About this course
What are International Labour Standards and are they set? How are they supervised, and how can workers’ organisations use the ILO supervisory mechanisms?
This course discusses the fundamental rights to organise and bargaining collectively as well as the right to strike as key elements for realising workers’ rights. It provides important insights into the International Labour Standards and the standard-setting procedures. These course provides also important information on the supervisory mechanisms of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and how to use them to promote and defend workers’ rights in your country or at the international level.
This course was first launched in 2016.
Key concepts
International Labour Standards, collective organising, collective bargaining, the right to strike, the ILO supervisory mechanisms
Course structure
Chapter I: Introduction to the Course
Chapter II: Introduction to International Labour Standards (ILS)
Chapter III: Supervision of International Labour Standards (ILS)
Chapter IV: Freedom of Association, Collective Bargaining and the Right to Strike
Course materials and workload
This course has 4 content chapters. The chapter contains a series of units; each unit is composed of one video lecture, two quiz questions, a reflection question, a key reading, as well as additional reading materials. All these can be downloaded and used offline. Zoom workshops with the course contributors and/or other other experts provide a space to dive deeper into the topic (wherever available, these are located under the video lecture).
The estimated workload for each chapter, including key readings, is around 6 hours.
Course contributors
Susan Hayter, Senior Labour Relations Specialist, ILO
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Lorenzen, Professor of Employment and Labour Law at the Berlin School of Economics and Law
Beatriz Vacotto, Head of Unit Maritime Team, ILO
Jeffrey Vogt, Legal Director, Solidarity Center
Prof. Paul Whitehead, Professor of Practice in Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Penn State University, USA