Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention

The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1948) No 87 is an International Labour Organization Convention, and one of eight conventions that form the core of international labour law, as interpreted by the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.^[3]

The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention comprises the preamble followed by four parts with a total of 21 articles. The preamble consists of the formal introduction of the instrument, at the Thirty-first Session of the General Conference of the International Labour Organization, on 17 June 1948. A statement of the "considerations" leading to the establishment of the document. These considerations include the preamble to the Constitution of the International Labour Organization; the affirmation of the Declaration of Philadelphia in regard to the issue; and the request by the General Assembly of the United Nations, upon endorsing the previously received report of 1947, to "continue every effort in order that it may be possible to adopt one or several international Conventions." In closing, the preamble states the date of adoption: July 9, 1948.

Part 1 consists of ten articles which outline the rights of both worker and employers to "join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation." Rights are also extended to the organizations themselves to draw up rules and constitutions, vote for officers, and organize administrative functions without interference from public authorities. There is also an explicit expectation placed on these organizations. They are required, in the exercise of these rights, to respect the law of the land. In turn, the law of the land, "shall not be such as to impair, nor shall it be so applied as to impair, the guarantees provided for in this Convention." Finally, article 9 states that these provisions are applied to both armed forces and police forces only as determined by national laws and regulations, and do not supersede previous national laws that reflect the same rights for such forces. Article 1 states all ILO members must give effect to the following provisions.

PART I. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

[...]

Article 2

Workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation.

Article 3

1. Workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes.

2. The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.

Article 4

Workers' and employers' organisations shall not be liable to be dissolved or suspended by administrative authority.

Article 5

Workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to establish and join federations and confederations and any such organisation, federation or confederation shall have the right to affiliate with international organisations of workers and employers.

Article 6

The provisions of Articles 2, 3 and 4 hereof apply to federations and confederations of workers' and employers' organisations.

Article 7

The acquisition of legal personality by workers' and employers' organisations, federations and confederations shall not be made subject to conditions of such a character as to restrict the application of the provisions of Articles 2, 3 and 4 hereof.

Article 8

1. In exercising the rights provided for in this Convention workers and employers and their respective organisations, like other persons or organised collectivities, shall respect the law of the land.

2. The law of the land shall not be such as to impair, nor shall it be so applied as to impair, the guarantees provided for in this Convention.

Article 9

1. The extent to which the guarantees provided for in this Convention shall apply to the armed forces and the police shall be determined by national laws or regulations.

2. In accordance with the principle set forth in paragraph 8 of Article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation [sic] the ratification of this Convention by any Member shall not be deemed to affect any existing law, award, custom or agreement in virtue of which members of the armed forces or the police enjoy any right guaranteed by this Convention.

Article 10

In this Convention the term organisation means any organisation of workers or of employers for furthering and defending the interests of workers or of employers.^[4]

Part 2 states that every ILO member undertakes to ensure "all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that workers and employers may exercise freely the right to organise." This sentence is expanded upon in the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949.

Part 3, which contains articles 12 and 13, deals with technical matters related to the Convention. It outlines the definitions of who may accept (with or without modification), or reject the obligations of this Convention with regards to "non-metropolitan territory[ies]", whose self-governing powers extend into this area. It also discusses reporting procedures for modification of previous declarations in regard to acceptance of these obligations. Part 4 outlines the procedures for formal ratification of the Convention. The Convention was declared to come into force twelve months from the date when the Director-General had been notified of ratification by two member countries. This date became July 4, 1950, one year after Norway (preceded by Sweden) ratified the Convention. Part 4 also outlines provisions for denunciation of the Convention, including a ten-year cycle of obligation. Final discussion highlights procedures which would take place in the event that the Convention is eventually superseded by a new Convention, in whole, or in part.^[4]

As of February 2024, 158 out of 187 ILO member states have ratified the convention:^[2][5]

