History of the International Labour Organisation
By the same author The History of the South Tyrol Question
History of the INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION ANTONY ALCOCK Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-01138-4 ISBN 978-1-349-01136-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-01136-0 Antony Alcock 1971 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1971 978-0-333-12347-8 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. First published 1971 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in New York Toronto Dublin Melbourne Johannesburg and Madras SBN 333 12347 6 FOR SUSAN
Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations The Context vii IX Xl PART ONE ORIGINS OF THE ILO 1 Origins of the ILO 2 The Establishment of the ILO A. Versailles B. Washington I I8 I8 37 PART Two THE INTER- WAR YEARS 3 Early Struggles 4 Fascist Italy and Freedom of Association 5 The ILO and Native Labour 6 The ILO and the Economic Depression 7 United States and Soviet Union 8 The Seeds of Technical Assistance 49 67 8I 99 II8 IJ4 PART THREE THE ILO AND THE SECOND WoRLD WAR 9 The Outbreak of War 10 Philadelphia 11 The Transition to the United Nations ISI I7I!88
Vl HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION PART FOUR THE SPECIALISED AGENCY 12 Technical Assistance, 1947-59 209 A. The Establishment of Technical Assistance 209 B. Migration, 1950-1 220 C. Technical Assistance in the Fifties 235 (i) The Nature of Technical Assistance Activities 235 (ii) Problems of Technical Assistance 241 13 The ILO and Human Rights 252 A. Freedom of Association 252 B. Forced Labour 270 14 The ILO and Universality: United States and Soviet Union 284 15 The ILO and Apartheid 318 16 The ILO and Technical Assistance in the Sixties 338 A. Special Ftmd and UNDP 338 B. UNIDO 341 C. The World Employment Programme 351 Bibliography 365 Index 373
Acknowledgements This book could not have been written if the author had not benefited from the knowledge, experience and courtesy of those many ILO officials who gave him so much of their valuable time during the two years in which the book was prepared. In particular the author would like to thank Mr David A. Morse, Director-General of the ILO, for permission to consult Cabinet archives, as well as for his interest, help and guidance at all stages of this work. Similarly the author would like to thank for their help and informed and welcome criticism, the Director-General-elect, Mr C. W. Jenks, Mr P. L. Blamont, Director of the Turin Centre for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training, Professor R. W. Cox, Director of the Institute for Social Studies, Mr V. N. Timofeev, Chief of the Editorial and Public Information Branch, Mr N. Valticos, Chief of the International Labour Standards Department, Mr F. Wolf, Legal Adviser, Mr C. Barbeau, former Chef de Cabinet, Mr H. A. Dunning, Chief of the Workers' Relations Branch, Mr K. Tidmarsh, Chef de Cabinet, Mr J.P. Martin, Chief of the Policy Reports Branch and Mr J. Burle de Figueiredo of the Employers' Relations Branch. A special word of thanks must also go to all those of the ILO' s Library, Registry and Secretarial staff who responded so well to the author's continual demands, and who did so much to ease and quicken his work, especially Mr G. K. Thompson, Chief of the Central Library and Documentation Branch, his colleagues Mr J. Lambert, Mr G. Viguier, Mr H. Janin; Mr R. E. Manning, Chief of the Registry (Records Management and Communications Branch), and his colleagues, Mr N. Ner, Mr A. Zoganas, Mr R. Albera, Mr E. Felix; as well as Miss G. Meier and Mrs F. Arrighi of the Director-General's Office. In addition the author would like to thank Mr K. Kaplansky, former Worker delegate of Canada on the Governing Body, and Co-ordinator of the arrangements for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the ILO.
viii HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION The author would also like to thank Mr V. Winspeare-Guicciard.i, Director-General of the Geneva Office of the United Nations, for permission to consult the archives of the League of Nations, and Mr N. Field, Librarian, and Mr Y. Perotin, Archivist, for arranging and helping with that consultation. Finally the author would like to thank Mr A. W. Mabbs of the Public Record Office, London, for his help in making available British Cabinet papers for the years 1916-I9. Needless to say the responsibility for the opinions expressed in this work belongs entirely to the author. Geneva, May 1970 ANTONY EVELYN ALCOCK
Abbreviations ACC AFofL CIO ECA (UN) ECA (US) ECAFE ECE ECLA ECOSOC EPTA FAO GA GATT GB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCTU ICEM ICFTU ICJ IDA IFC IFTU ILO ILPES ILR IMF IRO NATO NGO Administrative Committee on Co-ordination American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organisations Economic Commission for Africa Economic Co-operation Administration Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East Economic Commission for Europe Economic Commission for Latin America Economic and Social Council Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations General Assembly General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Governing Body International Atomic Energy Agency International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Civil Aviation Organisation International Confederation of Christian Trade Unions Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration International Confederation of Free Trade Unions International Court of Justice International Development Association International Finance Corporation International Federation of Trade Unions International Labour Organisation Instituto Latino para la Planificacion Economica y Social International Labour Review International Monetary Fund International Refugee Organisation North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Non-Governmental Organisation
X OB OECD OEEC OR PCIJ TAB TAC TUC UN UNCTAD UNDP UNESCO UNICEF UNIDO UNRRA us USSR WFTU WHO HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION Official Bulletin Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Organisation for European Economic Co-operation Official Records Permanent Court of International Justice Technical Assistance Board Technical Assistance Committee Trades Union Congress United Nations United Nations Conference on Trade and Development United Nations Development Programme United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation United Nations Children's Fund United Nations Industrial Development Organisation United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United States Union of Soviet Socialist Republics World Federation of Trade Unions World Health Organisation
The Context 'What, however, are we celebrating? In my view, the most significant feature of the fiftieth anniversary is that it marks the survival of the ILO through what has been without doubt the most troubled fifty years in the history of mankind. In that period the world has been devastated by a major war; it has witnessed widespread human suffering; it has been tom apart by conflicts of ideology and national ambitions and interests; it has been shaken by economic crises of unprecedented magnitude, and by bitter social and political conflict within nations. It has seen the decline of colonialism and the birth of many new nations. It has witnessed the beginnings of a world "population explosion" and the emergence of a growing world-wide concern with the massive poverty and misery associated with underdevelopment. It has been a period of dramatic advances in science and technology which man has exploited to promote human betterment, to broaden the range of human achievement, but also to increase human destructiveness. The era of peace, stability and prosperity that was to have begun with the Treaty of Versailles, and which an international system, including the ILO, was to safeguard, has turned out to be a period of tremendous change and upheaval.' DAVID A. MoRsEl 1 ILO, LIII Annual Conference, I969, Report n. I, The World Employment Programme, p. I.