100 years of pursuing social justice
in 1919 after World War 1, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is set to mark 100 years of working for social justice.
On Jan 22, a landmark report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work will be launched in Geneva, Switzerland, where the ILO office is headquartered.
That launch will kick off a year of events worldwide highlighting ILO’s contributions, alongside its tripartite constituents: Governments and employers’ and workers’ organisations, in its 187 member states, including Malaysia, during the first 100 years and to look ahead to the next.
ILO’s vision is summed up in the preamble of its constitution: “Universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice.”
And, that vision of the organisation translated into ILO’s mission, over the past century, to formulate and promote international labour standards, encourage decent employment opportunities for women and men, enhance social protection, and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues that relate to freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
In 1946, ILO became the first specialised agency of the United Nations.
In 1969, on its 50th anniversary, ILO became the first UN agency to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the citation stating: “There are few organisations that have succeeded to the extent that the ILO has, in translating into action the fundamental moral idea on which it is based.”
Malaysia, which has been an ILO member since independence in 1957, has ratified 18 of the 189 ILO conventions, including five principles and rights at work conventions.
As Malaysia is classified a middle/high-income country, ILO’s technical engagement focuses on strengthening the capacity of the government and national workers’ and employers’ organisations, facilitating dialogue, providing technical advice, and promoting the ratification and application of international labour standards.
Over the past six decades, ILO has extended technical assistance to Malaysia in labour administration; minimum wages; occupational safety and health; child labour, forced labour and migrant workers; social security; vocational and technical training; employment and entrepreneurship; women at work; young workers; management development and employers’ activities; and workers’ education and trade union activities.
Acting to condemn apartheid in 1964 made ILO one of the first organisations to impose sanctions on South Africa.
In the 1980s, ILO played a major role in the emancipation of Poland from communist dictatorship, by giving its full support to the legitimacy of the Solidarity trade union of Poland.
That led to not only Poland, but within the decade, to the fall of the Berlin Wall and Eastern European nations being freed from Soviet rule.
As the 20th century drew to a close, ILO’s role continued to evolve to meet changes in the world of work, notably the growing march of globalisation.
Calls for its help expanded to encompass a more diverse range of issues, including the rights of indigenous peoples, HIV/AIDS in the workplace, and migrant and domestic workers.
Much headway has been traversed in these 100 years to make work more humane, satisfying and rewarding.
But it is clear that as challenges to social, economic and political processes gain in intensity and complexity, the UN’s first centenarian will have no time to rest on its laurels.
Former ILO regional deputy director for Asia & the Pacific, Petaling Jaya, Selangor