ILO centenary celebrated in NZ

Businesses, unions and the Government today celebrate the centenary of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The ILO was set up as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that ended World War I and created the League of Nations, now the United Nations.

The ILO was also created in 1919, to foster international consensus on good workplace practice.

BusinessNZ, the CTU and the Government represent New Zealand at the ILO, contributing to international labour standards and policing worker and employer rights

International labour standards are created or changed by employer, worker and government delegates from all countries. Equal voting power for all delegates allows governments to side with either union or employer delegates on key labour standards, or to join with both sides in agreed positions, creating a dynamic environment in which international workplace issues can be resolved

The ILO is also a forum for complaints from union and employer groups about government violations of worker and employer rights.

BusinessNZ has played a leading role developing recent international standards on health and safety, work in the fishing industry, and domestic work. CTU representatives have held similarly important leadership roles at the ILO.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said the work of BusinessNZ and the CTU at the ILO helped grow New Zealand’s international relationships and contributed to better workplace law in all 187 ILO member countries.

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