During these years the Declaration has had significant influence. Within the ILO, it has been reinforced by the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization and the 2019 Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, becoming a pillar of the ‘decent work’ concept. The promotional follow-up mechanism of the Declaration has also played an important role in fostering the ratification of the fundamental conventions. Outside the ILO, the Declaration is referenced in various private instruments of labour governance, including international framework agreements and corporate social responsibility codes. It has also been expressly embraced in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Principle 12), and, although not explicitly mentioned, both the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (chapter 5) and the 2030 UN Agenda (SDG 8) incorporate several core labour standards. However, its most significant impact has been in FTAs (see here). According to the ILO’s database covering the period 1998-2022, a total of 357 FTAs were adopted, with 329 incorporating labour provisions and 113 explicitly referring to the ILO 1998 Declaration. As previously mentioned, this issue sparked crucial debates during the adoption of the 2022 amendment.
As a result, concerns regarding the hierarchization of labour rights have materialized, with core labour standards overshadowing other internationally recognized labour rights. Moreover, the enforcement of these standards has expanded beyond the ILO’s framework, leading to further fragmentation in international labour law. However, the Declaration has also triggered a counter-trend towards greater synergy. This trend spans mainly from recent developments concerning workers’ rights within the IASHR.
Core Labour Standards at the IASHR: The Case of the Right to Strike and the Right to Safe and Healthy Working Conditions
Extensive scholarship has underscored the merits of framing labour rights as human rights (for an overview, see here and here). Within this context, the IACtHR has assumed an important role, particularly in the wake of its landmark 2017 ruling in the case Lagos del Campo vs. Peru which established the direct enforceability of economic, social, cultural and zalo database environmental rights (ESCER). This shift has propelled the IACtHR to the forefront of global labour governance (see Ebert in this volume). This section contributes to this ongoing discussion by shedding light on two recent advancements within the IASHR: the recognition of the right to strike and the evolving case law regarding the right to safe and healthy working conditions.
The recognition of the right to strike has been a contentious issue within the ILO. While the traditional interpretation derived the right to strike from ILO Convention No. 87, the employers’ group challenged this interpretation, resulting in a blockade within the Committee on the Application of Standards of the ILC in 2012 (see here). Despite ongoing efforts, this issue remains unresolved (see here). However, a significant breakthrough occurred in 2021 when the IACtHR issued its Advisory Opinion 27/21, affirming that the right to strike is a human right derived from ILO Fundamental Convention No. 87 and a principle of customary international law (paras. 95-97). This decision was further reinforced by the Judgment in Former Employees of the Judiciary v. Guatemala, firmly establishing the enforceability of the right to strike within the Inter-American space (see here). The IACtHR’s stance on this matter extends beyond the IASHR and indicates a significant shift in the global recognition of this crucial right (see Lörcher & Ebert here).