Effective Implementation of the Core ILO Standards at the National Level (Comparative Study between Sweden and Lithuania)

By ratifying ILO Conventions, ILO Member States undertake to bring national legislation and practice into full compliance with these international labour instruments. However, the question remains whether the countries actually implement their international commitments. The assessment of national compliance with the ratified ILO Standards may help to find out the good practices to be followed by countries seeking to improve protection of basic workers’ rights at the national level. In this Comparative Study, the compliance with the fundamental ILO Conventions of two ILO Member States (Sweden and Lithuania) is assessed. The author measures the effectiveness of implementation of these ILO Standards in both national legislation and practice. For this purpose, actions of governments and domestic courts are analyzed. The comments made by the ILO Committee of Experts are also examined in order to find out whether the Member States are willing to implement the ratified ILO Conventions more fully. This Comparative Study intends to show the reader the amount of influence that ratified fundamental ILO Conventions have on national laws and regulations and reveal the existing gaps in national legislation and policy that impede effective protection of basic workers’ rights. The reasons of discrepancy between law and practice are also discussed. The author intends to remind national policy makers and legal practitioners about the Member States’ obligations arising out of the ratification of ILO Conventions and provides recommendations for them on how to improve national compliance with the key ILO Standards and hence make a major step forward in ensuring the decent living for all.