Labour rights
ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
The five categories of fundamental workplace rights — binding on all ILO member states by virtue of membership, whether or not they have ratified the underlying conventions.
Definition
The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, commits all ILO member states — regardless of ratification — to respect, promote, and realise five categories of fundamental rights: freedom of association and effective recognition of collective bargaining; elimination of forced or compulsory labour; effective abolition of child labour; elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation; and, since 2022, a safe and healthy working environment.
References
instrument text
2022 amendment
Overview
What it means
The Declaration is unusual in international law: obligations flow from membership itself, making these the nearest thing to universal labour rights. The 2022 amendment elevating occupational safety and health to a fundamental right recognised that safe work is a precondition for all the others.
The categories anchor the labour chapters of trade agreements, corporate codes of conduct, and supply-chain standards — and define the floor beneath "decent work".
How it is used
Referenced in sustainability reporting (GRI, ESRS), supplier codes, trade-labour linkage, and ILO supervisory mechanisms and follow-up reporting.
Why it matters
They are the world's agreed minimum for how working people must be treated — the social floor of sustainability.
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