HUMAN RIGHTS • The right to establish or join a union or association; • The right to work at all levels including at the international level, e.g. international organization membership/affiliation. Action required by governments • To ensure national law and regulations are in conformity with the Convention; • To protect the right to freely organize. Exception • Armed forces and the police (special rules and regulations may apply). 4.2 The Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention (1949) (No. 98) Convention No. 98 supplements the provisions of Convention No. 87: Aim of the Convention • To protect the right to bargain collectively as a group/union; • To protect the right of workers and employers to organize. Elements • Adequate protection of the right to join trade unions and to be able to bargain collectively; • Protection from employment being made conditional on non-membership of a trade union or participation therein; • Protection from losing employment due to trade union membership; • Without interference from agents or members of other workers’ or employers’ organizations. Action required by governments • Establish machinery to ensure respect for the right to organize; • Introduce measures to encourage and promote the development and use of collective bargaining to negotiate terms and conditions of employment. Exceptions (as determined by national law) • Armed forces and the police; • Public servants. The ILO has been closely following the application of these two Conventions as they are fundamental to the ILO’s operations, which function on the basis of tripartism, i.e. between governments, workers and employers. In this regard, the ILO’s attention has focused on a number of issues including, but not limited to: national laws restricting or infringing the right to strike or take other industrial action (Nicaragua, Norway, United Kingdom and Venezuela); the effectiveness of fines for antiunion discrimination (Belize); restrictive legislation and denial of trade union registration (South Korea); and the exercize of the right of association in export processing zones (Bangladesh and Pakistan). For more information on freedom of association issues, contact: Freedom of Association Branch (LIBSYND) Standards Department ILO CH 1211 Geneva 22 Switzerland tel: +41 22 799 7122 fax: +41 22 799 7670 e-mail: libsynd@ilo.org 5. Child labour hild labour has been a major issue for the ILO since it began its work, and it has elaborated a number of standards aimed at protecting children. The principal aim of the ILO in this regard is to eliminate child labour completely. If this is not immediately possible, then maximum safeguards should be provided for children who are forced to work for various reasons – including poverty. C • The ILO estimates there are approximately 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 who work; • About 120 million children work full-time; • 41 per cent of all children work in sub-Saharan Africa • 21 per cent of all children work in Asia and Latin America; • Of the world total of child labourers: 61 per cent are in Asia, 32 per cent in Africa and 7 per cent in Latin America. (Source: IPEC, ILO, Geneva, 2001) Many children work to support themselves and their families. In some areas up to 20 per cent of economically active children are under the age of 10.23 Children are engaged in a variety of occupations and environments, including: working in brick kilns, the carpet industry, domestic work, factories, on farms, mines, etc. They are also involved in drug trafficking and in child prostitution. There are reports of children from minority and indigenous communities working in domestic service in THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: A HANDBOOK FOR MINORITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 15