ABOUT THE ILO

The International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva is the permanent
Secretariat of the International Labour Organization. Its Operational
Headquarters, Research Centre and Publishing House, Administration and Management are decentralized in Regional, Area and Branch offices. Under the leadership of a Director-General, who is elected for a five-year renewable term, the office employs some 2,500 officials and experts at the Geneva Headquarters and in more than 40 field offices around the world.

The ILO is an unique forum in which the governments and social partners of its 174 member states can freely and openly confront experiences and compare national policies. Its tripartite structure makes the ILO unique among world organizations in that employers’ and workers’ organizations have an equal voice with governments in shaping its policies and programmes. Each member country has the right to send four delegates, (two from the government and one each representing workers and employers) to the International Labour Conference which meets in Geneva in June of each year. Each delegate may speak and vote independently. Between Conferences, the work of the ILO is guided by the Governing Body comprising 28 Government members and 14 Worker and 14 Employer members.

The ILO is the world’s major resource centre for information, analysis and guidance on the world of work. Research accompanies and reinforces all theOrganization’s practical activities, and the ILO is universally regarded as an authorative source of statistical information. For more information on the ILO, visit their Website: http:/www.ilo.org

JEF represents Jamaica as the sole Employer representative to the The International Organization of Employers (IOE) - the working organization representing employers, and acts on behalf of employers’ at most tripartite meetings.