WDDW2008: Decent Work and Human Rights - Speech by Frances O'Grady

World Day for Decent Work

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Speech by TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady

What is Decent Work? The simplest summary is this: work in freedom, dignity and security.

Take those three elements and break them down into their constituent parts. The relationship between Decent Work and human rights becomes pretty clear.

The Decent Work Agenda - the vision and path of how to achieve Decent Work for all - was a concept developed in the ILO, the only tripartite body in the United Nations system. It has been the keystone of the ILO's search for policy coherence in the UN system and with the international financial institutions.

But the campaign took a major step forward this year when the annual International Labour Conference adopted a new 'Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation'. That set out more clearly the importance and mutual interdependence of four pillars of Decent Work: employment, social protection, social dialogue and tripartism and....fundamental human rights at work.

What are those human rights? They are the right to organise in free and independent trade unions and to bargain collectively; and to work free of discrimination, and freed from forced labour and child labour. Those rights are set out in the eight 'core' or 'fundamental human rights' Conventions - often just called the 'core labour standards', and in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work which binds all the ILO's 182 member States to uphold, promote and respect the principles of the eight Conventions even if they haven't yet ratified them.

The notion that freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively were universal human rights goes back to the ILO Constitution, the UN Declaration on Human Rights and to the ILO's 1944 Philadelphia Declaration. It was the Philadelphia Declaration that made it a clear constitutional obligation of all ILO member States to protect the principles of freedom of association. The two key Conventions: Convention 87 on freedom of association and the right to organise and Convention 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining, followed soon after in 1948 and 1949.

The key Convention on forced labour dates from 1929 and has proved to be of enduring relevance: not least in our struggle against human trafficking and against the exploitation of prisoners by private companies.

The Conventions on equal pay and discrimination in occupation and employment have proved to be a bedrock of equalities legislation.

The child labour Conventions: 138 on minimum age for entry into employment and 182 on worst forms of child labour are the basis of a global campaign - in which trade unions need to play a still greater role - to ensure that every child is at school and not at work.

And I should note the role the TUC has played in the development of these standards and instruments. We have been major players in the ILO from its early days. But in recent years, we have played pivotal roles in the negotiation and drafting of the 1998 Declaration; of Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour; and the new, 2008, Declaration.

The understanding that these fundamental human rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible, mutually interdependent and not dependent on economic development is seminal for three reasons:

First, if they weren't universal they could not be described as human rights. Human rights, by definition, apply to all people. It may be true that, in some cases, their full realisation is linked to development, but only a lack of political will (or direct opposition to them) prevent governments from recognising them as rights and enshrining the principles in national legislation, constitutions and bills of rights.

Second, they provide a floor of enabling rights (yes, with freedom of association as primus inter pares) without which the other pillars of decent work cannot be achieved: winning secure employment, ensuring social protection - both social security and safety and health at work - and engaging in social dialogue.

Third, they are an essential fuel to power not just basic human dignity but also effective democracies. Lack of freedom of association and, often linked to it, denial of freedom of expression are key indicators of dictatorship, weak democracies and corrupt and ineffective governance: key barriers to sustainable and equitable development and to Decent Work.

Indeed when you consider the key role that free trade unions have played in the transition from dictatorship to democracy - from Chile, Argentina and Brazil to South Africa and Nigeria; from Iraq to Indonesia; and from Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey to Poland and the other EU member States of Central Europe - the relationship is evident.

The struggle for human rights at work and the struggle for human rights in wider society are interwoven.

We often say that we start from the premise that there are only two principal ways to protect working people: through good law properly enforced (and that means well functioning states and public services, including effective labour inspection); and by our own self-organisation in free, independent, democratic and representative trade unions.

And a key challenge now is that these fundamental rights at work are observed more in the breach than in the observance. Of course, ratification matters: while law and practice varies between them, the USA, India and China, which are homes to half the world's population, have not ratified the freedom of association Conventions.

But without implementation, ratification is hollow. In too many member States governments ignore their obligations under international law and fail to ensure that all those within their borders enjoy the rights the governments are bound to uphold. Government and business elites turn their backs on the poor and excluded in favour of the super-rich, their university and social circle buddies, the madness of the arms race. (And three days global arms expenditure would provide universal basic education for every child. Surely a better foundation for peace!).

And that is why freedom of association - the right to organise and bargain - lies at the heart of a human rights-based approach to development. Why it lies at the heart of formalisation of the informal economy, of protection for migrant workers, domestic workers, workers in export processing zones and in agriculture, (you'll note the overwhelmingly feminised profile of several of these sectors - yes, it is women who are disproportionately denied their fundamental rights at work).

Because unless we can exercise our right to organise so that, collectively, we can not just bargain with employers, but also DEMAND that all workers are protected under the rule of law, our wider human rights, our wider freedoms, cannot be fully realised.

And so we return to the ignition key, the spark plugs and the fuel for Decent Work.

Above all and in all circumstances: our self-organisation.

And that is why, on WORLD Day for Decent Work, we are exploring the interlinkages of global trade union solidarity and reaffirming our commitment to supporting the human right of all workers, everywhere and without distinction, to organise in full freedom.