Country	Date
Albania	June 3, 1957
Algeria	November 19, 1962
Angola	June 13, 2001
Antigua and Barbuda	February 2, 1983
Argentina	January 18, 1960
Armenia	January 2, 2006
Australia	February 28, 1973
Austria	November 18, 1950
Azerbaijan	May 19, 1992
Bahamas	June 14, 2001
Bangladesh	June 22, 1972
Barbados	May 8, 1967
Belarus (as the Byelorussian SSR)	November 6, 1956
Belgium	November 23, 1951
Belize	December 15, 1983
Benin	December 12, 1960
Bolivia	January 4, 1965
Bosnia and Herzegovina	June 2, 1993
Botswana	December 22, 1997
Bulgaria	June 8, 1959
Burkina Faso	November 21, 1960
Burundi	June 25, 1993
Cambodia	August 23, 1999
Cameroon	June 7, 1960
Canada	March 23, 1972
Cape Verde	February 1, 1999
Central African Republic	October 27, 1960
Chad	November 10, 1960
Chile	February 2, 1999
Colombia	November 16, 1976
Comoros	October 23, 1978
Congo	November 10, 1960
Democratic Republic of the Congo	June 20, 2001
Costa Rica	June 2, 1960
Côte d'Ivoire	November 21, 1960
Croatia	October 8, 1991
Cuba	June 25, 1952
Cyprus	May 24, 1966
Czech Republic	January 1, 1993
Denmark	June 13, 1951
Djibouti	August 3, 1978
Dominica	February 28, 1983
Dominican Republic	December 5, 1956
East Timor	June 16, 2009
Ecuador	May 29, 1967
Egypt	November 6, 1957
El Salvador	September 6, 2006
Equatorial Guinea	August 13, 2001
Eritrea	February 22, 2000
Estonia	March 22, 1994
Ethiopia	June 4, 1963
Fiji	April 17, 2002
Finland	January 20, 1950
France	June 28, 1951
Gabon	November 14, 1960
Gambia	September 4, 2000
Georgia	August 3, 1999
Germany	March 20, 1957
Ghana	June 2, 1965
Greece	March 30, 1962
Grenada	October 25, 1994
Guatemala	February 13, 1952
Guinea	January 21, 1959
Guinea-Bissau	June 9, 2023
Guyana	September 25, 1967
Haiti	June 5, 1979
Honduras	June 27, 1956
Hungary	June 6, 1957
Iceland	August 19, 1950
Indonesia	June 9, 1998
Iraq	June 1, 2018
Ireland	June 4, 1955
Israel	January 28, 1957
Italy	May 13, 1958
Jamaica	December 26, 1962
Japan	June 14, 1965
Kazakhstan	December 13, 2000
Kiribati	February 3, 2000
Kuwait	September 21, 1961
Kyrgyzstan	March 31, 1992
Latvia	January 27, 1992
Lesotho	October 31, 1966
Liberia	May 25, 1962
Libya	October 4, 2000
Lithuania	September 26, 1994
Luxembourg	March 3, 1958
North Macedonia	November 17, 1991
Madagascar	November 1, 1960
Malawi	November 19, 1990
Maldives	January 4, 2013
Mali	September 22, 1960
Malta	January 4, 1965
Mauritania	June 20, 1961
Mauritius	April 1, 2005
Mexico	April 1, 1950
Moldova	August 12, 1996
Mongolia	June 3, 1969
Mozambique	December 23, 1996
Myanmar	March 4, 1955
Namibia	January 3, 1995
Netherlands	March 7, 1950
Nicaragua	October 31, 1967
Niger	February 27, 1961
Nigeria	October 17, 1960
Norway	July 4, 1949
Pakistan	February 14, 1951
Panama	June 3, 1958
Papua New Guinea	June 2, 2000
Paraguay	June 28, 1962
Peru	March 2, 1960
Philippines	December 29, 1953
Poland	February 25, 1957
Portugal	October 14, 1977
South Korea	April 20, 2021
Romania	May 28, 1957
Russia (as the Soviet Union)	August 10, 1956
Rwanda	November 8, 1988
Saint Kitts and Nevis	August 25, 2000
Saint Lucia	May 14, 1980
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	November 9, 2001
Samoa	June 30, 2008
San Marino	December 19, 1986
São Tomé and Príncipe	June 17, 1992
Senegal	November 4, 1960
Serbia (as Serbia and Montenegro)	November 24, 2000
Seychelles	February 6, 1978
Sierra Leone	June 15, 1961
Slovakia	January 1, 1993
Slovenia	May 29, 1992
Solomon Islands	April 13, 2012
Somalia	March 22, 2014
South Africa	February 19, 1996
Spain	April 20, 1977
Sri Lanka	September 15, 1995
Sudan	March 17, 2021
Suriname	June 15, 1976
Swaziland	April 26, 1978
Sweden	November 25, 1949
Switzerland	March 25, 1975
Syria	July 26, 1960
Tajikistan	November 26, 1993
Tanzania	April 18, 2000
Timor Leste	June 15, 2009
Togo	June 7, 1960
Trinidad and Tobago	May 24, 1963
Tunisia	June 18, 1957
Turkey	July 12, 1993
Turkmenistan	May 15, 1997
Uganda	June 2, 2005
Ukraine (as the Ukrainian SSR)	September 14, 1956
United Kingdom	June 27, 1949
Uruguay	March 18, 1954
Uzbekistan	December 12, 2016
Vanuatu	August 28, 2006
Venezuela	September 20, 1982
Yemen	August 29, 1976
Zambia	September 2, 1996
Zimbabwe	April 9, 2003

• International labour law
• Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
• UK labour law

• Text of the Convention
• Ratifications