Rights to work, to just and favourable conditions of work and to social security.

 

While the preceding five fundamental rights at work are enabling rights, other labour rights are also clearly designated as human rights. Among those clearly identified as basic human rights in the UDHR, the ICESCR and the ICCPR are the right to work, the right to just and favourable conditions of work (labour protection) and the right to social security. Another essential and enabling right is the right to education, which, because it lays the foundation for equal opportunities, will be discussed.

Guaranteed by the UDHR48 and defined in the ICESCR as “the opportunity to gain [one’s] living by work which [one] freely chooses or accepts”, the right to work is a central part of the mission of the ILO. This right, elaborated in the ICESCR, recognizes that decent work requires safe and healthy working conditions and fair remuneration and must be undertaken freely. It encompasses all forms of work,51 whether independent or dependent, paid or unpaid, and includes the right to access a system of protection guaranteeing each worker access to employment (UN 2006, para. 6). It also implies the right not to be unfairly deprived of employment. As stated in Article 1(1) of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), the aim of international and national employment policies should be “stimulating economic growth and development, raising levels of living, meeting manpower requirements and overcoming unemployment and underemployment” (addressed further in Chapter 2). In this regard, Convention No. 122 requires States to adopt employment policies that promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. Given that for most people, participation in the labour market is their only source of remuneration, Convention No. 122 is a “priority” Convention, one that is most significant for labour market governance and recommended for universal ratification. Without adequate opportunities for full, productive and freely chosen employment, too many people and their families have no pathway out of poverty and hunger – their options and those of their children will be limited, with consequential effects on their health, education and full participation in society.

 Ratification can help countries to determine how to address both the political commitment to realize the right to work and the national capacity to use employment policies as a tool to advance social justice.

 Figure 1.23 shows that while ratifications of Convention No. 122 continue to increase, fewer than two thirds of ILO Member States have ratified it, and the pace of ratification is distinctly slowing.

While the right to work has been thought of as a national policy instrument, many national constitutions recognize the right to work and provide that it is the duty of the state to promote conditions in which all citizens have the right to work (ILO 2020). The right to work provisions have been used in the constitutional principles of some countries to address the impact of technology on workers (ILO 2020). Furthermore, some countries have included constitutional provisions on the nature of the employment relationship (ILO 2020). The right to work is a constitutional right in 133 countries, almost two thirds of which are in Europe and Africa (see figure 1.24). These provisions can create a legal obligation on the government and a right that people can invoke – either a general right to work or an obligation that the state provide work53 – such a right furthers social justice by obligating the government to increase opportunities for full, productive and freely chosen employment that will create the incomes that allow individuals to care for themselves and their families, and pursue activities consistent with their needs and interests.

The right to just and favourable conditions of work is a fundamental human right, encompassing fair remuneration, safe and healthy working environments, and limitation of working hours, as well as periodic holidays with pay. This right is recognized in the UDHR and codified in Article 7 of the ICESCR. The ILO Declaration of Philadelphia recognized that “policies in regard to wages and earnings, hours and other conditions of work [should be] calculated to ensure a just share of the fruits of progress to all, and a minimum living wage to all employed and in need of such protection”. These aspects of labour protection are essential to advance social justice and decent work. Labour protection is about the right to decent working conditions and includes wage and income policies, maternity protection (and protection of family life more broadly), OSH, protection against violence and harassment, working time limitations (including rest periods, holidays and night work) and work arrangements such as shift work or part-time work. OSH has already been discussed in this section and wage policies will be discussed later, so this section will concentrate on working time, in particular on limits on working hours. The principle of reasonable limits to working hours was firmly established in the Treaty of Versailles and in the ILO Constitution, which recognizes the urgent need to regulate the hours of work, including through maximum daily and weekly limits. This commitment was later echoed in international human rights instruments: Article 24 of the UDHR affirms everyone’s right to rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours; while Article 7 of the ICESCR enshrines the right to just and favourable conditions of work, including rest, leisure and periodic holidays with pay. Together, these instruments highlight that the regulation of working time is not only a matter of labour administration, but also a fundamental human right essential to human dignity and social justice.

The ILO’s first international labour standard, the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1), established the eight-hour workday and 48-hour workweek as the international standard (see figure 1.25 for details on ratification). Since then, the ILO has developed a body of instruments addressing various dimensions of working time, including hours of work, night work and part-time work.57 In addition, numerous sector-specific instruments contain important provisions regulating working time in line with the particular needs and risks of different industries. A century after the adoption of Convention No. 1, imbalances in working hours persist. Recent studies suggest slightly more than one third of the world’s workers still work more than 48 hours per week, while one fifth of the world’s workers work short (part-time) hours or even very short hours, despite wanting to work more hours (ILO 2022b, 144, 146). Furthermore, a growing body of research indicates that long working hours pose serious health risk: according to estimates by the ILO and the World Health Organization (WHO and ILO 2021, 12), the leading cause ofwork-related deaths globally in 2016 was exposure to long working hours (defined as 55 hours or more per week), which accounted for nearly 745,000 deaths. The organization of working time has a significant impact on workers’ physical and mental health, work–life balance and their ability to contribute to society fully. 

