Labour administration is defined by ILO Convention No. 150 as "public administration activities in the field of national labour policy." It is an essential tool at the disposal of governments in fulfilling their responsibilities towards social issues. International labour standards are usually applied through national law and policy. It is therefore vital that each country maintain a viable and active labour administration system responsible for all aspects of national labour policy formulation and implementation. Besides promoting labour administration systems in a variety of forms, ILO standards at the same time promote the collection of labour statistics, which are invaluable in identifying needs and formulating labour policy, at both national and international levels. While labour administrations exist in most countries around the world, many of them face financial and material difficulties. Adequate financing of labour administration systems is therefore necessary in order to maintain and strengthen this important tool for development.
