ILO: meaning, what it is, objectives and agency in Brazil

ILO stands for International Labor Organization, a body that creates labor protection rules through the publication of international standards.

The ILO (or International Labor Organization - ILO) has existed since 1919, is an agency of the United Nations (UN) and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

It was founded after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the peace document signed by the victorious countries of the First World War.

The institution is formed by representatives of three types of entities: governments, workers unions and employers unions. It currently has the membership of more than 180 countries.

What are the ILO's objectives?

Overall, the organization's goal is protect jobs andworkers rights anywhere in the world. To this end, the ILO publishes Labor Conventions and Recommendations on various topics.

The countries that are part of the Organization and ratify (approve) the documents must obligatorily respect the norms published by the organization.

ILO Protected Areas

To achieve the goals, the ILO works to protect work in nine different areas:

1. International labor standards: are created to regulate procedures, protect rights and determine rules that must be followed in relation to the protection of workers.
2. decent work: ensuring that workers have safe and dignified environments so that they can live with dignity. The ILO considers that decent work respects labor rights guaranteed by law, combats discrimination, forms of slave labor and the exploitation of child labor.
3. Child labor: is opposed by the ILO, which considers it a violation of children's rights and human rights. According to the organization, the exploitation of child labor does not allow children to have access to education, a decent life and the opportunity for adequate and healthy growth.
4. Housework: the ILO works so that domestic workers have their rights guaranteed, such as registering their activity in their work card. The purpose of the agency is to have domestic work formalized in accordance with labor laws.
5. Forced labour: forced labor is compared to slave labor and, according to the ILO, it is still a reality worldwide. The objective of the measures is to combat slave labor and human trafficking for this type of illegal activity.
6. youth employment: creation of measures to ensure that young people have access to good work opportunities and receive adequate training for the professions.
7. Gender and race: on this issue, the ILO creates policies to reduce inequalities at work, especially in relation to gender and ethnic inequalities. Among the main objectives is the guarantee of the same job opportunities for all people.
8. Future of work: to project the best possible future for workers, the ILO creates measures to combat unemployment and informal jobs. Looking to the future, the agency also works to fight poverty and guarantee better job opportunities for women.
9. South-South and Triangular Cooperation: in this cooperation, the ILO promotes the union and the formation of partnerships between developing countries to stimulate the exchange of ideas and successful experiences.

ILO Principles for Labor Protection

The work of the ILO follows four fundamental principles of labor protection:

• an end to the exploitation of forced labor;
• elimination of child labor;
• an end to the discrimination that affects employment relationships and professions;
• freedom of union association.

ILO in Brazil

The International Labor Organization has had an office in Brazil since the 1950s and the country has already adopted more than 95 Conventions published by the organization.

In Brazil, the ILO has three main objectives:

• encourage the creation of more jobs, with equality and dignity for Brazilian workers;
• end the exploitation of child labor and slave labor,
• encourage cooperation between workers, employers and government.

ILO Conventions valid in Brazil

Some protection Conventions published by the ILO and adopted by Brazil:

• Indemnity for work accidents in agriculture;
• Rules for setting the minimum wage;
• Prohibition of forced labor;
• Women's night work in industries;
• Equal pay for men and women;
• Social Security Rules;
• Maternity protection;
• Protection of work in contact with radiation;
• Elimination of child labor;
• Welfare of maritime and port workers;
• Minimum age for admission to work;
• Protection of Indigenous Peoples;
• Safety and health at work;
• Work safety in mines;
• Protection for domestic workers.

Conventions and Recommendations published by the ILO

Conventions and Recommendations are the two types of standards created by the ILO.

At Conventions define rules to protect workers and their rights. For these standards to be valid in the countries, each one must approve and ratify the document with the responsible authorities.

After the ratification of the document, the norms start to take effect and the governments must take the necessary measures to put them into practice. The conventions are from mandatory compliance, as a law.

already the Recommendations, on the contrary, are not mandatory. These are suggestions for approaches or possible solutions on a subject. They are often published to clarify or detail issues that have been decided upon at a Convention.