Rules of the Game: An Introduction to the Standards-Related Work of the International Labour Organization

The Rules of the Game: An introduction to the standards-related work of the ILO provides a brief presentation of the ILO’s standards policy with a view to facilitating understanding and ownership by the ILO’s traditional constituents, as well as the United Nations system, non-specialists and the broader public. In its first section, the publication recalls the underlying reasons for and utility of the ILO’s standards-related action at both the national level and in the current context of globalization. The content of international labour standards is then presented thematically in the second section. The third section consists of a description of the supervisory mechanisms of the application of international labour standards by ILO member States. The updating of this reference work, which was first published in 2005 and the most recent edition of which is dated 2014, bears witness to the dynamic nature of the ILO’s standards policy. The new 2019 edition, which coincides with the ILO’s centenary, describes recent developments, including the new instruments adopted, the launch of the Standards Centenary Initiative, which is intended to strengthen the supervisory system, and the establishment of the Standards Review Mechanism. It also places in perspective the essential contribution of international labour standards to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in 2015, and the more general reflection on the Future of Work. This edition, prepared by Eric Gravel, of the International Labour Standards Department, contributes to promoting the Organization’s standards-related action and disseminating more broadly information on its standards-related mandate.