International Labour Office

The International Labour Office is the permanent secretariat of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations specialized agency devoted to social justice, decent work and international labour standards. Based in Geneva, the Office is the administrative and operational center of the ILO. It supports the International Labour Conference and the Governing Body, prepares technical and policy material, administers the organization’s programmes and budget, monitors labour developments, and delivers technical cooperation through a global network of offices and projects. The Office is not a commercial brand or an independent intergovernmental organization separate from the ILO. It functions as the organization’s professional secretariat, while the ILO’s policy direction is established through its distinctive tripartite system. Governments, employers and workers participate in the organization’s deliberations and decision-making. The International Labour Conference meets annually to debate and adopt international labour standards and related policies. The Governing Body acts as the executive council, setting the Conference agenda, supervising the Office, deciding major policy questions and submitting the programme and budget for approval. The Director-General leads the Office and is elected by the Governing Body. The institutional roots of the Office lie in the creation of the ILO in 1919 as part of the post-First World War settlement and the Treaty of Versailles. The founders sought a permanent international mechanism through which governments and representatives of organized labour and employers could address working conditions, industrial relations and social protection. The Office gave that mechanism continuity between annual conferences and provided the research, drafting, inspection, administrative and field capacity needed to turn decisions into programmes. The Office’s work covers international labour law and standards, employment policy, social protection, occupational safety and health, skills, migration, equality and non-discrimination, freedom of association, collective bargaining, forced labour, child labour and the transition to sustainable and productive work. Its outputs include comparative research, statistical and legal analysis, guidance, policy advice, capacity-building and technical assistance. These activities support the adoption and implementation of ILO conventions, recommendations and declarations, although the Office itself does not legislate for member states. A major constitutional turning point came with the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia, which reaffirmed the ILO’s social purpose and placed human dignity, economic security and social justice at the center of international policy. Its principle that labour is not a commodity remains closely associated with the organization’s identity. In 1946, the declaration was incorporated into the revised ILO Constitution. The ILO subsequently became a specialized agency of the United Nations, and the Office continued as its permanent administrative and technical arm. In the contemporary system, the Office works with member states and the social partners across a broad international network. It contributes to the United Nations development system and supports global goals related to poverty reduction, equality, decent work and inclusive economic growth. The Office also convenes or supports expert commissions and policy initiatives, including the Global Commission on the Future of Work, whose 2019 recommendations addressed lifelong learning, universal labour guarantees and social protection over the life course. Its positioning is therefore that of a neutral but norm-setting international public institution: it supplies expertise and implementation capacity while preserving the tripartite process through which ILO standards and programmes are determined.

The International Labour Office emerged from the institutional settlement that followed the First World War. Before 1919, labour reformers, trade unions, employers and public officials had already developed international networks concerned with factory conditions, working hours, social insurance and the protection of workers. Organizations such as the International Association for Labour Legislation and international labour conferences helped establish the idea that working conditions could not be addressed solely within national borders. During and immediately after the war, governments and labour movements advanced competing proposals for an international labour institution. Reconstruction debates linked social reform with political stability, and the peace negotiations recognized that poor working conditions and unequal labour regulation could contribute to international tension. The Commission on International Labour Legislation, established by the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, drafted provisions for an international labour organization. Its work became Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles, which created the International Labour Organization under the League of Nations. The permanent secretariat established to administer the new organization became the International Labour Office. The Office provided continuity between meetings of the International Labour Conference. It supported the preparation of draft standards, gathered information from member countries, conducted comparative studies and helped implement decisions. The ILO’s tripartite design distinguished it from most international institutions: governments, employers and workers were all formally represented. Governments held a larger number of delegates, but the participation of employers and workers made the Office’s work part of a structured process of social dialogue rather than a purely governmental exercise. The first International Labour Conference met in Washington, D.C., in October 1919 and adopted early instruments concerning working time, unemployment, maternity protection, night work for women, the minimum working age and night work for young people. In the interwar period, the Office expanded its research and standards activities while confronting economic crisis, political upheaval and changing labour systems. Its role combined normative work with practical assistance to administrations and social partners. The 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia was a decisive renewal of the organization’s purpose. It emphasized that labour is not a commodity, that freedom of expression and association are essential to progress, and that poverty anywhere threatens prosperity everywhere. The declaration also broadened the ILO’s outlook beyond workplace regulation toward employment, social security, economic planning and human rights. When the ILO Constitution was revised in 1946, the declaration was incorporated into it. The ILO then became a specialized agency of the United Nations, while the International Labour Office remained its permanent secretariat. Over subsequent decades, the Office developed a worldwide programme of standards supervision, labour statistics, research, technical cooperation and policy advice. Its work addressed decolonization, industrialization, employment promotion, social protection, equality, labour migration, occupational safety and health, and the rights of vulnerable workers. The Office also supported the adoption and monitoring of fundamental principles concerning freedom of association and collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labour and child labour, and the elimination of employment discrimination. In the twenty-first century, the Office has focused increasingly on globalization, technological change, informality, demographic change, climate-related transitions and the future of work. It contributes to United Nations development planning and supports the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the goal concerning decent work and inclusive economic growth. Its contemporary function remains both administrative and substantive: it manages the machinery of the ILO while providing the evidence, expertise and operational capacity through which the organization’s tripartite bodies pursue social justice.

