The International Labour Organizationo and the Quest for Social Justice, 1919-2009

by Rodgers, Gerry; Lee, Eddy; Swepston, Lee; Van Daele, Jasmien

• ISBN13: 9780801448492
• ISBN10: 0801448492
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-06-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

Copublished with the International Labour Organization This book tells the story of the International Labour Organization, founded in 1919 in the belief that universal and lasting peace goes hand in hand with social justice. Since then the ILO has contributed to the protection of the vulnerable, the fight against unemployment, the promotion of human rights, the development of democratic institutions, and the improvement of the working lives of women and men everywhere. In its history the ILO has sometimes thrived, sometimes suffered setbacks, but always survived to pursue its goals through the political and economic upheavals of the last ninety years. The authors have between them many years of experience of working in and studying the ILO. They explore some of the main ideas that the ILO has developed and championed, and tell how they were applied, and to what effect, at different times and in different parts of the world. There are chapters on rights at work, the quality of employment, income protection, employment, poverty reduction, a fair globalization, and today's overriding goal of decent work for all. The book ends with reflections on the challenges ahead in a world where the present economic crisis underlines the urgency of global action for social justice.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Authors' preface	p. xiii
An international organization for social justice	p. 1
A "wild dream"	p. 1
The central ideas	p. 6
Tripartism	p. 12
The system of international labour standards	p. 19
The ILO in a changing world	p. 25
Human rights and rights at work	p. 37
Introduction	p. 37
Human rights and ILO history	p. 41
Major themes of the ILO's human rights work	p. 45
Concluding remarks	p. 90
The quality of work	p. 93
Improving working lives	p. 93
A changing policy environment	p. 96
The impact of the ILO's work - Some illustrations	p. 107
The challenges ahead	p. 137
Social protection	p. 139
Social protection for all?	p. 139
The ILO social insurance model between the wars	p. 140
From social insurance to social security: The war as a transition period	p. 150
The challenge of "universal" social security	p. 155
Crisis and controversy: The Chilean pension model as an example	p. 160
Social protection as part of an integrated ILO approach	p. 165
Conclusion	p. 169
Employment and poverty reduction	p. 171
The interwar period	p. 172
The Second World War and its immediate aftermath	p. 178
The 1950s and 1960s	p. 180
The World Employment Programme	p. 186
The 1980s	p. 195
The 1990s	p. 199
The 2000s	p. 203
Decent work and a fair globalization	p. 205
A social foundation for the international economy: The early decades	p. 206
From planning to deregulation: The post-war decades	p. 209
The re-emergence of international social policy	p. 213
The Decent Work Agenda	p. 222
Looking ahead	p. 235
Appendixes
A chronology of the ILO	p. 243
Selected official documents	p. 249
Constitution of the International Labour Organization: Preamble, 1919	p. 249
General Principles from the Constitution, 1919	p. 250
Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the International Labour Organization (Declaration of Philadelphia), 1944	p. 251
ILO Declarations	p. 254
Selected further reading	p. 255
ILO history	p. 255
Papers prepared for the ILO Century Project (2008)	p. 258
International labour standards	p. 259
Index	p. 261
Figures
International Labour Review articles on aspects of the quality of work, 1919-2008	p. 109
Long-term trends in annual working hours: Selected countries, 1870-2000	p. 111
Examples of danger symbols adopted by the ILO	p. 123
Boxes
The International Labour Organization today - A brief description	p. 11
Poland, Solidarność and the ILO	p. 51
Myanmar - A special situation	p. 64
Social insurance versus social assistance	p. 145
The Decent Work Agenda	p. 224
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