India assumes the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of ILO

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After 35 years, India has assumed the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of ILO

Governing Body of International Labour Organisation (ILO)

• IT is the apex executive body of the ILO which decides policies, programmes, agenda, budget and elects the Director-General.
• Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary (Labour and Employment) has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the period October 2020- June 2021.
• It meets three times a year, in March, June and November. 
• It is composed of 56 titular members (28 Governments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers) and 66 deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers and 19 Workers). 
• Ten of the titular government seats are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States). 
• The other Government members are elected by the Conference every three years (the last elections were held in June 2014). 
• The Employer and Worker members are elected in their individual capacity. 

A brief note on ILO

• It was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice.
• ILO is UN specialized agency
• It is headquartered in Geneva 
• The Constitution of the ILO  was drafted in early 1919 by the Labour Commission, chaired by Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in the United States. 
• It was composed of representatives from nine countries: Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• At present ILO has 187 members