ILO Standards and Principles
on Labour Disputes Settlement
Alain Pelce
Senior International Labour
Standards Specialist
ILO Office in Moscow
Relevant Sources of
International Labour Law
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International Labour Standards
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Conventions or Recommendations
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Tripartite adoption
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Universality, flexibility, normative content
Practice of the supervisory bodies
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Comments of the Committee of Experts
Conclusions of the Conference Committee on
Application of Standards
Decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
The Voluntary Conciliation and Arbitration
Recommendation, 1951 (No. 92)
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Voluntary Conciliation machinery:
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Purpose: prevention and settlement of industrial
disputes
Voluntary, free of charge, expeditious
Equal representation of workers and employers
Parties encouraged to abstain from strikes or lockouts
during the process
Agreement reached equivalent to usual agreement
Voluntary Arbitration
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If dispute submitted for final settlement with the
consent of all the parties they should abstain from
strikes and lockouts
BUT does not limit the right to strike
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
The Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981
(No. 154)
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Bodies and procedures for the settlement of
labour disputes should be so conceived as to
contribute to the promotion of collective
bargaining
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Conciliation and/or arbitration can be part of
bargaining process provided they are voluntary
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Recommendation No. 163 adds that measures
should be taken to create procedures to assist
the parties in finding themselves solutions to
disputes relating to negotiation, interpretation
and application of agreements
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
The Labour Relations (Public Service)
Convention, 1978 (No. 151)
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Settlement of disputes related to determination
of terms and conditions of employment through:
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negotiation between the parties, or
independent and impartial machinery (mediation,
conciliation or arbitration) enjoying the confidence of
the parties
Similar provisions in the Nursing Personnel
Convention, 1977 (No. 149)
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
Roles of Labour Administration
and Labour Inspection
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Competent bodies within the labour
administration should provide conciliation and
mediation facilities in case of collective disputes
Labour Administration Recommendation, 1978 (No. 158)
BUT
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Not for labour inspectors to act as conciliators or
arbitrators
Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81) and
Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1969
(No. 133)
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
Relevant Standards and Principles on
Freedom of Association
Two basic principles:
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Right to strike
As implied by the Freedom of
Association and the Right to Collective
Bargaining Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
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Promotion of voluntary collective
bargaining
As provided by the Right to Organize
and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949
(No. 98)
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
Relevant Standards and Principles on
Freedom of Association
Requirement of prior exhaustion of
conciliation, mediation or voluntary
arbitration procedure is an acceptable
condition to the exercise of the right to
strike
However, machinery must genuinely
facilitate bargaining, and not be so
complex or slow that it would make lawful
strike impossible
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
Relevant Standards and Principles on
Freedom of Association
Imposition of compulsory arbitration is
acceptable only where the right to strike
can legitimately be restricted:
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In the event of acute crisis, for a limited period
of time
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In the public service, only for public servants
exercising authority in the name of the State
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In essential services, whose interruption would
endanger the life, safety or health of the
population
Industrial Disputes Settlement:
Relevant Standards and Principles on
Freedom of Association
Where legitimate restrictions to the right to
strike can be imposed, they should be
accompanied by compensatory
guarantees including conciliation and
arbitration procedures that are:
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Adequate
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Impartial
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Speedy
Enjoying the confidence of the parties
Settlement of Disputes of Rights:
The Examination of Grievances
Recommendation, 1967 (No. 130)
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Encourages the establishment of a grievance procedure at
the level of the undertaking as a first step before resorting
to other procedures, such as courts or arbitration
Applies to rights disputes, not to collective claims aimed at
modifying terms and conditions of employment
Procedure should be simple and rapid, minimize
formalities, ensure the right of the worker to participate,
to be assisted or represented
Protection against retaliation
Grievance prevention
Adjustment of unsettled grievances through voluntary
procedures, conciliation, arbitration, labour courts
Concluding Remarks
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In spite of its importance for industrial
relations, disputes settlement covered
only by few instruments
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Do not prescribe specific models
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Linked to issues that remain
controversial, such as strikes or lockouts
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Prospects for a new instrument ?