Legal practitioners have been advised to pick lessons from international best practices while handling labour disputes. The call was made Friday as about 20 judges, lawyers, university lecturers and labour rights activists completed one-week training at the Nyanza-based Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD). This training was organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in partnership with ILPD. It aimed at strengthening the knowledge of judges and lawyers on international labour standards and other human rights instruments related to labour issues and their capacity to use them to resolve labour disputes. International labour standards refer to conventions agreed upon by international actors, resulting from a series of value judgments, set to protect rights of the workers, enhance job security, and improve terms of employment on a global scale. Benoît Guiguet, the ILO standards specialist basede in Yaoundé, Cameroun and one of the trainers, told The New Times that international labour standards are important tools that can help judges and lawyers take well-informed decisions while dealing with labour-related issues. “The international labour standards can help to interpret the law in some cases, to fill some gaps or to strengthen a decision,” he said. “Definitely, it is something important in national jurisdiction”. Guiguet said he hopes the trainees “will decide, when possible, referring to international labour standards” and will help disseminate the information to colleagues. While closing the course, Angeline Rutazana, The inspector of Courts, urged the participants to put to use what they learnt. “We hope this course equipped you with knowledge that will enable you to use international labour law sources and standards to settle disputes. We are confident that the skills acquired will enable you understand the standards and make use of them in your work,” she said. Jean Marie Vianney Hitimana, the deputy president of the High Court a pledged to utilise the skills for the benefits of the entire Rwandan community.
