Arab Labor Organization


The Arab Labor Organization is the first Specialized Arab Organization concerned with labor affairs and employment issues on National Level. It was established in 12/01/1965, as one of the specialized organizations affiliated with the League of Arab States. ALO is believing in the importance of concerted tripartite in the Arab world, as a need and a core pillar for Arab unity and the recognition that cooperation in the field of employment is the best guarantee for the Arab human rights in decent life, founded on social justice, and the process of effective cooperation for developing Arab society on solid and sound foundations, therefore ALO has a unique tripartite structure in the Arab world gives an opportunity to to freely debate, elaborate and shape labor standards, policies and programs.

History

On the 12th of January 1965, the first Conference of Arab Ministers of Labor, held in Baghdad, approved the Arab Labor Charter and the draft Constitution of the Arab Labor Organization. On the 8th of January 1970, the fifth Conference of Arab Labor Ministers, in Cairo, decided to announce the establishment of the Arab Labor Organization after the completion of the necessary number of ratifications of Member States on the Arab Labor Charter and the Constitution of the Organization. The resolution to declare the organization was in response to the national trend, looking forward to achieve unity in various fields.

Membership

ALO has 21 Arab State Members:
#CountryJoin Date
1Jordan

Objectives

Arab Labor Organization aims to achieve the following :
  • Coordinating efforts in work and workers fields at the Arab and international levels.
  • Developing and maintaining the trade union rights and freedom of association.
  • Providing technical assistance in all fields of labor to the tripartite in the Member States.
  • Developing labor legislation in the Member States and working on standardization.
  • Improving work conditions in the Member States.
  • Developing Arab human resources to take advantage of its full capacities in economic and social development.
  • Developing the Arab workforce and raising productivity efficiency.
  • Preparing a guide, and laying the foundations for occupational classification and characterization.
  • Translating, into Arabic, the labor and vocational training terms.

Arab Labor standards

Since 1966, Arab Labor Organization has maintained and developed a system of Arab labor standards aimed at promoting opportunities for workers to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of equity, security, dignity, safe and healthy. These standards have become a comprehensive system of instruments on work policy, designed to address most sorts of problems in their application at the national level. Arab labor standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ALO's constituents and setting out basic principles and rights at work. They are either conventions, which are legally binding the member states who ratified them, or recommendations, which serve as non-binding guidelines.

Conventions and Recommendations

ALO Issued Conventions and [|recommendations], which organized all aspects of the legal instruments relating to work, to ensure workers' rights and regulate the relationship between workers and employers, to define the responsibilities and duties of tripartite. By its Conventions and Recommendations, ALO is developing and promoting national labor legislation, to achieve symmetry between them, believing that national labor inspection is the proper way to guarantee the implementation of the legislation's provisions.

Conventions

#Issue YearAboutDownload
11966Labor standards
21967Manpower mobility
31971Minimum standard of social insurance
41975Manpower mobility
51976Working women
61976Labor standards
71977Occupational Safety and Health
81977Freedom and right of Association
91977Vocational Guiding And training
101979Paid educational leave
111979Collective Bargaining
121980Agricultural workers
131981Working Environment
141981The right of the Arab worker in social insurance in case of mobility to work in another country
151983Fixing and protection of wages
161983Worker social services
171993Rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons
181996Work of Young Persons
191998Labor inspection

Recommendations

#Issue YearAboutDownload
11977Occupational Safety and Health
21977Vocational Guiding And training
31979Paid educational leave
41980Development and protection of the labor force in the agricultural sector
51981Working Environment
61983Worker social services
71993Rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons
81998Labor inspection
92014Social protection of workers in the informal sector

Constitutional bodies

1- Arab Labor Conference (The General Conference)

It is the Supreme authority of the organization. ALO organizes once a year the Arab Labor Conference to set the broad policies of the ALO, including [|conventions] and recommendations. The conference makes decisions about the ALO's general policy, work plan and budget and also elects the Board of Directors and Director General. Each Member State is represented by a delegation: two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate and their respective advisers. International and regional organizations, also attend but as observers.

2- [|Board of Directors]

ALO has a tripartite governing structure that brings together governments, employers, and workers of 21 member States. The very structure of ALO, where workers and employers together have an equal voice with governments in its deliberations, ensures that the views of the social partners are closely reflected in ALO labor standards, policies and plans. It meets twice a year, in March and October. It takes decisions on the agenda of the Arab Labor Conference, adopts the draft Plan and Budget of the Organization for submission to the Arab labor Conference, and supervises the work of ALO.
This Board of Directors is composed of 8 titular members and 3 deputy members.
The Government, Employers and Workers seats are elected by the General Conference every two years.

3- Arab Labor Office

The Arab Labor Office is the permanent secretariat of the Arab Labor Organization. It is located in Cairo – Egypt, the headquarters state, according to the constitution. It is headed by the Director General, one of whose responsibilities is to implement the resolutions of the [|General Conference] and the board of directors.

Affiliates

  1. Arab Institute for Workers Education & Labor Researches in Algeria
  2. Arab Center for Social Insurance in Sudan
  3. Arab Institute for Occupational Health & Safety in Syria
  4. Arab Center for Human Resource Development in Libya
  5. Arab Center for Labor Administration & Employment in Tunisia
  6. ALO Permanent Mission in Geneva