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Unit 3: Labour Laws: Concept, Origin, Objectives and Classification

The Growth of Humanitarian Ideas and the Concept of Social Welfare and Social Notes
Justice

The humanitarian ideas and role of humanitarians, the philanthropic and social reformers
influenced the shape of labour legislation. Early Factories Acts were made possible because of
the efforts of the humanitarians like Hume, Place, Shaftesbury and others. Researches in Social
Sciences like Sociology, Psychology and Anthropology exploded the myth of the natural elite
and gave a powerful push to the movement of social reforms, social change, social justice and
labour legislations.

Establishment of I.L.O.

The establishment of the I.L.O. in 1919 has been a very potent factor in conditioning the
course of labour legislation all over the world. The acceptance of the principle that “labour is
not a commodity” and the slogan that “Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity
everywhere”, have influenced the course of labour legislations in all the countries. The ILO,
through persistent investigation of workers’ living conditions has continuously established the
need for ameliorative labour legislation. It has initiated proposals for labour legislations, subjected
them to elaborate discussions and reviews and has adopted Conventions and Recommendations.
The ILO by trying to establish uniform labour standards in so far as the diverse conditions and
uneven economic developments of the world permit, has done a singular service in the field of
labour legislation.

Notes ILO, through Conventions and Recommendations, have undertaken the
task of creating - international minimum standards of labour which constitute the
International Labour Code. They cover a wide range of subjects including wages, hours
of work, annual holidays with pay, minimum age of employment, medical examination,
maternity protection, industrial health, safety and welfare, social security, freedom of
association, right to organise and bargain collectively, employment conditions of seamen
and unemployment.

The ILO standards have influenced Indian Labour Legislations to a great extent. ILO standards
have formed the sheet-anchor of Indian Labour Legislations, especially after 1946 when Indian
National Government assured office. The Directive Principles of State Policy in Articles 39, 41,
42, 43 and 43A of the Constitution, lay down policy objectives in the field of labour having close
resemblance and influence to the ILO Constitution and the Philadelphia Charter of 1944. Thus,
the ILO both directly and indirectly has had a great influence on the Indian Labour Scene and
Labour Legislation.

Did u know? International Labour Organisation (ILO) was one of the first organisations to
deal with labour issues. The ILO was established as an agency of the League of Nations
following the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I. Post-war reconstruction
and the protection of labour unions occupied the attention of many nations during and
immediately after World War I. In Great Britain, the Whitley Commission, a subcommittee
of the Reconstruction Commission, recommended in its July 1918 Final Report that
“industrial councils” be established throughout the world. The British Labour Party had
issued its own reconstruction programme in the document titled Labour and the New
Social Order. In February 1918, the third Inter-Allied Labour and Socialist Conference
(representing delegates from Great Britain, France, Belgium and Italy) issued its report,
advocating an international labour rights body, an end to secret diplomacy, and other

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