International Labour Standards with a special focus on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

International labour standards (ILS) provide a decent work compass to drive the development and implementation of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, ILS offer a sound legal framework and policy options, which are essential considerations for trade union campaigns and advocacies to build forward better. The eight core labour standards (CLS) and key ILS have clear and direct policy guidance to address many decent work deficits --occupational safety and health, freedom of association and collective bargaining, social protection, discrimination, dispute resolution, work arrangements, employment, industrial relations, etc. --exacerbated by the pandemic. Specific ILS also protect particular categories of workers and sectors adversely affected by the crisis. The Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work reaffirmed the fundamental importance of standard-setting, promotion, ratification and supervision of international labour standards to the ILO. The Global Call to Action for a human-centred recovery from the COVID-19 crisis emphasizes the provision of adequate protection for all workers, reinforcing respect for ILS, and promoting ratification, implementation, and supervision, with particular attention to areas where the crisis had revealed severe gaps. Towards achieving the sustainable development goals of The Agenda 2030, ILS have a central role in ensuring the imperative to “leave no one behind.” OBJECTIVES This inclusive four-week online learning journey aimed to develop the knowledge and skills of young trade union leaders and second liners on promoting workers’ rights, particularly the right to join unions and bargain collectively, in the context of the pandemic. Likewise, it aimed to strengthen the use of relevant international labour standards and other ILO tools and resources to assertively influence the shaping of workplace actions and policies for inclusive and sustainable recovery. By completing the learning journey, participants were expected to be able to: (a) explain how ILS are created and adopted, the supervisory mechanisms and the roles of unions in promoting compliance and reporting; (b) promote FoA and CB, in times of crisis or not; (c) support their unions in documenting and preparing reports to the ILO; (d) identify and use relevant ILS as a legal framework in the development of strategies and advocacy for long-term policy measures to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other future workplace disruptions; (e) come up with strategic and innovative actions to organize young workers, including those in the informal and emerging sectors such as gig economy workers and others; and (f) build a network of young trade union leaders for solidarity monitoring and knowledge-sharing on FoA and CB in the region. CONTENT The learning journey consisted of the following learning modules, in addition to an introduction to eLearning and concluding modules:  Module 1. Why do ILS matter for trade unions?  Module 2. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining  Module 3. ILS: Towards better social protection  Module 4. ILS for an inclusive and sustainable recovery The course consisted of an estimated 40 hours of synchronous and asynchronous online learning, which included 17 tasks such as participation in webinars, completion of self-guided learning modules, online interaction and collaboration, and submission of assignments application of learning plans’, among others. The activity was delivered via the E-campus, the education platform of the International Training Centre of the ILO. The platform was used to distribute course information, training material, learning tasks, exchanges of good practices and experiences, feedback and multimedia content.