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DOI :10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011   IUP :10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011    Full Text (PDF)

Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries)

Tekin Akgeyik

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is an intergovernmental organization with 193 members, which was established in 1919 by the Versailles Treaty. As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the ILO is responsible for improving labor conditions in the member states. The ILO realizes its mission by setting international labor standards (i.e. conventions and recommendations). Since its founding, the ILO has adopted 190 conventions dealing with a wide range of employment standards. The number of ratifications dramatically varies across the member states ranging from the lowest, 2 conventions for Brunei, Palau, and Tuvalu, to the highest, 133 conventions for Spain, followed by France (127) and Belgium (113). This paper investigates the impact of political, economic and labor variables on the ratification of ILO conventions in a sample of African and Middle Eastern countries. The data set for this study covers 62 countries. The dependent variable was the number of conventions ratified. The independent variables included several political, demographic, economic and labor variables. The study investigated the predictors of the number of conventions ratified using hierarchical regression analysis. The results of the analysis revealed that economic variables were significant predictors of the number of conventions ratified. This predictor accounted for 13% percent of the variance in the number of conventions ratified. Moreover, the average annual population growth rate and political freedom score were observed to predict the number of conventions ratified. All predictors together explained 38.3% percent of the variance in the number of conventions ratified. 

Keywords: ILO conventions, Political factors, Economic variables, Labor variables
DOI :10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011   IUP :10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011    Full Text (PDF)

ILO Sözleşmelerinin Onaylanmasını Etkileyen Faktörler (Afrika ve Ortadoğu Ülkeleri Üzerine Ampirik Bir Araştırma)

Tekin Akgeyik

I. Dünya Savaşı’nın sonunda Versay Sözleşmesi ile 1919 yılında kurulan Uluslararası Çalışma Teşkilatı (International Labor Organization-ILO) son 100 yıllık dönemde üye ülkeler için çalışma hayatının kalitesini geliştirmeye dönük standartlar oluşturmuştur. Birleşmiş Milletler’in uzmanlaşmış bir kuruluşu olan ILO’nun günümüzde 193 üyesi bulunmaktadır. ILO misyonunu kabul ettiği sözleşme ve tavsiye kararları ile gerçekleştirmektedir. Uluslararası Çalışma Konferansı’nda bugüne kadar kabul edilen sözleşmelerin sayısı 190’dır. ILO sözleşmeleri sadece üye ülkeler tarafından onaylanması durumunda uygulamaya geçebilmektedir. Bu nedenle sözleşmelerin üye ülkeler arasında kabul edilme sayısı büyük farklılıklar göstermektedir. Onaylanan sözleşme sayısı 2 (Brunei ve Tuvalu) ile 133 (İspanya) arasında değişmektedir. İspanya’yı Fransa (127 sözleşme) ve Belçika (113 sözleşme) izlemektedir. Bu makalenin amacı, Afrika ve Ortadoğu ülkeleri örneklemi kapsamında üye ülkelerin ILO sözleşmelerini onaylamasını etkileyen değişkenleri analiz etmektir. Örneklem grubu 62 ülkeden oluşmaktadır. Araştırmanın bağımlı değişkeni üye ülkeler tarafından onaylanan sözleşme sayısıdır. Bağımsız değişkenler ise; çeşitli politik, demografik, ekonomik ve işgücü değişkenlerinden oluşmaktadır. Ülkelerin onaylama sayısını etkileyen değişkenleri tanımlamada hiyerarşik regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Regresyon analizi bulgularına göre, ekonomik değişkenler ülkelerin ILO sözleşmelerini onaylama sayısındaki değişimi en yüksek oranda açıklayan değişken grubudur. Yoksulluk oranı, satın alma gücü paritesine göre hesaplanmış kişi başına düşen milli gelir ve tarımın milli gelirdeki payı değişkenleri varyasyondaki değişimi %13 oranında açıklayabilmektedir. Varyasyona katkısı güçlü olan bir diğer değişken grubu işgücü ile ilgilidir. Bu değişkenlerin onaylama sayısındaki değişime katkısı %10,1 düzeyindedir. Demografik faktörler kapsamında nüfus artış oranının ILO sözleşmelerinin kabul edilmesindeki değişimi açıklamaya katkısı %8,9 oranıdır. Nihayet siyasal özgürlük puanının onaylama sayısındaki değişime katkısı %6,3 düzeyinde kalmaktadır. Tüm değişkenler bir arada onaylama sayısındaki değişimi %38,3 oranında açıklayabilmektedir. 

Keywords: ILO sözleşmeleri, Siyasal faktörler, Ekonomik değişkenler, İşgücü değişkenleri

EXTENDED ABSTRACT


The International Labor Organization (ILO) is an intergovernmental organization with 193 members, which was established in 1919 by the Versailles Treaty. As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the ILO is responsible for improving labor conditions in the member states. The International Labor Organization is composed of three organs: The Conference (the legislative assembly), the Governing Body (the executive Board), and the Office (the Secretarial Services). The Decisions in the ILO organs are made by the representatives of the workers, employers and governments with equal votes. This system is known as Tripartism.

The ILO realizes its mission by setting international labor standards (i.e. Conventions and Recommendations). Since its founding, the ILO has adopted 190 conventions and 206 recommendations dealing with a wide range of employment standards. As the ratification of ILO conventions and recommendations is purely voluntary, the number of ratifications dramatically varies across the member states ranging from the lowest, 2 conventions for Brunei, Palau, and Tuvalu, to the highest, 133 conventions for Spain, followed by France (127 conventions) and Belgium (113 conventions). Even some of the world’s leading trade countries (the USA, China, India, and Brazil) have not ratified the conventions providing for the right to unionize (Convention 87) and bargain collectively (Convention 98).

Several empirical studies have examined the determinants of the ratification decision of ILO conventions. The results show that various political, economic and social variables affect the numbers of ratified ILO conventions. Also, the length of ILO membership is found as a predictor of the number of conventions ratified.

This paper investigates the impact of political, economic and labor variables on the ratification of ILO conventions in a sample of African and Middle Eastern countries. The paper is structured in three parts. The first part provides a conceptual framework for ILO and its employment standards. The study methodology is explained in the next section. The last section presents the findings of the study.

The data set for this study covers 62 countries. The dependent variable was the number of conventions ratified. The independent variables were the political freedom score, average annual population growth rate, poverty rate, purchasing power parity (PPP), percentage of agriculture, percentage of service sector in GDP, percentage of labor force in agriculture, percentage of labor force in industry, percentage of labor force in service sector, and unemployment rate.

The study seeks to answer three research questions: (1) Are there statistical differencesin the dependent and independent variables? (2) Is there a correlation between the variables? (3) To what extent are the variables predictors for the number of conventions ratified by member states?

The descriptive statistics involving the mean values and standard deviations were used to summarize the data. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the correlations between the variables. Lastly, the study investigated the predictors of the number of conventions ratified using hierarchical regression analysis.

Overall, the results of the hierarchical regression analysis revealed that economic variables were significant predictors of the number of conventions ratified. This predictor accounted for 13% percent of the variance in the number of conventions ratified. Moreover, the average annual population growth rate and political freedom score were observed to predict the number of conventions ratified. All predictors together explained 38.3% percent of the varaiance in the number of conventions ratified. The findings are consistent with the findings of Zeytinoglu (1985: 175) and (Boockmann, 2006: 153), who showed that economic factors were predictors of the number of conventions ratified. Moreover, this is also similar to the findings of Zeytinoglu (1985: 175), who indicated that the political factor was a predictor of the number of conventions ratified. However, it is not similar to the findings of Chau and Kanbur (2001: 22), who indicated that economic variables were not determinants of the number of conventions ratified.

Secondly, the results of the correlation analysis indicated that the number of conventions ratified was positively and significantly correlated with political freedom scores but was negatively and significantly related to the poverty rate and PPP.

Furthermore, the analysis showed that the number of conventions ratified differed significantly between countries. Also, there were dramatic differences across the members regarding demographic, economic and labor variables.

In conclusion, based on the findings of the present study, it appears that political, demographic and economic factors are the predictors of the number of conventions ratified by member states. For future research, it is important to examine other possible factors affecting the number of conventions ratified. Thus further studies should focus on other variables, such as union density, social awareness and the role of trade unions in connection with the number of conventions ratified.


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APA

Akgeyik, T. (2019). Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries). Journal of Social Policy Conferences, 0(77), 131-156. https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


AMA

Akgeyik T. Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries). Journal of Social Policy Conferences. 2019;0(77):131-156. https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


ABNT

Akgeyik, T. Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries). Journal of Social Policy Conferences, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 77, p. 131-156, 2019.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Akgeyik, Tekin,. 2019. “Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries).” Journal of Social Policy Conferences 0, no. 77: 131-156. https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


Chicago: Humanities Style

Akgeyik, Tekin,. “Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries).” Journal of Social Policy Conferences 0, no. 77 (May. 2024): 131-156. https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


Harvard: Australian Style

Akgeyik, T 2019, 'Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries)', Journal of Social Policy Conferences, vol. 0, no. 77, pp. 131-156, viewed 20 May. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Akgeyik, T. (2019) ‘Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries)’, Journal of Social Policy Conferences, 0(77), pp. 131-156. https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011 (20 May. 2024).


MLA

Akgeyik, Tekin,. “Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries).” Journal of Social Policy Conferences, vol. 0, no. 77, 2019, pp. 131-156. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


Vancouver

Akgeyik T. Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries). Journal of Social Policy Conferences [Internet]. 20 May. 2024 [cited 20 May. 2024];0(77):131-156. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011 doi: 10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011


ISNAD

Akgeyik, Tekin. “Factors Affecting The Ratification of ILO Conventions (An Empirical Study on African and Middle Eastern Countries)”. Journal of Social Policy Conferences 0/77 (May. 2024): 131-156. https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.77.0011



TIMELINE


Submitted10.09.2019
Accepted13.11.2019
Published Online31.12.2019

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