ABSTRACT
Figure 17.1 The International Management Institute 1927-34 231 Figure 17.2 Classification of ILO conventions and recommendations by subject 233 Figure 17.3 Tendencies in the twentieth-century international left-wing labour movement 241
Continuity and change
The private International Association for Labour Legislation (IALL) of 1900 had instigated the first two international labour conventions, which governments signed in 1906 (see §14.2). However, the outbreak of the First World War prevented a discussion of the draft conventions on the IALL’s 1914 agenda. Given their weak international orientation, trade unions had virtually not been involved in the IALL’s activities. In 1919, however, the IALL’s work was continued by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, consisting of governments, trade unions and employers. The ILO was the first and only specialized agency of the League of Nations. That trade unions in 1919 embraced the idea of international labour law, contrary to their previous attitude, was the result of three developments during the war: the recognition and inclusion of the labour movement in national political systems, the turnaround within the international trade union movement which made it a proponent of international labour law, and the governments’ fear of revolution.
