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International labor law protects the rights of workers and employers globally, with a focus on social justice. The International Labor Organization (ILO) establishes standards to protect workers and employers from exploitation, including the right to join workers’ groups and associations, equal pay, and the prevention of child labor. Globalization and trade liberalization present new challenges, as multinationals seek cheaper labor and material resources. The ILO seeks to balance the interests of developed and developing countries.
International labor law is a type of international law that deals with the rights of workers and employers from a global social justice perspective. The legal basis is contained in the treaties, rules of customary international law and general legal principles of the participating nations which allow for the application of the law by virtue of their agreement to be bound by it. Most of the relevant developments in this area are part of the work of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Labor concerns in the international arena are based on notions of global poverty alleviation, economic equality, and the competitiveness of the workforce between developed and least developed countries. The underlying principle of international labor law is that of social justice applied to promote equal protection for less powerful members of a population. After World War I, sovereign nations mandated the ILO to establish international standards that would protect workers and employers from exploitation.
The resulting ILO Declaration of Standards established that labor is not a commodity. Workers should have the freedom to join workers’ groups and associations that would fight for their rights. The world’s populations should have the right to be free from poverty and to enjoy economic equality through the fruits of their labour. Ultimately, the improvement of the common welfare should be the focal point of working practices.
These standards have led to real advances in international labor law. Over the years, the ILO has promoted international agreements that have ended forced labor and recognized the right to equal pay for men and women and the right of workers to resort to collective bargaining. The participating nations have signed agreements denouncing discrimination of all kinds in the workplace and have established a minimum age for workers aimed at preventing the use of child labour.
Globalization and trade liberalization have added a new dimension to international labor law. Multinationals that relocate their operations to developing countries to take advantage of cheaper labor and material resources have presented new challenges to the international labor movement. On the one hand, the ILO seeks to preserve the advances in living standards enjoyed by workers in developed countries who are threatened by a cheaper workforce. The other side seeks to protect the right of developing countries to enjoy an economic benefit that will improve living standards beyond what is available without investment by foreign companies.
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