THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION employers’ organizations have worked side by side with governments, in a three-way or ‘tripartite’ basis. Governments, employers and workers are known as the ILO’s constituent members. Governments, employers and workers work and vote independently of each other. Each ILO member state has four votes, which are divided so that workers’ organizations have one vote, employers’ organizations have one vote and the government has two votes Generally, at ILO meetings, government delegates sit in the middle of the room, with the workers’ organizations on their left and employers’ organizations on their right. These three groups take an active role in all ILO events including in its committees and conferences, and in the adoption and monitoring of ILO standards (see later for details). 3. ILO structure The ILO has three main bodies: • The International Labour Conference; • The Governing Body; • The International Labour Office. 3.1 The International Labour Conference The International Labour Conference is the ILO’s general assembly when all its members – governments, employers and workers – come together as a body. It meets once a year, in June, for three weeks and is attended by over 2,000 delegates. The Conference’s responsibilities include: • The adoption of the ILO budget, which is financed by contributions from member states (every two years); • The adoption of international labour standards and the supervision of their application; • The admission of any new members; • The election of the Governing Body (every three years); • The provision of a global forum for discussion on social and labour issues; • The provision of guidelines for the ILO’s general policy and future activities, through Resolutions. In addition, in exceptional circumstances, the Conference can adopt Declarations on policy and action on issues relevant to the ILO. For example, in 1964, it adopted a Declaration on apartheid in South Africa – this was annulled in 1994 as being no longer valid. And in 1998 it adopted a Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (see ch. III). Generally, it is up to a government to decide who will form part of the official delegation to the Conference ‘in agreement with the industrial organizations … which are the most representative of employers or work people … in their respective countries’ (Article 3.5 of the ILO Constitution). Questions can be raised at the Conference as to whether a particular employers’ or workers’ organization is representative or not. In addition to the official delegates at the Conference, each delegation usually has a number of advisers. Therefore each delegation to the Conference can be quite large. At the Conference, the employers’ and workers’ representatives form the employers’ and workers’ groups – elected by the employers’ and workers’ electoral college every three years – and they, along with the governments, elect the members of the Governing Body. To facilitate its work, the Conference has a number of committees working on specific issues; for example, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (Applications Committee), which plays a key role in drawing attention to problems in the practical application of ILO Conventions in specific countries (see later for details). There is a lively debate during the Conference, with all the delegates taking part on issues relevant to the ILO, including child labour and globalization, etc. As a result, the annual International Labour Conference has become a global forum for policy discussions on social and labour issues. 3.2 The Governing Body The Governing Body serves as the ILO’s executive council. Its main functions include: • Directing the work of the organization; • Electing the Director-General; • Preparing the draft programme and budget of the ILO; • Taking decisions on how to implement ILO policy. The Governing Body is composed of 56 members: with 28 government representatives, 14 workers’ representatives and 14 employers’ representatives. Governing Body members are elected by the International Labour Conference for a three-year term, and they nominate their representatives to the different ILO bodies, such as the Applications Committee, Inquiry Commissions etc. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by what are termed ‘states of chief industrial importance’ (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the USA). The remaining 18 government representatives are elected by the International Labour Conference with reference to geographical distribution. The workers and employers separately elect their own representatives. THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: A HANDBOOK FOR MINORITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 5