The Right to Strike as a Human Right

Abstract

The problem of qualifying the right to strike in the catalogue of human rights or workers' rights has been raised since 2012 within the framework of the conflict between employers and the International Labour Organization. In 2012, the Employers’ group of the ILO Governing Body refused to accept the list of cases for analysis while submitting a statement in which several allegations were made. The most important element of the dispute is the fact that the ILO Convention No. 87 does not regulate the right to strike, therefore, according to employers, it should not be the subject of the ILO’s interpretation. Pursuant to the content of the Convention, its provisions may be interpreted by the International Court of Justice only. The analysis presented in the article proves that this issue is still up-to-date.

Consideration of this issue cannot refer only to research on strike in general but it must also include the sector of essential services. This issue is not explored in science because the aspect of the indicated sector is omitted, although it is crucial in practice.

            This article presents the results of research on the very concept of the sector of essential services. The essence is to understand the nature of this sector. Essential services are indispensable in the functioning of everyday life of every human being and the lack of their provision will lead to irreversible damage.

It is argued in the presented considerations that research on legal qualification should be based not only on the analysis of regulations but also on philosophy. It is necessary to pay attention to the resulting moral dilemmas. This method is not exhaustive and universal, however it aims to improve the incompletely presented approaches and solutions to the problem.