Press releases

December 2008 

• Economic crisis to impact on HIV/AIDS response says the ILO ahead of International Conference on AIDS and STI in Africa
  02 December 2008 - Experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO) will address the potential impact of the global economic crisis on HIV/AIDS in the workplace during a series of events to be held at the 15th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), which opens tomorrow (3 December) in Dakar, Senegal.

November 2008 

• ILO warns of cuts in real wages for millions of workers in 2009 – Declines follow decade in which wages failed to keep pace with economic growth
  25 November 2008 - The global economic crisis is expected to lead to painful cuts in the wages of millions of workers worldwide in the coming year, according to a new report published today by the International Labour Office (ILO).
• ILO expresses deep concern over economic crisis, moves to forge policy responses based on decent work
  21 November 2008 - Amid growing concern over the impact of economic turmoil on workers, employers and governments, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) took the first steps toward forging employment and social policy responses through social dialogue aimed at meeting the challenges of the deepening global economic crisis.
• ILO launches new report on global wages, including impact of financial crisis
  21 November 2008 - The International Labour Office (ILO) is to launch a new study, entitled "Global Wage Report 2008/09: Minimum wages and collective bargaining: Towards policy coherence" on Tuesday 25 November that examines major trends in wages worldwide over the past decade, and provides a forecast of wage evolution in 2009 due to the global financial crisis.
• ILO concern expressed over the situation in Swaziland
  21 November 2008 - The members of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization have expressed concern over the situation relating to freedom of association in Swaziland, and in particular over the security of Jan Sithole, Secretary General of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions.
• Decent work at the heart of a new global order in response to the financial crisis says French President to the ILO
  20 November 2008 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the International Labour Organization to make its voice heard to promote Decent Work at the heart of the rules that will lay the foundations for the building of a new global order in response to the global financial crisis.
• UN Secretary-General addresses ILO Governing Body, calls decent work essential to helping people weather financial, jobs crisis
  19 November 2008 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said decent work was essential to helping people weather the global financial crisis, which had also become “a jobs crisis”.
• President of the Government of Spain stresses the importance of work and social dialogue to overcome financial and economic crisis
  18 November 2008 - Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero today urged governments around the world to sustain and strengthen policies that promote social cohesion, employment and tripartite dialogue as a fundamental step towards overcoming the global financial and economic crisis.
• Juan Somavia elected to third term as ILO Director-General - Says will work to address financial crisis, ensure social justice
  18 November 2008 - Juan Somavia was elected to a third term as Director-General of the International Labour Office, and pledged to work to ensure social justice amidst a growing series of challenges in the global economy.
• OECD Secretary-General highlights the role of the ILO and the OECD in the current economic and social crisis
  17 November 2008 - The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Angel Gurría today made an urgent call for increased collaboration between the OECD and the International Labour Organization in response to the global financial crisis.
• ILO Governing Body to examine impact of financial and economic crisis on the world of work
  06 November 2008 - The Governing Body of the International Labour Office is to examine the global impact of the current financial and economic crisis on governments, workers and employers at its 303rd meeting which opened in Geneva on 6 November.

October 2008 

• ILO says global financial crisis to increase unemployment by 20 million
  20 October 2008 - The global financial crisis could increase world unemployment by an estimated 20 million women and men, the Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO) said today. “We need prompt and coordinated government actions to avert a social crisis that could be severe, long-lasting and global”, he added.
• World of Work Report 2008 - Global income inequality gap is vast and growing
  16 October 2008 - Despite strong economic growth that produced millions of new jobs since the early 1990s, income inequality grew dramatically in most regions of the world and is expected to increase due to the current global financial crisis, according to a new study published today by the research arm of the International Labour Organization.
• World of Work Report 2008: ILO launches new report on global Income Inequalities
  15 October 2008 - The International Institute for Labour Studies of the International Labour Office (ILO) is to launch a new study, entitled “World of Work Report 2008 – Income Inequality in the Age of Financial Globalization” on Thursday 16 October.
• ILO Director-General calls for urgent measures to address “grave consequences” of global financial crisis
  10 October 2008 - The Director-General of the International Labour Office, Juan Somavia, has called for a series of urgent and coordinated financial, social, regulatory and development measures to avert a slide into recession and address the “grave” consequences of the global financial crisis.
• ILO Gender Equality campaign highlights need for rights, jobs and social security for older women and men
  01 October 2008 - Despite increasing international attention to ageing societies and older persons, in many societies, older persons and especially older women, still face age discrimination in the workplace and lack access to rights, jobs and social security, the International Labour Office said today on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons.

September 2008 

• Landmark new report says emerging green economy could create tens of millions of new “Green Jobs”
  24 September 2008 - A new, landmark study on the impact of an emerging global “green economy” on the world of work says efforts to tackle climate change could result in the creation of millions of new “green jobs” in the coming decades.
• Media advisory - Study by ILO, UNEP and workers and employers says tackling climate change could create millions of new jobs
  19 September 2008 - Early global efforts to avert dangerous climate change are already generating new jobs, and could produce millions of new employment opportunities, according to a new study to be launched globally by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE).
• ILO expresses concern over sentencing of Myanmar labour activist
  19 September 2008 - The International Labour Office (ILO) is concerned and disappointed at the recent sentencing to two years hard labour of U Thet Way, a Burmese (Myanmar) labour activist.
• Media advisory - ILO to consider new guidelines on ship inspection under 2006 Maritime Labour Convention
  15 September 2008 - More than 300 senior representatives of seafarers and shipowners, along with governments, are to meet here between 15 and 26 September to discuss guidelines on flag-state and port-state inspection on board of ships under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2006.