Role of ILO in India: In 1919, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a United Nations body, was established to apply social justice and worldwide recognised work rights. ILO brings together governments, employers and workers with its unique tripartite structure, and it has a major role in establishing fair labour standards worldwide. In the case of a country as varied and populous as India, which is based on labour as the lifeblood of economic activity, the ILO has been a development partner in serving the interests and benefits of workers.
India became a founding member of the ILO in 1919, and its partnership with the organisation has been over 100 years old. The ILO has greatly helped in the labour policy, labour safety organisation and employment schemes in India and to a very large extent in the informal sector, where over 80 per cent of the workers are employed. The ILO, through technical cooperation, policy support, research, and pilot projects, has assisted in meeting such significant challenges as child labour, bonded labour, forced migration, gender inequality, and lack of social security.
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The role of the ILO is particularly relevant in terms of organisations in the form of NGO. Its various initiatives coincide largely with the purpose of existence of civil society organisations, i.e. defending the rights of workers, empowering women, decent work and inclusion in labour laws. In programmes supported by the ILO in India, NGOs are frequently involved as implementers, grassroots movers and monitors.
The ILO contribution in facilitating the establishment of Decent Work for all is required more than ever as India goes through its journey towards sustainable development and inclusive growth. On the one hand, ILO provides norms, conventions, and recommendations on labour, human rights and social equity; on the other hand, ILO frameworks are also opportunities where NGOs in India focused on labour, human rights and social equity can cooperate or start work based on. They can play a role in achieving systemic change and empowering the most vulnerable working population.
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Understanding the ILO: Mission, Structure, and Global Relevance
What is ILO?
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a specialised agency of the UN founded in 1919, which has the mandate of advocating social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights. It works under the foundation that sustainable peace and fair economic growth can only be achieved when established on the foundation of treating the workers fairly.
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The uniqueness of the ILO as a global institution is the fact that, through its tripartite structure, it can unite governments, employers and workers at the same table in an attempt to influence the formulation of labour norms and policies. Such an inclusive model means that the state, as well as civil society, has a say in the creation of conventions, recommendations and international labour laws.
The work of the ILO is based on four strategic objectives:
- Advancing and ensuring basic principles and rights in the workplace, e.g., freedom of association, the abolition of forced and child labour and non-discrimination.
- Developing more opportunities for decent work due to sustainable economic growth.
- Improving the reach and efficacy of the social protection systems.
- Empowering tripartism and social dialogue among the governments, employers, and workers.
At the international level, the ILO establishes standards in the form of legally binding conventions and those that are non-binding recommendations that member states have the option of ratifying, and although they are not part of national law, can be attained by use of national law interpretations. It also assists nations in technical support, research, advising and capacity building.
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To the NGOs and the civil society organisations as well, the ILO is relevant in terms of its rights-based approach to development. It offers an international model of advocacy, provides means of empowering informal workers as well as a chance of coordinated efforts on pertinent concerns, which include child labour, decent pay, labour safety and gender equality. In this new world of economic transformation, the ILO is a critical organisation facilitating reliable, inclusive, sustainable and ethical progress.
India and the ILO: A Century-Long Collaboration
The relationship between India and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is old and is of great significance since India became one of the founding entities in 1919. This collaboration has been developed in the last 100 years through the enhanced engagement in policymaking, the acceptance of international labour standards and the execution of developmental schemes to enhance the standard of living of the employees in the country.
India has ratified a number of ILO conventions and recommendations, especially the ones touching on child labour, forced labour, equal remuneration and occupational safety. These conventions have contributed to the making of labour laws in India and have led to the implementation of reforms to safeguard disadvantaged sections, including the informal sector of more than 80 per cent of the country’s workforce.
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The ILO has assisted India by providing a tremendous variety of programs concerning the urgent labour-related concerns, which involve:
- Abolition of child labour, significant collaboration in national action plans and monitoring mechanisms.
