The Ussr and Ilo

Abstract

In 1954, just twenty years after first becoming a member, the Soviet Union rejoined the International Labor Organization (ILO). This step was a sharp reversal of the USSR's past policy. The Soviet Union had boycotted ILO since 1937, three years before its initial membership was terminated as a consequence of its expulsion from the League of Nations, and during much of this time it conducted a bitter attack against the agency. The Soviet Union's re-entry may also have marked a turning point for the International Labor Organization. One of the oldest specialized agencies, ILO had developed a tradition of technical work for which it had won wide renown. Some feared that the Soviet Union's re-entry was likely to upset this tradition; others felt that the Organization's wider and more nearly universal membership would provide new strength and vitality. Although the full implications of the USSR's resumed membership in ILO cannot yet be seen, sufficient time has elapsed to warrant a critical examination of Soviet policy in this specialized agency and of the reactions of other states. Perhaps clues can be seen to the motivations for the shift in the USSR's attitude, preliminary estimates made of the success of Soviet policies, and tentative judgments offered about the over-all effects on ILO.