BEERG Newsletter - ILO: Health and safety become first core principle

Delegates attending the International Labour Conference  (ILC) have adopted a resolution to add the principle of a safe and healthy working environment to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: HERE   Delegates adopted the measure at the Conference’s plenary sitting  on Friday 10 June.

 Until now there have been four categories of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: 

• freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
• the effective abolition of child labour;
• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

The decision by the Conference means that Occupational Safety and Health will become the fifth category. The Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work were adopted in 1998 as part of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Under the Declaration, ILO Member States, regardless of their level of economic development, commit to respect and promote these principles and rights, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.

For a trade union view on the decision see here