GNV News October 19, 2025

On October 6, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), acting on a request from the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) made in 2023, held hearings to determine whether the right to strike is recognized under international law. The hearings ran until October 8, with the governments of 18 countries and five international organizations delivering oral statements.

The focus of the issue is whether the right to strike is recognized in the 1948 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (Convention No. 87) (see note). Since the adoption of Convention No. 87, the ILO has consistently interpreted the Convention as recognizing a right to strike, but at the 2012 International Labour Conference the ILO Employers’ Group formally opposed this interpretation and staged a boycott. Because the ILO adopts tripartism, with representatives of workers, employers, and governments, the Organization has since been unable to produce unified interpretations or publish its annual reports.

It has also been pointed out that, as a result, the right to strike has been reduced in many countries and workers’ rights are under threat. For workers, who are in a weaker position than employers, strikes are an important tool to demand improved working conditions and higher wages, and curtailing this right risks violating workers’ rights. A notable recent trend is that restrictions on strikes are being tightened by expanding the occupations classified as essential services beyond the ILO’s definition.

The ICJ’s advisory opinion on this question is expected in a few months. Although advisory opinions are not legally binding, they are considered to have substantial influence on national courts and international interpretation. If the advisory opinion settles the matter, employers’ representatives may end their boycott and the ILO’s activities could return to normal; the Court’s judgment is therefore drawing close attention.

Note: The ILO Convention No. 87 does not explicitly provide for a right to strike. However, based on Article 3(1) (“Workers’ and employers’ organizations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes.”) and Article 10 (“In this Convention the term ‘organization’ means any organization of workers or of employers for furthering and defending the interests of workers or of employers.”), the workers’ side argues that the Convention implicitly recognizes the right to strike, and the ILO’s supervisory bodies have by and large supported this interpretation.

Learn more about the importance of the right to work → “Cambodia: The realities of the apparel industry”

Learn more about workers’ rights and media coverage → “Workers’ rights and international reporting”

Learn more about ICJ advisory opinions → “A big step on climate change:ICJ referral”

Trade unions protesting in Sydney, Australia in 2018(Photo:Stilgherrian / Flickr [CC BY 2.0])