This book tells the story of the International Labour Organization, founded in 1919 in the belief that universal and lasting peace goes hand in hand with social justice. Since then the ILO has contributed to the protection of the vulnerable, the fight against unemployment, the promotion of human rights, the development of democratic institutions and the improvement of the working lives of women and men everywhere. In its history the ILO has sometimes thrived, sometimes suffered setbacks, but always survived to pursue its goals through the political and economic upheavals of the last 90 years. The authors have between them many years of experience of working in and studying the ILO. They explore some of the main ideas that the ILO has developed and championed, and tell how they were applied, and to what effect, at different times and in different parts of the world. There are chapters on rights at work, the quality of employment, income protection, employment and poverty reduction, a fair globalization and today''s overriding goal of decent work for all. The book ends with reflections on the challenges ahead in a world where the present economic crisis underlines the urgency of global action for social justice.

Contents Foreword ix Authors' preface xiii 1. An international organization for social justice 1 A "wild dream" 1 The central ideas 6 Tripartism 12 The system of international labour standards 19 The ILO in a changing world 25 2. Human rights and rights at work 37 Introduction 37 Human rights and ILO history 41 Major themes of the ILO's human rights work 45 Concluding remarks 90 3. The quality of work 93 Improving working lives 93 A changing policy environment 96 The impact of the ILO's work-Some illustrations 107 The challenges ahead 137 4. Social protection 139 Social protection for all? 139 The ILO social insurance model between the wars 140 From social insurance to social security: The war as a transition period 150 The challenge of "universal" social security 155 Crisis and controversy: The Chilean pension model as an example 160 Social protection as part of an intergrated ILO approach 165 Conclusion 169 5. Employment and poverty reduction 171 The interwar period 172 The Second World War and its immediate aftermath 178 The 1950s and 1960s 180 The World Employment Programme 186 The 1980s 195 The 1990s 199 The 2000s 203 6. Decent work and a fair globalization 205 A social foundation for the international economy: The early decades 206 From planning to deregulation: The post-war decades 209 The re-emergence of international social policy 213 The Decent Work Agenda 222 Looking ahead 235 Appendixes Appendix I: A chronology of the ILO 243 Appendix II: Selected official documents 249 Appendix III: Selected further reading 255 Index 261