Today marks seventy years since the USSR ratified two Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) that are of great importance to trade unions worldwide.

The entry into force in the USSR on 10 August 1956 of two ILO Conventions - No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) and No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) - launched the country's process of ratifying international labour instruments. In total, seventeen ILO Conventions were ratified in 1956.

In the view of Viktor Pinsky, General Secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions, the ratification of the fundamental ILO Conventions in the USSR laid the foundations for the development of modern labour legislation in the CIS.

"The trajectory of the labour legislation now in force in the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States was set in 1956 by the ratification of the core ILO Conventions, beginning with the ratification on 10 August of Conventions No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise and No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining. For trade unions around the world, these are the paramount Conventions, granting workers the right to form trade unions and defend the interests of working people. What sets the CIS countries apart is that a system of collective bargaining regulation of labour relations operates effectively across our territory. Our countries genuinely share a common understanding of the importance of preserving social peace and of a caring attitude towards people; historically and mentally, we are all close to one another. That is why the main work proceeds within civilised, legal boundaries - in the format of lawmaking on the creation of a common labour market across this entire territory, with identical or similar rules and standards," Viktor Pinsky said.

After 1992, Conventions No. 87, No. 98 and the other core ILO Conventions were ratified in all CIS countries.

"National trade union centres monitor compliance with the provisions of the core ILO Conventions in their countries. The GCTU stands guard over the rights of trade unions and workers across the CIS as a whole; their observance is the foundation for building a common, civilised and fair labour market in the Commonwealth of Independent States," Viktor Pinsky added.