Decent Work, Social Justice, Status-Quo: The ILO as a World Organization

Abstract

From internal struggles to ineffective international programming, the ILO has long been plagued with a variety of issues that undermine its efficacy. This has resulted in some scholars dismissing the organization as a relevant player in the world of international work and labour. However, this paper contends that these accusations fail to consider the ILO as a complex and multifaceted organization with its own mandate, agenda, and impact. Using the world organizations approach put forward by Martin Koch, four aspects of the ILO are discussed: world semantics, internal order, external relations, and contributions to world order. This analysis finds that, though the ILO has often failed to drive rapid progress in the world of work and labour, the incremental changes it has made to international working conditions through the use of small-scale programming has overall improved working conditions for many workers around the world.