- Campaigns and policy recommendations on encouraging gender equality in the workplace.
- Enhancing social protection mechanisms, including both pensions and health care for informal workers.
- Enhancing better workplace safety and health, particularly, agriculture, construction and small-scale industries.
On the part of the NGO, this collaboration is very relevant. NGOs have also been used to carry out several of the ILO’s initiatives by using their grassroots connections and their credibility to reach even the most vulnerable. NGOs have also been the most vocal lobby groups on the need to strengthen labour laws, economic inclusiveness and enforcement of workers’ rights.
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With India still struggling to overcome issues such as informalisation of work, unemployment among the youth, and gender inequality, the partnership between India and the ILO not only provides technical support but also a very effective framework of rights-based development, which is inclusive in nature, with civil society commanding a prominent position.
Impact of ILO Programs on Labour Rights and Social Justice in India
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has, over the decades, been active in making sure labour rights and social justice are advanced in India. It has had an influence in various avenues-including the abolition of child labour, advancement of decent work and sustainable growth, especially in the informal sector where millions of people still lack labour protection.
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Another very notable sector that the ILO has been active in is the campaign against child labour. This cooperation of the ILO and the Indian government to tackle the program in their country and the organisations there has resulted in the creation of national action programs, the community-based approaches of solving the problem and organising the awareness campaigns have saved and rehabilitated thousands of children.
The other significant contributions have been in empowering labour standards and workplace conditions. ILO has assisted in India in legislative framing and review point of view as focused on minimum wages, occupational safety, gender equality and social protection plans. The labour in the textile, construction industry, household service and agriculture has stepped towards the enforcement of labour laws and the concept of Decent Work for all.
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To the NGOs, ILO programs can provide them with a framework and even a partnership. Civil society organisations have been very instrumental in assisting in ILO pilot projects, policy consultations and training sessions–particularly where there are underserved and rural populations. Through the informal workers, women, and migrant labourers, NGOs create a way to make them certain that the benefits of the ILO policies are disseminated to those who find themselves on the edge of being exploited and marginalised.
Furthermore, the emphasis on tripartite dialogue made by the ILO influences the inclusion of policymaking, where NGOs can become a fourth pillar – a way to close the gap between workers and policymakers. It is through these partnerships that the ILO has remained instrumental in ensuring the Indian labour system becomes fairer, equal and rights-based.
NGO Engagement with ILO: Partnerships for Decent Work and Grassroots Advocacy
The work of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in developing the mission of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in India is quite strategic as well as very important. Whereas the ILO operates through its own tripartite framework, which involves the government, employers and workers, NGOs play pivotal facilitating roles at grass-root level, particularly the attainment of the vulnerable, informal, as well as marginalised workforce.
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A large number of ILO projects in India have witnessed collaboration with NGOs in aspects of eradicating child labour, vocational skills and livelihoods, occupational health and safety, and social protection. NGOs contribute the knowledge, trust, and outreach at the community level, which makes them immaterial in the design and delivery of interventions, culturally relevant and effective to the location.
In an example, in the projects deployed by International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) or in the awareness programmes on gender equality and harassment at workplace, NGOs have contributed significantly in organizing communities, researching, and providing capacity-building seminars. They also have played role in monitoring and advocacy, which has been able to determine the ground realities and accountability on the part of the stakeholders.
Furthermore, the new nature of work brings about the increasing informalisation of the labour market and the adoption of gig economy jobs and technological change, which is why NGOs have much more cooperation with the ILO to give the voice of the workers not encompassed by formal systems. NGOs help the domestic workers, street vendors, migrant labourers and home-based producers to represent those, who would not be neglected in policy discussions at the national level.
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Participation in ILO conventions, ILO reports and ILO consultative processes enable NGOs to not merely make their contribution to the international discourse, but also to global standards to become action at the local levels. This way, they empower the vision of Decent
Work for All and assist in the creation of an inclusive, just and sustainable labour ecosystem in India.
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