16.
Drafting laws and promoting legislative reforms70
As highlighted in Unit 1 of this practical guide, the instruments adopted at the International Labour Conference, the decisions of the bodies of the ILO's supervisory system, the technical assistance of the International Labour Office, and the political support of the ILO have had a substantial influence on the promotion of protective labor legislation.71 Trade unions can use international labor standards and the pronouncements of the supervisory bodies to develop proposals for legislation and to promote labor reforms in line with trade union demands. It is important to note that the ILO regular supervisory bodies, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and the Committee on the Application of Standards, permanently monitor reforms in labor legislation in accordance with international labor standards and the observations and recommendations of the ILO supervisory bodies, including the bodies of the special supervisory procedures, the tripartite committees arising from complaints, the commissions of inquiry, and the Committee on Freedom of Association.
Trade unions can also use international labor standards, including unratified Conventions and Recommendations, as a source of inspiration in the framework of legislative reforms. Another relevant resource is the comments on draft legislation and technical concepts provided by the International Labour Office. This resource can also be used for the formulation of draft legislation. In addition, the following points are relevant: When a Convention is accompanied by a Recommendation, it is important that trade unions use both instruments together. Often the complementary Recommendation sets out the details regarding the implementation of the Convention. Use the comments and recommendations made by the ILO supervisory bodies concerning your country where relevant. Supporting the trade union proposal for reform in legislation with ILO recommendations reinforces the proposal politically and legally.
70. The following documents have been taken as sources for this section: Panorama Laboral Normativo. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/actrav/info/pubs/WCMS_537018/lang--es/index.htm; Guía N° 12. Normas internacionales del trabajo: herramientas para fortalecer la legislación laboral nacional; and Guía N° 4 para promover la implementación de las recomendaciones del Comité de Libertad Sindical. Available here: https://www.ilo.org/actrav/info/pubs/ WCMS_430607/lang--es/index.htm 71. VILLASMIL PRIETO, Humberto. Una visión “americana” del centenario de la OIT: aproximación a la comprensión de una relación histórica. OIT: ILO Latin America Southern Cone Office, December 2019. Available: https://www. ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---americas/---ro-lima/---sro-santiago/documents/publication/wcms_736787.pdf
158 PRACTICAL GUIDE TO TRADE UNION ACTION AT THE ILO
