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Glossary of terms related to International Labour Standards A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
A- Abrogation
- is what the International Labour Conference does when it decides, by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast by the delegates present, to abrogate any Convention which has lost its purpose or no longer makes a useful contribution to attaining the objectives of the Organization. An instrument amending the ILO Constitution to make abrogation possible was adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1997 and will only take effect in accordance with article 36 of the ILO Constitution.
- Adoption
- is what the International Labour Conference does when it endorses, by a 2/3 majority vote, a new international labour standard.
About the adoption process
B
C- Commission of Inquiry
- is a group of three persons appointed by the Governing Body to investigate and find facts relating to an allegation made under article 26 of the ILO Constitution.
Information about such a Commission and the procedure with which it is involved
- Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
- is the committee of 20 independent experts charged, amongst other things, with the examination of reports by governments on the measures taken to implement ratified ILO Conventions.
The work of the Committee and the supervisory system of which it is an important part
- Committee on Freedom of Association
- is the tripartite committee of the ILO's Governing Body responsible for the examination of complaints alleging violation of the principles of freedom of assocation.
About the work of the Committee
- Competent national authority
- is the authority which, under the Constitution of each State, has power to legislate or to take other action in order to implement Conventions or Recommendations. Under the ILO's Constitution, it is to this authority that all new ILO Conventions and Recommendations must be submitted for consideration.
More information about this obligation
- Complaint
- is what an allegation made under article 26 of the ILO Constitution is called. Such an allegation asserts that an ILO member State is not applying fully within its territory the terms of a convention which it has ratified.
Information about the article 26 procedure
- Conference agenda
- is set by the Governing Body of the ILO. The "Conference" is the annual International Labour Conference. In the context of international labour standards, it is on the agenda of the Conference that subjects for international standard setting are placed by the Governing Body.
More information in regards to agenda setting
- Conference Committee on the Application of Standards
- is a tripartite committee of the International Labour Conference constituted each year and charged with examination of the Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and, amongst other things, with the discussion of cases involving individual country's application of ratified ILO Conventions.
The Committee and the supervisory system of which it is an important part
- Constituents
- of the ILO are representative organizations of employers and workers, and governments of member States.
- Constitutional obligations
- are those requirements imposed on ILO member States by the ILO Constitution, in particular relating to the system of international labour standards.
Submission of new instruments to the competent national authority
The obligation to report on ratified Conventions
The obligation to report on unratified Conventions and on recommendations
- Conventions
- are international treaties which are open to ratification by ILO member States. When a State ratifies a Convention, the country pledges to apply the Convention's terms and provisions in law and practice.
D- Declaration
- is a formal statement made by the International Labour Conference or the Governing Body, or by an ILO member State when it ratifies an ILO Convention.
Declarations of the ILC or GB
Declarations made with ratifications
- Denunciation
- is the act, by a State, of declaring non-binding a Convention which has previously been ratified by the same State.
More information about Denunciation
- Detailed reports
- are a type of report on the measures taken to implement a ratified ILO Convention. It is one type of report, the other being a simplified report, which forms the basis of the ILO's regular system of supervision.
What makes such a report "detailed"
About the reporting process - Direct contacts
- is a procedure which enables examination by a representative of the Director-General of the ILO with representatives of the country concerned of problems affecting the ratification or implementation of Conventions or the discharge of obligations relating to Conventions and Recommendations or, in a case before the Committee on Freedom of Association.
More information about Direct contacts
- Direct request
- is a written comment made by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendation concerning the application of a ratified ILO Convention. The direct request is sent directly to the government concerned, i.e. the government of the State which has ratified the Convention. Copies are also sent to the representative employers' and workers' organizations in the country concerned. Direct requests do not appear in the report of the Committee of Experts to the Conference. They may relate to matters of secondary importance or technical questions or seek clarification to enable a more full assessment of the effect given to obligations. They may, like observations, include footnotes asking for a detailed report in advance of the date on which it would otherwise be due.
More information about Direct Request
- Director General
- is the person appointed by the Governing Body responsible for the efficient conduct of the International Labour Office and for such other duties as may be assigned to him or her.
Relevant provision of the ILO Constitution
- Double discussion
- is the term used to describe the usual system used for adopting new international labour standards. The system involves two discussions (hence "double discussion") of the matter set for standard setting at subsequent sessions of the annual International Labour Conference.
More information about the legislative process
E
F- Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission
- is a body composed of nine independent persons appointed by the Governing Body, who normally work in panels of three. It is responsible for the examination of complaints of infringements of freedom of assocation referred to it by the Governing Body.
More information about the Commission
- First report
- provided by governments on ratified Conventions is the most important as it is the basis upon which the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations supervises application of the Convention.
More information about these reports including when they are due and what they should contain
- Flexibility clauses
- are a characteristic of many international labour standards. They come in many forms and are needed in order to make international labour standards universally applicable, taking into account different levels of development, different systems of government, economic and social systems around the world.
Flexibility clause information and examples
G- General Survey
- is a report prepared by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations on the position of law and practice in countries around the world concerning a group of related international labour standards. A General Survey is produced each year; the subject of the survey is decided by the Governing Body. The ILO Constitution obliges all ILO member States to provide information for the survey whether or not the Convention(s) concerned have been ratified.
More information about the procedure leading to production of a General Survey
H
I - Informal opinion
- may be given by the International Labour Office concerning the meaning of a labour standard. Such opinions are not authoritative.
