ILO Freedom of Association Standards for Labour Relations Training Course

Course overview

Labour relations leaders must make difficult decisions when union recognition is contested, representatives allege interference, bargaining stalls, or industrial action is threatened. A response that appears operationally sensible can still conflict with international freedom of association principles, damage trust with worker representatives, or expose the organisation to complaints and reputational scrutiny. This course equips participants to interpret and apply the ILO framework before disputes become formal grievances, escalation points, or external proceedings.

Participants examine the legal and practical implications of ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98, supported by Conventions No. 135 and No. 154 and the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association Digest. They learn to distinguish legitimate management conduct from anti-union discrimination or interference; assess recognition, representation, bargaining, and strike-related scenarios; and structure defensible responses. The programme develops practical skills in standards-based issue analysis, evidence collection, stakeholder mapping, collective bargaining design, and drafting labour-relations action plans aligned with ILO principles.

The five-day programme combines expert instruction with guided analysis of ILO case principles, workplace dispute simulations, bargaining exercises, and peer review of policy language. Participants work through realistic cases involving union access, representative protection, recognition thresholds, good-faith bargaining, and industrial action. Each participant leaves with an ILO Freedom of Association Compliance Action Plan: a tailored diagnostic of one labour-relations process, identified risks, priority corrective actions, evidence requirements, and a stakeholder engagement roadmap for use with HR, legal counsel, and employee representatives.

The course is designed for experienced HR, employee relations, legal, compliance, and labour-relations professionals operating in unionised, unionising, multinational, public-sector, or supply-chain-sensitive environments.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Interpret ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 against workplace freedom of association scenarios
• Apply the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association Digest to assess alleged anti-union conduct
• Differentiate lawful operational decisions from union interference and anti-union discrimination risks
• Conduct a freedom of association risk assessment for recognition, access, representation, and bargaining processes
• Draft policy clauses protecting union representatives, workplace access, and non-discrimination
• Design a good-faith collective bargaining process using Convention No. 154 principles
• Build an evidence file and issue chronology for an internal labour-relations investigation
• Produce an ILO Freedom of Association Compliance Action Plan for a live workplace issue

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Employee Relations Managers — who lead union engagement, workplace dispute resolution, and bargaining preparation
• HR Directors — who set people policies and need defensible controls for union-related decisions
• Labour Relations Specialists — who advise managers on recognition, representative rights, and collective agreements
• Employment Lawyers and In-House Counsel — who assess international labour standards risk alongside domestic law
• Compliance and ESG Managers — who oversee human rights due diligence and labour-practice assurance
• Industrial Relations and Public Affairs Managers — who manage workforce, government, and union stakeholder relationships

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in HR, employee relations, employment law, industrial relations, compliance, or collective bargaining. They should already understand the basic purpose of trade unions, collective agreements, grievance procedures, disciplinary processes, and the relevant domestic labour-law framework in their jurisdiction. Familiarity with reading workplace policies, contracts, or dispute correspondence is useful. Participants should bring a current or anonymised labour-relations issue if possible. No prior study of ILO supervisory bodies, no legal qualification, and no specialist software are required; the course explains the ILO standards and Committee on Freedom of Association approach from first principles.

Training methodology

Delivery combines instructor-led interpretation of ILO texts with structured application to labour-relations decisions. Participants use Convention provisions and selected Committee on Freedom of Association Digest principles to analyse fact patterns, identify missing evidence, and test alternative management responses. Small groups conduct a recognition dispute review, draft bargaining ground rules, and role-play a meeting involving alleged union interference. Facilitated debriefs connect each exercise to operational policy choices. On the final day, participants convert a current or simulated issue into an ILO Freedom of Association Compliance Action Plan with peer and instructor feedback.

Course outline

Day 1: ILO framework and freedom of association foundations

• ILO supervisory system: Conference Committee, CEACR, and Committee on Freedom of Association roles
• Convention No. 87 protections for workers' and employers' organisations
• Convention No. 98 protections against anti-union discrimination and interference
• Direct applicability, ratification status, and domestic-law interaction
• The Committee on Freedom of Association Digest as an interpretive source
• Rights holders, duty bearers, and employer influence over union activity
• Fact-pattern analysis using issue, rule, evidence, and response mapping

Workshop: Participants analyse an anonymised union-access dispute and produce a standards-based issue map identifying the facts, ILO principles, evidence gaps, and immediate controls.

Day 2: Representation, recognition, and representative protections

• Union formation, membership choice, and protection from employer pressure
• Recognition processes and representative-status disputes
• Convention No. 135 safeguards for workers' representatives
• Workplace access, facilities, communication channels, and time-off arrangements
• Anti-union dismissal, transfer, discipline, and retaliation indicators
• Lawful management communications during organising and recognition activity
• Policy-control testing for union access and representative protection

Workshop: Participants review a workplace union-access policy and produce revised clauses, an approval checklist, and an escalation pathway for contested access requests.

Day 3: Collective bargaining and good-faith engagement

• Convention No. 154 and voluntary collective bargaining principles
• Bargaining-unit definition, mandate setting, and negotiating authority
• Good-faith bargaining indicators and surface bargaining risks
• Information disclosure, confidentiality, and data-request protocols
• Bargaining ground rules, meeting records, and proposal-tracking logs
• Deadlock management, mediation options, and dispute-resolution clauses
• Multi-employer, multinational, and supply-chain bargaining considerations

Workshop: Teams prepare a collective bargaining protocol and negotiate selected clauses through a facilitated management-union simulation.

Day 4: Disputes, industrial action, and complaint handling

• ILO freedom of association principles relating to strikes and industrial action
• Essential services, minimum-service arrangements, and proportionality analysis
• Employer contingency planning without coercion or discriminatory conduct
• Internal investigation of alleged interference or anti-union discrimination
• Evidence preservation, witness interviews, and chronology construction
• Committee on Freedom of Association complaint process and admissibility basics
• Remedial actions, settlement options, and non-retaliation safeguards

Workshop: Participants conduct a tabletop investigation into alleged anti-union retaliation and produce an evidence chronology, findings matrix, and corrective-action recommendation.

Day 5: Implementation, assurance, and action planning

• Freedom of association risk assessment criteria and scoring model
• Gap analysis across policies, manager practices, and collective agreements
• Manager guidance for union-related communications and decision approvals
• Human rights due diligence links to labour-relations controls
• Stakeholder mapping for unions, worker representatives, legal counsel, and leadership
• Key risk indicators, case tracking, and management reporting dashboards
• ILO Freedom of Association Compliance Action Plan structure

Workshop: Participants complete and present an ILO Freedom of Association Compliance Action Plan with priorities, owners, timelines, evidence requirements, and stakeholder actions.

Tools & standards covered

ILO Convention No. 87: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, ILO Convention No. 98: Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, ILO Convention No. 135: Workers' Representatives Convention, 1971,

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions