It is now clear that the ILO - the traditional guardian of the development and supervision of international labour standards - is starting to move, albeit slowly, towards more realistic and pragmatic ways to promote the wellbeing of workers.

However, the production of international labour standards will continue to be at the heart of the ILO. In this regard, one of the main successes in recent years has been a move away from the traditional view of having ‘standards for the sake of having them’ and this has enabled a more rational approach to the shortcomings of current international mechanisms for the protection of workers.

Employers and their organizations are increasing their active involvement in the ILO’s supervisory work. Through information sharing between employers and the Office, the mentality is starting to shift away from “naming and shaming” towards ways in which criticism of the supervisory bodies can be better met with ILO technical assistance, so as to overcome deficiencies in the application of international labour standards.

There are positive signs that the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work has had a positive effect in the world of work. First, the Declaration reflects a consensus among the international community as to the four fundamental labour principles, therefore allowing the multilateral system to focus and drive its actions towards promoting those principles. Second, its follow-up procedure has become a “flagship” reference at the international level. Third, the Declaration has proven that there is a market for fundamental principles in the workplace. Evidence of this is the increasing demand for ILO technical cooperation.

Finally, the increasing reference to international labour standards in international bilateral trade agreements seems to be signalling the beginning of a new era of the international trade system. The traditional rule that international trade and social issues are not mixed is once again being challenged.

However, this time it has passed from the theoretical discussion - such as the one held at the WTO ministerial summit in Singapore (1996) - to clear-cut provisions in international trade agreements with financial sanctions for non-compliers of labour standards. The rules are changing in the arena of international labour standards, and employers should be well prepared.

The IOE’s role is to promote the modernisation of labour standards such that existing standards are updated or set aside, and new standard setting discussions are chosen on the basis of their relevance to the current world of work. The IOE also continues to strongly support the Declaration and its fundamental principles, and ensures that these are actively promoted and supported.

This publication is meant to guide employers' organizations on questions regarding ratification and business-friendly ways of implementation of a selected number of ILO Conventions (and Recommendations) in national labour law and practice. To influence national consultations in this regard, employers' organizations need background information on ILO standards from an employers' perspective. The publication will be divided in two major parts. The first part will present views expressed by employers on ILO Conventions, both at the time of their adoption and at later ILO discussions. The second part of the toolkit will be devoted to an  assessment/analysis of the provisions of the Conventions from an employers perspective.

Input from major employers’ organizations around the world is essential to the success of the publication. Therefore we are currently inviting legal experts from our member federations to consider being part of this exercise.