Information about such opinions - Instruments
- are formal written documents usually meant to include, in the ILO, Conventions, Recommendations, and Protocols.
- International Court of Justice
- is considered to be the only body competent to give authoritative interpretations of ILO Conventions and Recommendations.
More information about this authority
- International Labour Conference
- is the once yearly meeting of tripartite delegations of member States of the International Labour Organization.
The provision made in the ILO's Consititution for such a "General Conference" - Interpretation
- of international labour standards may only be authoritatively given by the International Court of Justice.
Further information concerning the International Labour Office and its supervisory bodies
- International Labour Standards
- are Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference, covering a broad range of matters in the field of social and labour matters.
What are international labour standards?
- International Labour Organization
- was founded in 1919 to advance social justice and better living conditions throughout the world. In 1946 it became the first specialized agency associated with the United Nations. It is a tripartite organization: workers' and employers' representatives take part in its work with equal status to that of governments. The number of ILO member States is 174 as of 1 February 2000.
Functions set out for the Office in the ILO Constitution
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L- Law and practice report
- is prepared by the International Labour Office as part of its preparatory work for the setting of a new international labour standard. The report is based on a study of the position in law and practice around the world in relation to a subject selected by the Governing Body for international standard setting.
Information on the setting of international labour standards and the role of this report
M- Multi-disciplinary teams
- are teams established by the International Labour Office at locations around the world containing specialists in fields within the mandate of the ILO. The role of these specialists is to afford assistance as needed to the ILO's constituents within the team's geographic scope of responsibility. There is, typically, a specialist assigned to assist in matters related to international labour standards.
Information about the function of these specialists
N
O- Observations
- are written comments made by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations concerning the application of a ratified ILO Convention. Observations are generally used in more serious or long-standing cases of failure to fulfil obligations. The observations are each year published in the report of the Committee of Experts to the Governing Body to the annual International Labour Conference, and forms the basis for discussions of individual cases in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards.
More information about Observations
P- Periodic reports
- are requested of States which have ratified ILO Conventions. These reports are required under the ILO Constitution and must provide information on the law and practice relating to the application of the Convention concerned. They are "periodic" because the International Labour Office requests them systematically on the basis of a fixed annual schedule.
More information about Periodic reports
- Progress, cases of
- are instances noted by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations where a government has made a change in its law and/or practice concerning application of a Convention it has ratified where, preceding the change, the Committee had requested the government concerned to take measures to remedy the problem in application.
Further information and a list of recent cases of progress
- Protocol
- is an instrument or treaty amending, or supplemental to, another treaty, such as the 1990 Protocol to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No.89), which was adopted to introduce greater flexibility into Convention No. 89.
Q
R- Ratification
- is a solemn undertaking by a State formally accepting the terms of a Convention, thereby becoming legally bound to apply it. The country must, if necessary, adopt new laws and regulations or modify the existing legislation and practice to support the Convention. It must apply the Convention not only in law but also in practice, and provide reports on its application to the International Labour Office.
More information about ratification
- Recommendation
- is an instrument not open to ratification but which lays down general or technical guidelines to be applied at the national level. They often provide detailed guidelines to supplement principles set out in Conventions, or they may provide guidance on subjects which are not covered by Conventions.
- Representation
- is an allegation made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution to the ILO that a member State is not implementing the terms of a Convention which it has ratified. A representation must be made by an industrial organization of employers or workers.
More information about Representation
- Reservations
- are statements sometimes made by States when they ratify international treaties concerning the obligations they undertake at the time of ratification. Reservations to ILO Conventions are inadmissible.
More information about Reservations
- Resolution
- is a formal expression of the will or opinion on a particular subject adopted by the International Labour Conference.
- Revision
- of international labour standards is contemplated by the ILO Constitution and involves a change to the international standard previously adopted by the International Labour Conference.
Detailed information about the revision process
S- Shelving
- is a decision taken by the ILO Governing Body concerning an ILO Convention which, in the view of the Governing Body, no longer corresponds to current needs, is outmoded or obsolete. The decision means that:
- ratification is no longer encouraged;
- publication of the Convention in Office documents, studies and research papers is to be discontinued;
- detailed reports on the application of these Conventions are no longer requested;
- the right to invoke provisions relating to representations and complains under articles 24 and 26 of the ILO Constitution remain intact;
- employers' and workers' organizations may continue to make comments in accordance with the regular supervisory procedures;
- the Committee of Experts may review comments of employers' and workers' organizations; and
- the Committee of Experts may request detailed reports under article 22 of the Constititution.
- Shelving has no impact on the status of these Conventions in the legal systems of the member States that have ratified them.
- Simplified reports
- are a type of report requested of ILO member States by the ILO Governing Body concerning the application of a ratified ILO Convention.
Full information about what makes such a report "simplified"
More information about the reporting process
- Single discussion procedure
- is a procedure used for adopting international labour standards. This procedure is contrasted with the double discussion procedure. "Single" (and double) refer to the number of sequential occasions the subject for standard setting is placed on the agenda of an International Labour Conference.
Full information about the standards setting process
- Social partners
- is the term used to refer to employers' and workers' organizations engaged in dialogue -- or partnership -- with government in the determination of social and labour policies.
- Submission
- is the short term used to refer to the process of submission of new international labour standards to the competent national authorities. This process is required under article 19 of the ILO Constitution.
Full information about Submission
T- Tripartite
- is the term used to describe equal participation and representation of governments and employers' and workers' organizations in bodies both inside the ILO as well as at the national and enterprise level.
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