The regulationof working time may also help promote productivity, curb exploitation and enhance overall workplace safety. In particular, and as discussed further on fair transitions, as global temperatures rise, working time adjustments, such as shorter shifts and more frequent breaks during the hottest hours, may become critical to reduce workers’ exposure to heat stress, helping safeguard health while supporting productivity. Social dialogue can foster inclusive and effective working time laws. In addition, collective bargaining can improve, adapt or implement working time provisions set out in law and shape working time arrangements that are mutually beneficial and meet the needs of both enterprises and workers (ILO 2018, para. 759).

Social security, like the right to work, plays a foundational role in social justice by addressing social risks and promoting social inclusion (UN 2008, para. 3). The right to social security encompasses the right to access and maintain benefits, whether in cash or in kind, to address: (i) the lack of work-related income caused by sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, old age, or death of a family member; (ii) access to healthcare; or (iii) insufficient family support, particularly for children and adult dependants (UN 2008, para. 2; UN and ILO 2025). Social security benefits must be universal, adequate in amount and duration, and provide adequate access to healthcare (UN 2008, paras 12, 22).

The ILO has worked to make this right a reality by setting out standards for social security systems through the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) and other international social security standards. Convention No. 102 establishes globally agreed minimum standards for all nine branches of social security: medical care as well as benefits in case of sickness, old age, unemployment, employment injury, family care, maternity, invalidity and support for survivors (see figure 1.26 for details on ratification). Constitutional provisions in general give expression to three basic principles of the right to social security: adequacy, coverage and sustainability. Constitutions may address the right to social security in a variety of ways. Some require the state to adopt social security state policy; some impose a duty on the state to realize social rights (without necessarily including a corresponding individual right to claim social security); while others confer an individual right to social security (and in so doing impose a duty on the state to fulfil the right) (ILO 2011). Some national constitutions focus on specific groups of people or social risks rather than guaranteeing a general right to social security. A total of 118 countries include a constitutional provision obligating the state to provide financial or material resources to children and 132 constitutions also require the state to provide financial or material support for persons with disabilities (see figure 1.27). The elderly are protected by the constitutions of 120 countries, which require financial or material assistance such as pensions, healthcare or other measures. Finally, 62 countries, over half of which are in Europe and Central Asia, have constitutional requirements that the unemployed receive financial or material resources.

A host of issues affects whether the principles outlined earlier in the provision of social security are met. As societies age, they must adapt to guarantee the solvency of retirement pensions. Questions have grown over coverage of social insurance mechanisms such as unemployment insurance, including who should be covered and the amounts available. In spite of declining fertility rates, concerns remain about the cost and availability of maternity and family benefits. These financial and coverage questions will continue to pose significant challenges to social actors. These will have broader implications for society and, if not addressed properly, could form the basis for social instability. These questions on adequacy, coverage and sustainability and related data will be presented separately in the two following articles. Social actors will also need to engage at national and international levels to determine how social security measures can address key issues society is currently facing and may face in the future.

The respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights at work is vitally important – both as an end (human dignity) and a means to sustainable development. The body of international and regional instruments that define and further these rights and relevant standards continues to grow. The ILO, in conjunction with other international organizations, plays a pivotal role in advancing human rights and capabilities. While other agencies specialize in the needs of the child (for example, the United Nations Children’s Fund), in fundamental rights outside the world of work (for example, the UN Human Rights Council) or in economic growth that will create jobs (for example, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization), the ILO focuses on the labour rights that give expression to human rights at work, fostering decent work conditions, unlocking human potential and accelerating progress towards global social justice. Only by working in coalition can we advance social justice holistically. Looking at a variety of metrics, from the ratification of international labour standards and the realization of fundamental principles and rights at work in law and practice, inclusion in constitutional provisions, to the incidence of child labour, forced labour, work-related morbidities and occupational injuries, we begin to discern a picture of the state of social justice in the world. In the 30 years since the first World Summit for Social Development in 1995, progress has been made in reducing child labour and fatal work accidents and expanding statutory protections against forced labour and the coverage of social security systems. Yet, significant challenges remain. Even though constitutional provisions in the majority of countries recognize these rights, they too often go unrealized in practice, limiting social development, curbing human freedoms and restricting economic growth. The total number of people in forced labour has increased. Scores on compliance with freedom of association and collective bargaining rights show deterioration, with continuing denial of these rights to particular groups of workers. To achieve social justice at the intersection of human rights writ large and those particular to the world of work, the ILO’s constituents created the Global Coalition for Social Justice so that our individual efforts could achieve synergies and make progress greater than the sum of its parts. 

International labour standards, including fundamental principles and rights at work, provide legitimacy through global consensus, level the playing field for transnational engagement, marshal technical cooperation to support implementation, provide the guardrails necessary to navigate crises, and acknowledge that solutions must be as multilateral as the challenges they seek to address. This section has assessed how fundamentalinternational human rights norms and international labour standards offer a toolkit to advance social justice and govern the world of work. These standards are of enduring value to Member States and social partners to advance a rights-based approach to social justice. To pursue social justice substantively depends on more than mere legal texts – it requires effective implementation, access to justice and compliance mechanisms.