Strategic Use of the ILO International Labour Standards and Supervisory Mechanism

Today’s national legal systems, public authorities, labour administration and inspection systems, and national regulatory monitoring mechanisms still display limitations and weaknesses when it comes to preventing violations of fundamental labour principles and rights, enforcing International Labour Standards (ILS) and delivering justice with the rigour required by the rule of law, which is the basis of good governance and social justice.

The ILO supervisory mechanism provides a platform for trade unions to submit complaints and observations on violations of labour standards and principles in relation to the expected conduct reflected in the range of ILS and Fundamental Principles and rights at work taking a strategic approach which may lead to recommendations for corrective measures.

The training activity aimed to offer training for a group of junior lawyers, legal experts, and others dealing with the international affairs in the Trade Unions in the region on ILS and the functioning of the ILO supervisory mechanisms (with the possibility of also promoting internal training within trade unions). The training promoted the strategic use of such tools.  The support of senior lawyers, legal experts, and people managing the international affairs in Trade Unions as mentors was especially important in lending sustainability to this process of institutional strengthening.

OBJECTIVES

The specific objectives of the training were to strengthen:

• The capacities and increase knowledge to effectively defend workers’ rights through better implementation of the ILS and strategic use of the ILO supervisory mechanism.

• The trade union structures responsible for monitoring the ILO international labour standards system, in particular the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work as amended in 2022.

• The capacity of trade unions to formulate policies in the area of the ILS and to take action in the event of non-compliance; and ensure trade unions’ effective participation through social dialogue in tripartite/bipartite decision-making processes and in collective bargaining at regional/international/national and sectoral levels.

• Trade unions’ capacity to promote the ratification of ILS, as well as their active participation in ensuring their implementation in legislation and enforcement in practice, as well as through application of the ILO supervisory mechanisms.

CONTENT

The course consisted of four weeks of distance learning via the eCampus platform:

Module 1: Introduction to Training of Trainers for Trade Union Legal Experts and other educators
Module 2: Introduction to and Familiarization with the International Labour Standards
Module 3: The ILO’s Supervisory Mechanism
Module 4: Strategic Social Dialogue and the ILS

Selected participants attended a four-day face-to-face training component, which provided a deep dive into the learning content of the online component from a pedagogical perspective, including micro-sessions imparted by the participants themselves were put into practice the “learning by doing” methodology.

NUMBER OF HOURS: 60