"A well-coordinated, professional and efficient labour administration machinery is essential to the effective governance of the labour market. This book will be an invaluable resource for labour administrators, labour inspectors, conciliators, employment service officials, governments, workers, employers, researchers and professionals. This unique volume clearly sets out the role, functions and organization of labour administration, highlighting the relationship between social policy and economic policy, and identifying the vast array of services to which most people have access during their working lives. It gives a comprehensive overview of the main principles of labour administration, covering labour legislation, industrial relations, working conditions and employment, and describes ways in which current challenges can be met through policy, organization, coordination and management."--Publisher's website.

Focusing on public administration activities in the field of national labour policy, this timely book provides detailed analyses of labour administration reforms, innovations and challenges in different countries, including detailed case studies from Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the US.

This manual draws on the ILO's comprehensive database containing the principal legal provisions and minimum wage fixing mechanisms in 100 countries. The minimum wage has had a long and turbulent history, and this study sheds light on its intricacies by providing a thorough overview of the institutions and practices in different countries. It outlines the main topics for debate concerning the effects of minimum wages on major social and economic variables such as employment, wage inequality, and poverty. The book considers the various procedures countries use for implementation, including the criteria employed to fix the minimum wage, and how they are linked to specific country objectives. It then measures the efficiency of the minimum wage, and focuses on its impact on employment as a major political issue. For the benefit of non-specialists, the validity of econometric models and their results are examined.

Topics covered include background, evaluation, policy, organization and management for labour inspection, sectoral aspects such as child labour, agriculture, non-commercial service sector, construction industry, labour inspection and hazards prevention.

2. The informal sector

An ILO code of practice