“This
fundamental convention prohibits forced or compulsory labour as a means of
political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or
expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the
established political, social or economic system; as a method of mobilizing
and using labour for purposes of economic development; as a means of labour
discipline; as a punishment for having participated in strikes; and as a
means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination” (see
Rules of the game: A brief introduction to International Labour Standards, p.
29).
In June 1994, at the 81st Session of the International Labour Conference, a
clear consensus emerged among ILO′s constituents to step up promotion of
fundamental social rights. The
World
Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in March 1995, bolstered ILO′s efforts by inviting the governments to protect and promote “respect for the
fundamental rights of workers”. It was in this favourable international
context that ILO defined as “fundamental” the conventions dealing with
matters considered to be fundamental principles and rights at work. On 25
May 1995, ILO Director-General
Michel Hansenne,
sent a letter to the Member States with a view to obtaining
universal ratification of these fundamental conventions, of which there
were seven at the time.
The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), a
promotional instrument drawn up specifically to strengthen application of
the fundamental legal principles for social justice, gave a substantial
boost to the ratification campaign.
In 2008, ILO Director-General
Juan Somavia, drew attention to the importance of accelerated ratification of
the fundamental conventions and proposed the goal of universal ratification
by 2015. (See
Ratification and promotion of fundamental ILO conventions, p. 1)
There are currently eight fundamental conventions: