Rights in the workplace and beyond face significant risks ahead. Narratives of division are being weaponised to set communities against one another, and the ground beneath hard-won protections feels increasingly less stable. Building solidarity and drawing on all tools available to defend rights has never been more important.
The recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice confirmed that the right to strike is protected under International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organisation. The Court’s reasoning highlighted the link between ILO protections and international human rights treaty protections as a key element in reaching its conclusions.
This recognition is consistent with the 2023 joint statement of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies Chairpersons, including the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to ‘join efforts to fully respect, defend, fulfil and promote all human rights, including international labour standards.’
Economic, social and cultural rights are the foundations people should be able to rely on to live well. They provide a powerful framework for understanding the challenges people face and for developing solutions. These rights are set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which was ratified by the UK in 1976 and include specific work and trade union protections.
Experts have noted that ‘[a]mong the UN human rights treaties, the ICESCR is beyond doubt the most important for the world of work.’ However, despite this ‘[a]mong the international labour standards, the ICESCR is surprisingly little-known and used’ despite being an instrument which ‘offers great potential for securing better workers’ and trade union rights.’
That is why Just Fair and the Institute of Employment Rights (IER) are delighted to announce a new partnership, supported by funding from Alex Ferry Foundation. Together, we will deliver a new project: Protecting workers and strengthening trade unions: the role of economic, social and cultural rights in and beyond the workplace.
The right to strike, the right to organise, health and safety, decent wages, protection from discrimination, aren’t standalone entitlements. They connect to a much wider web of economic, social and cultural rights. The ability to secure decent work impacts whether people can afford food or housing. Access to healthcare and education shapes people’s opportunities and life chances. In turn, housing insecurity, poverty and poor health have an effect on people’s experiences at work.
Those connections are real, but they aren’t often treated that way. Worker’s rights and wider economic and social rights are often separated out. This project seeks to change that.
That matters particularly now. Insecure employment is rising. Technology is reshaping work faster than regulatory frameworks can keep pace with. The cost of living continues to squeeze people financially. And in some political spaces, rights exclusionary approaches are being championed as the new normal, putting protections that took generations to build at real risk.
In this context, there is an urgency to embed knowledge and build capacity among trade unions to use and strengthen existing rights protections, particularly those that are little known or under-utilised, and deepen alliances between the trade union movement and wider civil society.
Through this partnership, Just Fair and IER want to contribute to a future where workers’ and trade union rights are protected, are strengthened, and everyone has what they need to live well. We’ll be sharing more about the project as it develops so watch this space.
Backgorund image by Doğa Batır for Fine Acts
