International Labour Standards and Protection of Vulnerable Categories of Workers (Fall)

COURSE OUTLINE

1. GENERAL

SCHOOL/ DEPARTMENT: International Relations and Law Department
LEVEL OF STUDY: Undergraduate / Graduate
COURSE TITLE: International Labour Standards and Protection of Vulnerable Categories of Workers
SEMESTER OF STUDY: Fall
LECTURER: Ella Gorian, Associate Prof., PhD in Law

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes
After completion, students should be able to:

• gain insight and familiarity with the international labor standards for protection of vulnerable categories of workers
• gain critical understanding of the role of employers, trade unions, labour inspections, state and municipal authorities, non-governmental organizations in protection of workers’ rights
• identify risks factors at the workplace
• apply the international labor standards to the development of programs for the protection of workers’ rights at the workplace
• coordinate public and private sector actors in ensuring workers’ rights
• apply the writing and analytical skills learnt in academia to public discourses and spaces of debate

General Skills

• to develop ability to apply principles and generalizations already learned to new problems and situations
• to develop analytic skills
• to develop problem-solving skills
• to develop ability to draw reasonable inferences from observations
• to develop ability to synthesize and integrate information and ideas
• to develop ability to distinguish between fact and opinion
• to develop an informed concern about contemporary social issues
• to develop a commitment to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship
• to develop an informed appreciation of other cultures
• to develop capacity to make informed ethical choices
• to develop ability to work productively with others
• to develop management skills
• to develop leadership skills

3. COURSE CONTENTS

In 2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration stated the importance of protection the vulnerable – civilians (especially children) that suffer disproportionately the consequences of natural disasters, genocide, armed conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies. Henceforth the international community has extended the list of vulnerable categories and special legal mechanisms have been worked out for their protection. International Labour Organization pays an attention to vulnerable categories of workers, providing guarantees for protection of their rights in international labor standards. At the present time, the vulnerable categories of workers include children and women, migrant workers, domestic workers (including domestic migrant workers), HIV-infected workers, informal workers, etc.

For the last years the results of the World Economic Forum in Davos have witnessed an increasing interest of employers in implementing international labor standards at their enterprises. The concept of conscious consumption is a core reason for this phenomenon. It is based on the ideas of workers’ rights protection and the environmental friendly production. The concept of conscious consumption is promoted by the developed countries - the main consumers of goods and services produced worldwide. Despite the fact that the process of implementation of international labor standards is not as fast as it should be, the principle of tripartism promotes their implementation by the efforts of employers and trade unions.

4. TEACHING  METHODS - ASSESMENT

USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: The Discussion-Oriented Flipped Classroom

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Recommended Book and Journal Article Resources:

1. The right to strike and the ILO: the legal foundations, March (2014).
2. Hemphill T.A., White G.O. III. The World Economic Forum and Nike: Emerging ‘Shared Responsibility’ and Institutional Control Models for Achieving a Socially Responsible Global Supply Chain? // Business and Human Rights Journal. – 2016. - №1. – Р 307-313.
3. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. United Nations, 2011.
4. OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 2011 Edition, OECD Publishing OECD (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264203204
5. ILO global estimates on migrant workers http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/publications/WCMS_436343/lang--en/index.htm
6. National legislation and policies related to HIV/AIDS and the world of work http://www.ilo.org/aids/legislation/lang--en/index.htm
7. ILO's five flagship programmes http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/how-the-ilo-works/WCMS_464271/lang--en/index.htm
8. the 50 for Freedom campaign (the fight against modern slavery – forced labour) http://50forfreedom.org/the-protocol/
9. Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_534326/lang--en/index.htm
10. ILO Global estimates of migrant workers and migrant domestic workers: results and methodology / International Labour Offce - Geneva: ILO, 2015
11. Towards a better future for women and work: Voices of women and men / ILO-Gallup, 2017
12. Chicha M.-T. Promoting equity: Gender-nuetral job evaluation for equal pay:A step-by-step guide. Geneva, International Labour Office, 2008
13. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights : Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework (2011), endorsed by The Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011.
14. ILO Helpdesk for business on international labour standards https://www.ilo.org/empent/areas/business-helpdesk/lang--en/index.htm
15. NORMLEX – Information System on International Labour Standards https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:1:0::NO:::
16. UNAIDS GAP Report, pp. 164-165 // Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS: официальный сайт. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/campaigns/2014/2014gapreport/gapreport
17. Behind Closed Doors: Protecting and Promoting the Human Rights of Migrant Domestic Workers in an Irregular Situation // International Labour Organisation: официальный сайт [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/projects/gap/publications/WCMS_446720/lang--en/index.htm
18. International standards related to domestic workers and women migrant workers // http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_414569.pdf
19. Torriente A. Migrant Domestic Workers, Health and HIV / A. Torriente // Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers and Their Families: Research Series (2016) // http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/briefingnote/wcms_503318.pdf
20. Afshar H. Women, Work, and Ideology in the Third World / H. Afshar. – London; New York: Tavistock publications, 1985. – 265 рр.
21. Chant S., Radcliffe S. Gender and Migration in Developing Countries / S. Chant, S. Radcliffe. – London: Belhaven, New York: John Wiley, 1992. – 249 pp.
22. Zlotnik H. Data Insight The Global Dimensions of Female Migration / H. Zlotnik // UN International Migration Report (2002). http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ittmig2002/2002ITTMIGTEXT22-11.pdf (дата обращения – 08.08.2016)
23. Trade Union manual on export processing zones (2014) // http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---actrav/documents/publication/wcms_324632.pdf
24. Cooper S. Improving Worker Safety in Global Supply Chains: The Case for a Global Safety & Health Management System / S. Cooper // Professional Safety. – 2014. – October. – Рр. 29-33