ILO – International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919 together with the League of Nations in the framework of the post World War I peace negotiations. The ILO was designed as a means to safeguard fair international competition and to prevent social dumping by maintaining minimum labor standards in the workplace on an international legal basis. It is to facilitate social achievements and improvements of working conditions, by introducing them on the basis of reciprocity. ILO has adopted a number of important conventions concerning issues such as the prohibition of forced labour (1930), freedom of association (1948), equal payment (1951), non-discrimination (1958), and prohibition of the worst forms of child labor (1999). Since its foundation, ILO has also dealt with women workers rights, and pursued two objectives: protection of the role and maternal function of women, and promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment for women. Keywords: International Labour Organization (ILO); social justice