ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

Origin.    T he ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its promotional follow-up were adopted on 18 June 1998, thereby taking up the challenges of globalization which have been the focus of considerable debate within the ILO since 1994.

Purpose.   The aim of the Declaration is to establish a social minimum for workers at the global level. The Declaration seeks to stimulate national efforts to ensure that social progress goes hand in hand with economic progress while respecting the diversity of circumstances, possibilities and preferences of individual countries.

Content.   ILO Member States, even if they have not ratified the Conventions, must promote and realize, in good faith and in accordance with the ILO Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights which are the subject of those Conventions, namely:

(a)    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

(b)    Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;

(c)    Effective abolition of child labour; and

(d)    Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Members should not use labour standards for protectionist trade purposes. The ILO supports members in attaining the above objectives.

(a)     By offering advisory services to promote ratification and implementation of the fundamental Conventions;  

(b)    By assisting Members not yet in a position to ratify some of these Conventions in their efforts to respect the principles concerning fundamental rights

(c)     By helping Members create a climate for economic and social development.

Implementation.   The Declaration's Follow-up contains two promotional reporting tools: 1) The Annual Review is composed of reports from governments describing the efforts made to respect the principles and rights relating to all unratified fundamental ILO Conventions, and comments from worker and employer organizations. These reports provide a baseline against which countries can measure their own progress. 2) The Global Report , submitted by the ILO Director-General to the International Labour Conference, paints a dynamic global picture of the situation with regard to one of the categories of principles and rights each year. In a four-year period, all four principles and rights will have been reviewed. It serves as a basis for determining future priorities so that the Organization through its technical cooperation activities can assist its members in implementing the Fundamental Principles and Rights.

To view this code in its entirety, please visit: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/decl/declaration/text/  

15. October 2002