Ratifying and implementing ILO conventions

Implementation

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

Claim

For workers and their trade unions to play a full and informed role in support of sustainable development, governments and employers should promote the rights of individual workers to freedom of association and the protection of the right to organize as laid down in ILO conventions. Governments should consider ratifying and implementing these conventions, if they have not already done so.

Counter-claim

Ratifying and implementing ILO conventions is often overstated as a critical issue. Many countries already have robust labor laws that protect workers' rights without the need for additional international frameworks. The focus should be on enforcing existing regulations rather than adopting new conventions that may not align with local contexts. Prioritizing economic growth and job creation is far more pressing than bureaucratic processes surrounding ILO conventions, which often serve as mere formalities rather than effective solutions.