Workers' Right to Strike proposed for Protection under Convention 87 in ILO meeting

By 33 votes in favor, 21 against, and 2 abstentions, the proposal to seek an Advisory Opinion on the inclusion of the right to strike as one of the rights protected by Convention 87 on union freedom was passed at an extraordinary meeting of the Governing Board of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The issue will now be submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In the vote held on 10 November, 19 government representatives on the Governing Body voted with the 14 worker delegates to send the issue to the ICJ. Just seven voted with the employer group, which also has 14 members, while two governments abstained.

This vote marks a historic milestone. Since 2012, there has been a deadlock at the ILO on this issue between worker representatives and employer representatives. According to the ILO Constitution, such questions can be referred to the ICJ.

Employers claimed that the right to strike was not included in the terms of Convention 87, opposing the peaceful interpretation that the Commission of Experts on Conventions and Recommendations and the social actors themselves had shared for over 70 years.

PSI General Secretary Daniel Bertossa said: "The employers group denial of the right to strike is the denial of fundamental human rights and is an attack on all workers. Alarmingly it is a deliberate attempt to undermine the ability of the ILO to fulfill its historic mandate. After a decade of prevarication, workers deserve a clear resolution on this fundamental issue."

The ILO Convention 87, also known as the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, establishes the right for workers and employers to form and join organizations of their choice without prior authorisation and lays down a series of guarantees for the free functioning of organizations without interference by public authorities.