ILO Conventions and India: Ratification Status and Core Standards
India has ratified six of the eight ILO core conventions and has not ratified the Migrant Workers and Statelessness instruments. A comprehensive guide.
ILO Conventions and India share a complicated, decades-long relationship. India is a founding member of the International Labour Organization, predating even the United Nations, and has hosted three sessions of the International Labour Conference. Yet India has ratified only a portion of the ILO’s conventions — including six of the eight Fundamental (“core”) Conventions — and continues to abstain from some instruments that are widely ratified internationally. This selective approach reflects India’s labour-market realities, federal structure, and constitutional commitments.
This guide lays out India’s ratification status across the ILO’s core conventions, identifies which conventions India has not ratified, and explains the position on related international instruments often clustered with ILO standards — including the Migrant Workers Convention and the Statelessness Conventions.
ILO and Core Conventions
The ILO has identified ten Fundamental Conventions (expanded from the earlier eight by the addition of the two Occupational Safety and Health instruments in 2022). These cover the principles in the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, refreshed in 2022.
The expanded core conventions are:
- C087 — Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, 1948
- C098 — Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, 1949
- C029 — Forced Labour, 1930 (and the 2014 Protocol)
- C105 — Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957
- C138 — Minimum Age, 1973
- C182 — Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999
- C100 — Equal Remuneration, 1951
- C111 — Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), 1958
- C155 — Occupational Safety and Health, 1981 (added to core in 2022)
- C187 — Promotional Framework for OSH, 2006 (added to core in 2022)
India’s Ratification Status on Core Conventions
India has ratified six of the original eight core conventions:
Ratified by India
- C029 — Forced Labour, 1930 (ratified 1954)
- C105 — Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957 (ratified 2000)
- C100 — Equal Remuneration, 1951 (ratified 1958)
- C111 — Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), 1958 (ratified 1960)
- C138 — Minimum Age, 1973 (ratified 2017)
- C182 — Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (ratified 2017)
Not ratified by India
- C087 — Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, 1948
- C098 — Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, 1949
India’s reason for not ratifying C087 and C098 has historically been the difficulty of extending the convention’s text in full to government employees — many of whom in India are subject to service conditions restricting strikes and collective bargaining of a kind ILO C087/C098 protect. India maintains that its constitutional and statutory framework, including Articles 19(1)(c) (right to form associations) and the Trade Unions Act, gives effect to the spirit of the conventions even though formal ratification has not been completed.
Of the two new core conventions (added 2022)
India has not ratified C155 and C187 on Occupational Safety and Health to date. Indian labour law on OSH is governed primarily by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, the Factories Act, the Mines Act, and similar enactments.
Migrant Workers Convention — Not Ratified
The international Migrant Workers Convention is the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990 — a UN treaty rather than an ILO instrument, but often discussed together with the ILO’s C097 (Migration for Employment) and C143 (Migrant Workers, Supplementary Provisions). India is not party to the UN Migrant Workers Convention and has not ratified ILO C097 or C143. This is in line with India’s position as a country with substantial outward migration as well as significant internal interstate migration, where domestic frameworks like the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act govern internal flows.
Statelessness Conventions — Not Signed
The two principal UN conventions on statelessness — the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness — have not been signed or acceded to by India. India also is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. India’s position has been that its citizenship law (the Citizenship Act, 1955), administrative practice, and humanitarian record provide protections that the treaty system would, in some respects, freeze in a way India does not currently consider in its interest.
India’s Wider Ratification Record
India has ratified over 47 ILO conventions overall, covering wages, working hours, social security, women’s work, employment service, and labour statistics. India submits regular Article 22 reports to the ILO on ratified conventions and Article 19 reports on non-ratified conventions, fulfilling its standing obligations as a member.
Domestic Counterpart Law
The implementation of ILO obligations in India is through domestic law rather than direct application of treaty text. Key statutes include:
- The four labour codes — Code on Wages, 2019; Industrial Relations Code, 2020; Code on Social Security, 2020; Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
- The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
- The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (as amended in 2016)
- The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (now subsumed in the Code on Wages)
- The Trade Unions Act, 1926, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (now in the IR Code)
For related coverage, see DPSP Articles on labour-welfare directives, Article 15 and 16 on non-discrimination and the important articles of Indian Constitution reference.
Why the Ratification Map Matters
India’s ratification map of ILO conventions is not a list of failures or successes — it is a deliberate, federal, constitutionally informed selection. The non-ratification of C087 and C098 reflects the tension between core ILO freedoms and Indian government-employee service rules. The non-accession to Migrant Workers and Statelessness instruments reflects domestic policy preferences and demographic realities. Understanding which instruments are ratified and which are not is the foundation for evaluating India’s international labour and human rights record.
FAQs
How many ILO core conventions has India ratified?
India has ratified six of the eight original core conventions on forced labour, equal remuneration, discrimination, and minimum age and worst forms of child labour.
Which core conventions has India not ratified?
India has not ratified C087 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise) and C098 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining), the two core conventions on freedom of association.
When did India ratify the conventions on child labour?
India ratified C138 (Minimum Age) and C182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour) in 2017.
Has India ratified the Migrant Workers Convention?
No. India is not party to the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990, and has not ratified ILO conventions C097 or C143.
Is India a party to the Statelessness Conventions?
No. India has not signed or acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Is India a founding member of the ILO?
Yes. India is a founding member of the ILO, with continuous membership since 1919.
How does India implement ILO obligations?
India implements its ILO obligations through domestic legislation, particularly the four labour codes and related statutes on bonded labour, child labour, and equal remuneration.
Has India ratified the new OSH core conventions?
India has not yet ratified C155 (1981) and C187 (2006) on Occupational Safety and Health, which were elevated to core conventions by the ILO in 2022.