The Fading Future of the ILO: A look at the Child Labor Issue in India

Note: I spent all day today writing this paper for my Labor and Human Rights class at the University of Washington. Once again, I am humbled by the information I have learned and the stories that I have read. I hope that this essay touches your heart in a way that you are never the same.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) was established in 1919, in the rouse of World War I, as a response to worldwide labor standards. In 1969, the ILO received the Nobel Peace Prize for its work and efforts to standardize labor conditions across the globe. While the ILO’s past possesses an honorable reputation that speaks for itself, critiques suggest the ILO’s future looks less than promising. In particular, Guy Standing’s critique describes the ILO as relatively ineffective in progressing a meaningful labor rights framework under current global conditions. This paper will prove Standing’s analysis as an accurate assessment drawing from evidence of the ILO’s lack of success in advancing labor rights in India.
The ILO, beginning as and continuing as a mainly European organization, stands as a model for national welfare capitalism. A bottom line support for tripartism, the organizing of collective bargaining at national and sector levels, gave the ILO a stigma of leading power for many years conducting the forward march of the working class. Karl Polanyi describes the ILO as a critical phase in the Great Transformation, which refers to the ongoing Global transformation in the creation of international markets. In this context, the ILO is tool by which national labor markets are shaped and regulated. Continue Reading »
This post is a compilation of the most interesting blogs I have read lately. The blogs and links posted here are not necessarily synonymous with my personal beliefs or opinions and in some cases, actually challenge my perspective. But I have learned that anything that can broaden my perspective is beneficial for my own understanding. My hope with this post is that your understanding might be enriched and your perspective challenged. Some of these blogs I subscribe to, some are friends’ and some I have accidentally (or divinely) stumbled upon (some are articles assigned for school work). I have personally experienced a sense of encouragement to my faith as a Christian and as a human in reading these blogs, some more than others. Some of these blogs have left me laughing, some thinking, some believing, and some inspired. Whatever they may be to you, I hope you will consider the purpose and ideals behind the words to be valuable to your own life.











