UN labour body, survivor from League of Nations, turns 100

Of all the institutions set up in Geneva under the League of Nations after World War I, only one, the International Labour Organization, survived the rise of fascism and World War II.

Historians have pointed to several reasons why the ILO, which marks its 100th anniversary on Monday, endured while the rest of the League collapsed.

They included anxiety in the West about worker uprisings following the Russian Revolution, the election of US president Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, and the ILO's exile in Montreal from 1940-47.

More modern concerns will top the agenda at the ILO's annual congress this week, where dozens of leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev are expected.

Following the #MeToo movement, ILO delegates will consider a convention on harassment and violence in the workplace, but may end up settling for a non-binding "recommendation," the organisation's director general, Guy Ryder, told journalists recently.

Under ILO's 100-year-old "tripartite" structure, delegates include government officials, union leaders and private sector employer representatives.

"It's going to be hard grind multilateral tripartite negotiations," Ryder said, stressing that he is not expecting a celebratory atmosphere at a congress also due to issue a declaration on "The Future of Work."
"I'd love to think there'll be a festive moment in it," Ryder said. "I very much doubt it."
In the preamble to the articles that set up the ILO -- originally called the International Labour Office -- the Treaty of Versailles stressed that harsh working conditions were so pervasive they "imperilled the peace and harmony of the world."
"They didn't like freedom of association and they didn't want to have employers -- capitalist employers -- in the organisation."