“This
fundamental convention sets the general minimum age for admission to employment
or work at 15 years (13 for light work) and the minimum age for hazardous
work at 18 (16 under certain strict conditions). It provides for the
possibility of initially setting the general minimum age at 14 (12 for
light work) where the economy and educational facilities are insufficiently
developed.” (See
Rules of the game: A brief introduction to International Labour Standards, p.
30).
In June 1994, at the 81
st 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:
