国际法院称工人罢工权受到关键劳工条约的保护

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations' top court issued a landmark advisory opinion on the right to strike on Thursday, finding that a cornerstone labor treaty protects the ability of workers to walk off the job.

The International Court of Justice was asked in 2023 by the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency, to settle an internal dispute over whether one of the ILO's conventions gives workers the right to strike.

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Advisory opinions aren't legally binding, but carry significant weight.该决定可能会对全球劳工法规产生影响，将罢工权纳入劳工标准和国际贸易协定。

Labor unions welcomed the decision.

"As any trade unionist will tell you, there is no right to organize without the right to strike!" UNI全球联盟秘书长克里斯蒂·霍夫曼(Christy Hoffman)在意见公布后发表声明称。 "The two are inseparable foundations of any functional and fair industrial relations system. Congratulations to the many advocates who argued the point so brilliantly before the ICJ."

The word "strike" never appears in the 1948 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, but the ICJ's 14 judges found walkout actions are covered under the other guarantees.

"The protection of the right to strike is encompassed in the freedom of association," court president Yuji Iwasawa said, reading out the ruling in the Great Hall of Justice in The Hague.

The convention has been ratified by 158 countries and is incorporated into a variety of employment guidelines and standards, including those from the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and various international trade agreements.

The United States is a member of the ILO, but hasn't ratified the convention.

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