THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO)
BACKGROUND: The ILO is the only major organization originally part of the League of Nations system that has existed from the founding of the League in 1919 down to the present day. Its name is actually too narrow, for it is an organization neither of nor for labor alone. As the late James T. Shotwell, president emeritus of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, pointed out long ago, the ILO might more accurately have been termed an International Organization for Social Justice. Furthermore, as the organization's responsibilities have widened, it has given increasing attention to measures designed to help raise general standards of living. Its work now even includes activities such as productivity training courses for management personnel and high government. Michel Hansenne, Director General of the ILO from 1989 to 1999, said, "Employment—the best possible employment for all—has always been, and will remain, the principal objective of our Organization, whose mission is to link economic growth, social justice and the creation and distribution of wealth."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Conditions of Work Digest . Legal, policy, and program information on significant issues and emerging trends in the field of conditions of work and quality of working life. Annotated bibliographies, guides to information sources. Worldwide coverage.
International Labour Review . Notes and comments on the social and labor situation in the world and articles based on recent ILO and other research into economic and social topics of international interest affecting labor. Notes on new books published or received by the ILO. Six issues per year.
LABORDOC . (database) Machine-readable version of International Labour Documentation, available for interactive and retrospective on-line searching through several information hosts. Offers worldwide coverage of labor questions, especially industrial relations, labor law, employment, working conditions, vocational training, labor related aspects of economics, social development, rural development, and technological change.
Official Bulletin, Series A . Information on activities of the ILO, texts adopted by the ILC, and other official documents. Three issues per year. Series B. Reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association of the Governing Body and related material. Three issues per year.
The World Employment Report. Reviews the global employment situation. Biennial.
World Labour Report . Reviews significant recent events and policy experiences in: human rights at work; employment; labor relations; social protection and working conditions. Yearly.
Yearbook of Labour Statistics . A comprehensive survey of annual data from all parts of the world relating to total and economically active population, employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, labor cost, strikes, and lockouts.
All publications may be ordered from the Secretariat in Geneva, or, in North America, from the ILO Publications Center, 49 Sheridan Avenue, Albany, NY 12210. The ILO catalog of publications is available online at www.ilo.org/ .
what are the roles of ILO in the growth of the globalized economy?