Building constructive dialogue on social and labour issues with government

Large multilateral organizations like the ILO have occasionally been accused of limiting themselves to mere declarations of principle, without any real practical impact. Indeed, when I first began working in the ILO's standards department some 24 years ago, I was asked to review the impact of the Committee on Freedom of Association. Like others, I did wonder about the effectiveness of the mechanisms that were in place to ensure the implementation of ratified Conventions