Fields, Frames and Fundamental Rights: The Campaign to Elevate Occupational Safety and Health at the International Labour Organization (ILO)

Abstract

This article focuses on how unions mobilise collective action in the strategic action field of global labour governance. Few studies show how unions take advantage of global governance institutions. To address this, we analyse the 25-year-long campaign to elevate occupational safety and health to a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work at the International Labour Organization (ILO). Building on social movement theory (SMT), we argue that the elevation was made possible through the framing strategies deployed by the workers’ group that were able to mobilise support from governments, and actors external to the ILO, thus demobilising the employers. In drawing on rich qualitative data, our findings extend SMT by analysing how unions externally frame their demands at the supranational level and the context in which framing occurs.