ETI welcomes ICJ confirmation that the right to strike is protected under ILO Convention No. 87

Courtroom and bench of International Court of Justice, principal judicial organ of the United Nations located at The Hague. Photo credit: Shutterstock.

The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) welcomes the International Court of Justice’s confirmation this week, by ten votes to four, that the right to strike is protected under ILO Convention No. 87. This brings long-overdue clarity to a question that has divided employers, workers and governments within the ILO for more than a decade.

The ILO's own supervisory bodies have long held this position: that the right to strike is an intrinsic element of freedom of association. The Court has now affirmed it. Importantly, the opinion does not determine the precise content, scope or conditions for the exercise of that right. Those questions remain for national legislators and ILO processes to address. But its recognition matters. 

Freedom of association is an enabling right: the foundation on which fair wages, safe conditions and genuine remedy are built. This is why it sits at the heart of ETI's new 2030 strategy, which we will be launching shortly. That strategy reflects what ETI's own experience, and a growing body of evidence, consistently shows: where workers can organise and represent their own interests, human rights abuses are identified and addressed more quickly, and working conditions improve over time.

This ruling is important not only for workers and trade unions, but also for governments and responsible businesses. Legal clarity on such a critical aspect of international labour law is indispensable for stable industrial relations and effective social dialogue.

We encourage our member companies to use this moment to review their supplier codes, strengthen due diligence on collective bargaining and the right to strike, and build the kind of authentic worker engagement that drives real and lasting change.

“For too long, the absence of clarity on the right to strike has left workers, businesses and governments in an uncertain landscape. Now that the Court has spoken, our job is to make sure that clarity translates into real change in supply chains. That is exactly what ETI and our members are committed to doing.”

Giles Bolton, Executive Director, ETI

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