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Status of the Labour Standards (Non-Metropolitan Territories)
Convention, 1947 (No. 83)
Convention No. 83 was adopted in 1947, but only came into force 27 years later, in 1974. Since 2004,
following its denunciation by Australia, the only remaining ratification of Convention No. 83 is that of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Accordingly, Convention No. 83 has not been in
force for 20 years and, as a result, the ratification and the accompanying declarations made by the
United Kingdom no longer produce legal effects.
Convention No. 83 specifies the conditions of application to non-metropolitan territories concerning the
13 Conventions that are specifically listed in its Schedule, even where the responsible Member State
has not ratified them. The Schedule includes largely outdated instruments. As the regulatory approach
has evolved away from differential treatment for non-metropolitan territories, there is no longer a need
for a Convention that specifically concerns the application of a subset of instruments in those territories.
At its ninth meeting, in 2024, the SRM TWG recommended to the Governing Body the withdrawal of
Convention No. 83, which is no longer in force, by placing an item on the agenda of the 114th Session
(2026) of the Conference. 1
Questionnaire
Do you consider that the Labour Standards (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 83) should
be withdrawn?
☒ Yes ☐ No
If you replied “no” to the above question, please indicate the reasons why you consider that Convention
No. 83 has not lost its purpose or still makes a useful contribution to attaining the objectives of the Organization.
Comments
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1
For more details, see ILO, Technical Note 4.1: Instruments concerning labour standards (non-metropolitan territories), Ninth Meeting of
the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group, 16–20 September 2024.
International Labour Organization Your Ref: 21.03.2025 No
Office of the Legal Adviser
Our Ref: 24.11.2025 No 11-2/1293-2
ILC.114 - Report for item VII(1) on the agenda:
Withdrawal of Convention No. 83
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find enclosed the response from the Government of Estonia to the questionnaire regarding
the withdrawal of ILO Convention No. 83. The Estonian Employers’ Confederation and the
Estonian Trade Unions Confederation also submitted input to the questionnaire and confirmed
their agreement with our decision.
With best regards,
Ulla Saar
Deputy Secretary General for Labour and Equality Policies
/signed digitally/
Copy to
Estonian Employers’ Confederation
Estonian Trade Unions Confederation
Suur-Ameerika 1 / 10122 Tallinn / ESTONIA
Phone: +372 625 6342 / Fax: +372 631 3660 / E-mail:
[email protected] / http://www.mkm.ee