typically refer to ILO instruments, particularly the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, which lays out a contemporary concept of “decent work”.

According to the ILO’s Deputy Director-General, “this raises opportunities for upward convergence, for raising respect for labour rights to levels agreed as universal. But it also brings the challenge of applying these provisions consistently and in line with the relevant ILO conventions”. The supervisory system of the ILO addresses complaints claiming that member states have failed to comply with ratified conventions or fundamental rights, and Ms Polaski pointed out that this provides a body of findings about what compliance or non-compliance looks like in practice.

ILO-EU cooperation on trade and labour

The ILO welcomes that reference is made to its core labour standards in several European free-trade agreements (FTAs) and trade preference programmes. As an illustration of the practical impact, she noted that the EU and Korea have requested support from the ILO in the context of their free trade agreement on cooperation to address discrimination, using ILO Convention No. 111 as the baseline.

Ms Polaski also noted the new trade strategy of the EU, published last October, which underlines the ambition to promote a better linkage between trade and labour.

She also referred to the cooperation with DG Trade in several countries falling under the GSP+ scheme. This innovative arrangement requires beneficiaries to ratify and implement several international conventions, including the eight ILO core conventions. As Ms Polaski explained, “the objective of this cooperation is to help four GSP+ countries, namely El Salvador, Guatemala, Pakistan and Mongolia, to better comply with their obligations under these conventions. We will extend this cooperation soon to Armenia, the Philippines, Cape Verde and Paraguay”.

Decent work in global supply chains

The expansion of global supply chains has created job opportunities, but it has also brought competitive pressures that push down prices paid to producers and wages paid to workers. As the Deputy Director-General explained, “Some supplier firms ignore labour laws, and create unfair competition for suppliers that are compliant with the law, and governments that want to improve wages and living standards”. She also indicated that “In some developing economies, the state has been unable to keep pace with the rapid industrialisation leading to a dramatic growth of jobs”.

The Better Work programme is a successful example where the ILO has improved work and living standards in supply chains. Under the programme, detailed reports of compliance or non-compliance with national labour laws and core international labour standards are shared with the factory concerned and its international buyers. After time is allowed for remediation, the results are disclosed publically on the internet. This recognizes improvements while also providing an incentive for those factories that have not remedied serious problems to do so.

In June, the International Labour Conference will discuss how to address the implications of global supply chains for employment, development and inclusive growth.

Ms Polaski concluded by stressing that “the ILO attaches great importance to the work of the INTA Committee, and will gladly continue to provide support on issues pertaining to its mandate”.