THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ON LABOUR RIGHTS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ON LABOUR RIGHTS

By – Shreya Rai and Rishabh Moon

Abstract

Regardless of the avenue of business a company pursues, labour laws are an area which have universal application. It is one of the major compliance requirements for all corporates across the globe. However, the current laws and global regime for labour developed through a very gradual and arduous process over a long time. With the industrial revolution, exploitation of labour stated finding justification in the hands of capitalist entrepreneurs with no regulation on treatment of labour, working hours or child labour. ?

In light of such issues, the birth of an international regime of regulation of labour was sought to be put in place in order to establish ethical and labour friendly practices to be followed by employers for labours. Knowing the development of such practices, especially its interface with the fabric of international law becomes very important to understand any future trends which labour law compliance may take. The aim of this article is to analysis the development of international standards of labour law and reasonably speculate the future trends from such an analysis.

Introduction

Between I840 and I848, Alsatian manufacturer Daniel Legrand wrote to Swiss, German, French, and British national leaders and civil servants, contending that a state's affluence was inextricably linked to the physical health and morality of its working class, and urging that the reparation of mistreatment become a focus of dialogue between the authorities of all industrial nations.[i] However, during his time and prior to the founding of the International Labour Organization, numerous governments raised and attempted to solve a variety of labor-related concerns, but to no success.

During World War I, most countries' trade union groups requested that their requirements?be considered?during peace negotiations and that peace accords include measures to improve working conditions. The peace conference tasked a special body called?the Commission on International Labour Legislation with investigating this issue. The Commission's efforts resulted in the addition of Part XIII, which dealt with labour issues, in the Treaty of Versailles and subsequent peace accords. This part of the treaties called for the creation of an International Labour Organization (ILO), which would be able to implement labor-related agreements and recommendations.[ii]

Analysis

The foundation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) was far from the last step in the international labour law and rights framework. The Philadelphia Declaration, approved at the International Labour Conference in May 1944 near the close of WWII, outlined the ILO's goals and objectives.[iii] This proclamation was a watershed moment, confirming that labour is not a commodity and that all human beings, regardless of race, creed, or sex, have the right to achieve both material and spiritual well-being in circumstances of freedom and dignity, economic stability, and equal opportunity. It also included the social implications of economic and financial policies.

The declaration also outlined many of the ILO's specific goals, including full employment and improved living standards, training facilities, wage, hour, and other working conditions policies estimated to make sure that everyone gets a fair share of the benefits of development, effective acknowledgement of the right to collective bargaining, management and labour cooperation in the constant improvement of ef?ciency, and collaboration of the employers and workers for making and applying social and economic measures, provide basic income to all, comprehensive health care by extending social security to all among others.

Conventions

The International Labour Organization's Constitution, as well as its several Conventions and Recommendations, are important sources of international labour law. These conventions are not classified in order of priority; nonetheless, a hierarchy emerges as a result of the conclusion of the World Summit for Social Development in 1995 which included some major conventions.[iv] These are:

·????????The Forced Labour Convention of 1930 prohibits all types of forced or compelled labour, with the exception of military duty, properly supervised prison labour, and emergencies like as wars, fires, and earthquakes.[v]

·????????Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 establishes the right of all workers and employers to form and join organisations of their own selection without prior approval, as well as a set of safeguards for the free operation of organizations without government interference.[vi]

·????????Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 protects agaisnt?anti-union hostility, as well as against interference from employers’ and employees’ organisations against each other and?providing initiatives to encourage collective bargaining.[vii]

·????????1951 Equal Remuneration Convention?ensures that men and women be paid equally for labour of equal worth.[viii]

·????????The 1957 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention prohibits the use of any form of forced or compulsory labour for political duress or education, punitive action against?the expression of ideological or political beliefs, workforce mobilisation, labour discipline, punishment for strike participation, or discrimination.[ix]

·????????The Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention of 1958 urges for a government legislation to eliminate discrimination in employment, training, and working conditions based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, or social origin, and to ensure fair opportunities of work?and treatment.[x]

·????????Minimum Age Convention, 1973 strives to eliminate child labour by stating that the minimum age for work admission should not be below the age of attainment of compulsory education, and in any event not less than 15 years (14 in developing countries).[xi] ?

Labour standards in WTO

The present state of labour law in the World Trade Organization is that all WTO members agree to and adhere to certain basic labour norms that are globally recognised, such as freedom of organisation, no forced labour, no child labour, and no workplace discrimination (including gender discrimination). However, during the 1996 Singapore Ministerial Conference, the World Trade Organization (WTO) recognised the International Labour Organization (ILO) as the competent authority in this area, with the secretariats of the two organisations cooperating to ensure global policy consistency[xii] .

However, there is an ongoing controversy about the use of trade measures to impose labour standards. One argument is that WTO laws would act as a significant incentive for all member nations to improve labour conditions and workplace environments, resulting in international standardisation. However, developing countries often claim that raising such criteria is not only outside the scope of the WTO, but that a rapid increase in such standards will impede their capacity to trade and may be too high for them to satisfy at their current level of development. These countries claim that bringing labour standards into international trade discussions is nothing more than a cloak for protectionism.

In the 1996 Singapore summit, participants achieved a compromise in this area, agreeing that recognised basic labour standards should be upheld, but that they should not be used to justify protectionism[xiii] . In 1999, the subject was also brought up during the Seattle Ministerial Conference, but no consensus was achieved. Without any formal debate, the 2001 Doha Ministerial Conference reaffirmed the Singapore Declaration on Labour.

Conclusion

The above discussion clearly showcases that labour law jurisprudence is far from being concluded internationally and even now, is under constant development and update. Due to the disparate development stages of the developed and developing countries, labour conditions are different globally as well which leads to different labour laws and rights. However, with the reluctant involvement of WTO in the labour regime and questions being raised for its use for imposition of labour standards, it is necessary to be speculated as to what all implications can such an application possibly have, not just internationally but locally as well. The future of international labour law is headed towards a direction of further uniformity in international standards with the gap between the development of nations and can become stricter in both substance and implementation with the growing focus on gender equality and human rights discussions.

[i] Antony Alcock, Origins of ILO, History of the International Labour Organisation, Palgrave Macmillan https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-01136-0_1

[ii] History of the ILO, International Labour Organisation https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm

[iii] ILO Constitution, Annexure: Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the International Labour Organization, https://training.itcilo.org/actrav_cdrom1/english/global/law/phila.htm#Declaration%20concerning%20the%20aims%20and%20purpose%20of%20the%20International%20Labour%20Organization

[iv] International Labour Organization – History. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Tue. 19 Apr 2022. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1969/labour/history/

[v] C029 - Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), ILO https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C029

[vi] C087 - Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), ILO https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C087

[vii] Benard Onyinkwa, The Historical Development and Rationale at International Law of International Labour Organization (ILO) Framework for Collective Bargaining, Elvesier, (Nov. 16, 2017) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3070324

[viii] C100 - Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), ILO https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_Ilo_Code:C100

[ix] C105 - Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), ILO https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C105

[x] C111 - Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), ILO https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C111

[xi] C138 - Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), ILO https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C138

[xii] Labour standards: consensus, coherence and controversy, WTO https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/bey5_e.htm

[xiii] Singapore Ministerial Declaration WT/MIN(96)/DEC, (Dec. 13, 1996) https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres96_e/wtodec.htm