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| ILO Convention No. 87 | |
|---|---|
| Name | ILO Convention No. 87 |
| Adopted | 1948 |
| Entry into force | 1950 |
| Subject | Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise |
| Convention number | 87 |
| Supervised by | International Labour Organization |
ILO Convention No. 87 is an international treaty adopted in 1948 by the International Labour Organization at the 31st Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva. It establishes freedom of association and the right to organize for workers and employers, influencing jurisprudence in forums such as the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The instrument has shaped national legislation in countries like United Kingdom, France, India, Brazil, and South Africa and has been cited alongside instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Convention was drafted in the aftermath of World War II with input from delegates representing organizations such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the World Federation of Trade Unions, national governments including United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom, and employer groups like the Confederation of British Industry. Discussions occurred amid contemporaneous events such as the creation of the United Nations and debates at the San Francisco Conference and followed precedents from the Labour Party (UK) policy and reforms enacted in the New Deal. Adoption reflected tensions between proponents of pluralist labor rights in Switzerland and critics from delegations aligned with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Article provisions obligate member States to secure the right of workers and employers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing without prior authorization. The Convention’s text is read alongside other instruments such as the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 98) and has been interpreted in decisions by tribunals connected to the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and national constitutional courts like the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the Supreme Court of India. Its scope addresses issues similar to debates in the Labour Code of France, reforms in the Wagner Act era United States, and labor frameworks in Germany and Japan.
While many members of the International Labour Organization ratified the Convention quickly, some major States delayed ratification or accepted with reservations; notable ratifiers include Argentina, Italy, Chile, Mexico, and Australia. Non-ratifying States have included significant jurisdictions where labor movements are regulated under national law, producing comparisons with legal regimes in the People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, and several Gulf Cooperation Council members. The ILO supervisory bodies such as the Committee on Freedom of Association monitor compliance and publish observations that reference national cases from Kenya, Nigeria, Turkey, and Philippines.
Implementation has implicated domestic institutions like labor ministries in Spain and arbitration mechanisms in Netherlands, and has driven statutory reforms in countries experiencing democratization such as Poland and Czech Republic. The Convention influenced collective bargaining structures in the Nordic model countries—Sweden, Norway, Denmark—and informed transitional justice and labor policy in post-conflict contexts like Bosnia and Herzegovina and Timor-Leste. International organizations including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank reference the Convention in assessments of labor standards and social protection programs.
Courts and quasi-judicial bodies have invoked the Convention in prominent rulings: the European Court of Human Rights cited the Convention in cases concerning union pluralism, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights referenced it in decisions on collective rights, and national apex courts such as the Supreme Court of the United States (in scholarly commentary), Supreme Court of Canada, and the Constitutional Court of Colombia have drawn on its principles. Enforcement mechanisms rely chiefly on ILO supervisory procedures—the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and the Committee on Freedom of Association—and on bilateral interventions by organizations like the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Organisation of Employers.
Critics have argued that the Convention’s lack of explicit enforcement remedies limits effectiveness, a concern raised by commentators studying systems like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regimes and by labor movements in Zimbabwe, Myanmar, and Eritrea. Controversies include debates over the Convention’s application to public servants in Italy and Greece, the interplay with national security law in Egypt and Turkey, and disputes about compatibility with state party reservations filed by Argentina and Peru. Scholars from universities such as Harvard University, Oxford University, and University of Cape Town have published critiques highlighting tensions between universal standards and local industrial relations traditions.
The Convention functions as a cornerstone alongside Convention No. 98 and instruments like the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), and it is referenced in ILO recommendations, for example those relating to collective bargaining and trade union rights. It interacts with regional human rights instruments including the European Social Charter, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights, and complements standards in specialized treaties such as the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 and the Children's Rights and Protection instruments.