Where a State ratifies an ILO Convention, including one concerning freedom of association, it becomes obliged to provide reports on the application of the Convention.
Workers’ organizations can use this opportunity to formulate observations on the application of the specific ILO Conventions and in this way bring a violation of freedom of association to the attention of the ILO supervisory bodies.
This option requires ratification by your country of relevant ILO Conventions on freedom of association: Nos. 87 and 98 and 11, 135, 141, 151 and 154.
Reports frequency
- Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 - every three years
- Conventions Nos. 11, 135, 141, 151, and 154 - every six years
Check the reporting calendar for your country.
Content of the Governments’ reports
Reports must:
- Provide information on steps taken to apply the Convention in law and in practice;
- Indicate to which representative employers’ and workers’ organizations the government has communicated copies of the report;
- Whether any observations have been received from the organizations of employers and workers regarding the practical application of the Convention.
Observations by workers’ organizations:
- May be sent directly to the International Labour Standards Department (NORMES) of the International Labour Office and need not be sent through the government;
- Need not be sent at the same time as the government’s report;
- May be sent by any workers’ organization.
Actions by the Office and the CEACR
The Office includes the observations received by the social partners with the file reviewed by the CEACR concerning the State and its application of the Convention concerned. It transmits a copy of the observations to the government concerned and asks for any comments the government might have.
Be aware of timelines:
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In a reporting year, when observations from employers’ and workers’ organizations are not provided with the government’s report, they should be received by the Office by 1 September at the latest, so as to allow the government concerned to have a reasonable time to respond, thereby enabling the CEACR to examine the issues raised at its session the same year. When observations are received after 1 September, they would not be examined in substance in the absence of a reply from the government, except in exceptional cases (i.e. when the allegations are sufficiently substantiated and there is an urgent need to address the situation, whether because they refer to matters of life and death or to fundamental human rights or because any delay may cause irreparable harm). In addition, observations referring to legislative proposals or draft laws may also be examined by the Committee in the absence of a reply from the government.
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In a non-reporting year, when employers’ and workers’ organizations send observations, they will be examined in the year when the government’s report is due. However, if the observations meet the criteria of exceptional cases, the CEACR will examine them in the year in which they are received, even in the absence of a reply from the government concerned.
Impact: Review by the CEACR
After reviewing the observations made by the workers’ organization(s), the government’s reply and the file concerning the application of the Convention concerned in the country, the CEACR issues:
- A direct request sent directly to the government, and/or;
- An observation in its report to the International Labour Conference (ILC);
- Both forms of comments are available in NORMLEX.
In its comments, the CEACR may ask the government to provide more information. It may ultimately ask the government to change the law and/or practice. Depending on the severity of the allegation, the CEACR may ask the government to send its reports in an accelerated fashion. This will mean that the report will be due the very next year. Otherwise, the report will not be due until the normal reporting year for the Convention involved.
If the CEACR asks for a change in law or practice, it will not stop asking for the change until it has been made. Where some years go by without a change, it becomes more likely that the case will be selected for discussion by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) at the International Labour Conference in June the following year.
Review by the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS)
The CAS is a tripartite Conference Committee which holds its meetings in public during the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June. Each year, the vice-chairs of the Committee (employers’ and workers’ spokespersons) select, from the hundreds of observations made by the CEACR, some observations (approximately 24) for individual discussions. The draft list of individual cases is then submitted to the Committee for adoption by the second day of the Conference.
For these discussions, the government concerned is asked to publicly explain what the situation is with respect to application of the Convention. All members of the Committee, including workers’ and employers’ delegates, have the opportunity to publicly comment on the case, raise questions and suggest solutions.
Airing of the allegation in the Conference Committee can have an important impact. Often discussion of the individual case heightens public awareness of the situation and brings pressure to bear on the government concerned.
Download an overview of the regular supervisory process.
Find out more: ILO Constitution, Articles 22 and 23.