In News:

• The world of work is being buffeted by multiple crises, says the ninth edition of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Monitor.

What’s in Today’s Article:

• International Labour Organisation (ILO) – About, objectives, structure, other information, Important conventions, India & ILO
• News Summary

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

About

• The ILO, headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
  • It was established in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles.
• It is responsible for setting labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
• It is the only tripartite N. agency which brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member States.
• Parent organization: Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

Strategic objectives

• The ILO has four strategic objectives
  • Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work
  • Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income
  • Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all, and
  • Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue

Structure

Other information about ILO

• It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group (UNDP), a coalition of UN organization aimed at helping meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Members - The ILO has 187 member states (186 Countries + The Cook Islands)
• Key Reports Published by ILO
  • World Employment and Social Outlook;
  • Global Wage Report

The Eight fundamental Conventions of ILO

• The Forced Labour Convention, 1930,
• The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957,
• The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948,
• The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949,
• The Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951,
• The Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958,
• The Minimum Age Convention, 1973, and
• The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999

India and ILO

• Recently, in June 2021, India completed its term as chair of the Governing Body of the ILO.
  • Governing Body is the apex executive body of the ILO which decides policies, programmes, budget and elects the Director-General.
  • India had assumed the chairmanship after a gap of 35 years. It held the position for the period October 2020- June 2021.
• India has not ratified the two conventions (out of 8). These are:
  • Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948(No. 89) and
  • Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
• Reasons for India not ratifying these two conventions:
  • The statutory rules in India, for the government employees, prohibits certain rights such as right to strike, to openly criticize government policies etc.
  • After ratification, India would be forced to grant these rights to the civil servants. Hence, India has not ratified these two conventions.

News Summary

• The 9th edition of the ILO Monitor on the “World of Work” has been released.
• The report gives a global overview of how countries are tackling an uneven labour market recovery.
  • Market recovery has been further undermined by developments such as:
    • the Russian aggression against Ukraine,
    • increases in inflation, and
    • continuing strict COVID-19 containment measures.

Key Highlights of the report

• Number of hours worked globally dropped
  • The report finds that after significant gains during the last quarter of 2021, the number of hours worked globally dropped in the first quarter of 2022.
    • It dropped to 3.8 per cent below the pre-crisis benchmark (fourth quarter of 2019).
    • This is equivalent to a deficit of 112 million full-time jobs. In other words, about 11.2 crore jobs might have lost between this period.
• Gender gap in employment scenario
• The report said both India and lower-middle-income countries excluding India experienced a deterioration of the gender gap in work hours in the second quarter of 2020.
  • g., for every 100 women at work prior to the pandemic, 12.3 women would have lost their job as an average through the entire period considered by the report.
  • In contrast, for every 100 men, the equivalent figure would have been 7.5.
  • Hence, the pandemic seems to have exacerbated the already substantial gender imbalances in employment participation in the country.
• The reduction in hours worked by women in India has only a weak influence on the aggregate for lower-middle-income countries.
  • This is due to the fact that the initial level of hours worked by women in India was very low.
• In contrast, the reduction in hours worked by men in India has a large impact on the aggregates.
• Multiple factors responsible
  • World is facing multiple new and interconnected global crises. This includes:
    • inflation (especially in energy and food prices),
    • financial turbulence,
    • potential debt distress, and
    • global supply chain disruption – exacerbated by war in Ukraine.
  • Hence, there is a growing risk of a further deterioration in hours worked in 2022, as well as a broader impact on global labour markets in the months to come.
• Great and growing divergence between richer and poorer economies
  • While high-income countries experienced a recovery in hours worked, low- and lower-middle-income economies suffered setbacks in the first quarter of the year.
    • There is a 3.6 and 5.7 per cent gap respectively when compared to the pre-crisis benchmark