• 2022

  New Director-General takes office

  [2]International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo succeeded Guy Ryder as Director-General and head of the Office.

• 2019

  Future of Work recommendations

  [2]International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  The Global Commission on the Future of Work issued recommendations on labour guarantees, lifelong learning and social protection.

• 1946

  ILO becomes a UN specialized agency

  [2]International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  The revised constitutional framework incorporated the Declaration of Philadelphia and placed the ILO within the United Nations system.

• 1944

  Declaration of Philadelphia adopted

  [2]International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  The declaration reaffirmed the ILO’s social purpose and articulated principles including the statement that labour is not a commodity.

• 1919

  ILO and International Labour Office established

  [2]International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  The Treaty of Versailles established the International Labour Organization, including a permanent International Labour Office to serve as its secretariat.

• 1919

  First International Labour Conference

  [2]International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  The first annual conference met in Washington, D.C., and adopted six initial international labour conventions.

International organization secretariat and expert public institution focused on labour standards, decent work, social justice and tripartite policy-making.

• Normative instruments · 1919

  International labour standards

  The Office researches, drafts and administers the technical work supporting ILO conventions, protocols, recommendations and declarations. These instruments address fundamental rights at work, employment policy, social security, working conditions, occupational safety and health, labour administration and other areas. The Office also supports the systems through which member states report on implementation and receive expert assistance.

• Research and data · 1919

  Labour research and statistics

  The Office produces comparative analysis, labour-market statistics, legal studies and policy research for governments and the social partners. This evidence base informs international standard-setting, country diagnostics, employment strategies and public discussion of work. Its research function also allows labour trends to be examined across countries and over time.

• Development assistance

  Technical cooperation

  Through country programmes and field operations, the Office provides policy advice, institutional support, training and implementation assistance. Projects may concern employment services, social protection, labour inspection, skills, occupational safety, social dialogue or the elimination of forced and child labour. Delivery is carried out with national authorities and worker and employer organizations.

• 2022

  Election of Gilbert Houngbo as Director-GeneralOther

  Background

  The ILO Governing Body selected a successor to Director-General Guy Ryder.

  Action taken

  The Governing Body elected Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, who assumed office on 1 October 2022.

  Aftermath

  Houngbo became the first African Director-General and took responsibility for leading the International Labour Office.

  Source

• 1944

  Adoption of the Declaration of PhiladelphiaStrategy

  Background

  The ILO needed to restate its purpose in the context of the Second World War and post-war reconstruction.

  Action taken

  The International Labour Conference adopted a declaration expanding the organization’s principles to include human rights, employment, social protection and international economic planning.

  Aftermath

  The declaration became an integral part of the ILO Constitution after the 1946 revision and remains a central reference for the Office’s work.

  Source

1. 1International Labour Office — official ILO overviewilo.org
2. 2International Labour Organizationen.wikipedia.org