Employers' Handbook on ILO Standards-related Activities

VII. Other standards-related activities
General overview
In addition to ILS, other standards-related activities of the ILO play an increasingly
important role in influencing social/labour policy, law and practice in member
States. These activities include:
l the adoption of codes of practice and technical guidelines;
l the adoption of resolutions and conclusions;
l the adoption of declarations and their follow-up;
l the special Governing Body procedure on Freedom of Association.
ILO codes of practice and technical guidelines are adopted by expert meetings.
They are non-binding instruments dealing in a comprehensive manner with specific
workplace issues, mainly in the field of occupational safety and health. Differently
from ILS, they are directly addressed to a wider audience, including national competent
authorities, managers of companies and employers’ and workers’ organizations.
There are no specific follow-up procedures, however, the ILO, upon request, provides
technical assistance in their implementation. ILO codes of practice, which should not
be confused with (company or industry) codes of conduct (as for the latter, see Chapter
X), have been elaborated, for instance, on the use of chemicals at work (1992), on
accident prevention on board ship at sea and in port (1993), on the recording and notification
of occupational accidents and diseases (1994), on management of alcohol- and
drug-related issues in the workplace (1995), on protection of workers’ personal data
(1996) and on safety in the use of synthetic vitreous fibre insulation (2000). ILO technical
guidelines have been adopted e.g. on workers’ health surveillance (1997) and on
occupational safety and health management systems (2001). From an employers’ point
of view, ILO codes of practice and technical guidelines play a useful complementary
role within the overall system of ILO standards-related activities in that they provide
advice and guidance to employers on topical workplace issues in a flexible and practice-oriented
manner.
Resolutions and conclusions are adopted by the ILC and ILO regional and sectoral
meetings. They are non-binding instruments of an adhoc nature calling upon the various
actors involved, including the ILO, governments and employers’ and workers’
organizations, to take particular action. Conclusions reflect the outcome of the discussions
on agenda items of a meeting, whereas resolutions deal with related matters
outside the agenda. At times, resolutions and conclusions call upon the ILO to examine
the option of standard-setting in a particular area or on a particular subject. Moreover,
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