On 21 May 2026, in this landmark advisory opinion supporting worker rights, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed that the right to strike is protected under international law. This is a long-awaited confirmation that the right to strike is an integral part of the freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively as defined in the ILO Convention 87, as ‘actions’ the trade unions have to defend their rights and promote social justice and social progress for millions of workers in Europe and in the world.
The Euopean Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomes this landmark advisory opinion, as a significant victory and a positive signal for workers! The remarkable advisory opinion carries a most significant legal and political weight, that will strengthen the role of trade unions in all sectors and in all parts of the world. It will also set the doctrine in national and international law. The ILO Governing Body is expected to consider the matter and any follow-up at its 358th session in November.
The very elaborated advisory opinion deals, in remarkable details and solid argumentation, with the interpretation of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), in relation to the right to strike, and puts an end to a matter that had been a long-standing source of disagreement between trade union movement in Europe and Worldwide that defend this interpretation and the international employers organisations that since 2012 have not only worked to put the discredit on trade union rights to strike but also have put at risk the authority and credibility of ILO and its bodies.
This was only the second time in ILO history that a question concerning interpretation of an international labour convention had been referred, and the first such request to the ICJ since its creation in 1945, making it a truly historic moment for international labour law.
Credit photo: ICJ
