African reforms backed
“The ILO is committed to working with our social partners in Africa on vital reforms in support of poverty reduction, social dialogue, post-crisis reconstruction, HIV/AIDS prevention at the workplace, and regional integration,” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. He issued his statement on April 11, before his departure to attend the 26th session of the African Union’s Labour and Social Affairs Commission in Mauritius. While there, he also met with Mauritian government officials and business and labour groups.
For further information, please contact the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations of Mauritius, Head Office, Victoria House,Corner Barracks-St Louis Streets, Port-Louis, Mauritius, phone: (230) 207-2600, fax:(230) 212-3070, or check: http://ncb.intnet.mu/lireh/ministry/events.htm#PROVISIONAL%20AGENDA
Coca-Cola launches HIV/AIDS programme in Africa
The Coca-Cola Foundation announced on March 30, that all 40 of its independent bottling companies in 54 African countries are enrolled in a comprehensive HIV/ AIDS programme which gives employees and their families access to such benefits as anti-retroviral drugs, testing, counselling, prevention, and treatment.
The programme is based on guidelines and standards developed by UNAIDS, the ILO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
For further information, please contact the ILO Programme on HIV/ AIDS and the World of Work, phone: +4122/799-6486, fax: +4122/799-6349; e-mail: iloaids@ilo.org
New ILO manual on HIV/AIDS at work
A new education and training manual explains how governments, businesses and trade unions can implement the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. The eight modules cover topics such as workplace programmes to prevent HIV/AIDS, the impact of gender inequality on the spread of the disease, and how to reach people working in the informal economy.
Meanwhile the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE) recently issued a joint statement on HIV/AIDS in the world of work.
For more details see ILO Online story.
For further information, please contact the ILO Programme on HIV/ AIDS and the World of Work, phone: +4122/799-6486, fax: +4122/799-6349; e-mail: iloaids@ilo.org or check www.ilo.org
Hiv/Aids in India: ILO action enters second phase
India had an estimated 3.97 million people living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2001. The great majority of infections (89 per cent) has been reported among those aged 15-49. This is the most productive age group, and HIV/AIDS is a major threat to the world of work. The numbers highlight the need for immediate efforts to protect some 400 million workers in India. The main challenge is to reach out to the more vulnerable informal sector workers, who account for more than 90 per cent of the total workforce in India.
The ILO, in consultation with its Indian tripartite constituents and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), has developed a three-phase programme, aimed at sustainable national action on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support in the world of work.
The first phase of the project, implemented with financial support from the US Department of Labor, was aimed at mobilizing the ILO tripartite partners (government, employers’ and workers’ organizations). The project is now embarking on the second phase, with a comprehensive Plan of Action for implementation in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, the three selected States of India.
For further information, please contact Mr. S.M. Afsar, National Project Coordinator, ILO, New Delhi, phone: +9111-24602101/2/3 Extension 241, fax: +9111-2460-2111; e-mail: safsar@ilodel.org.in
New ILO Hanoi Office
The ILO officially opened an office in Viet Nam on February 17, with a ceremony attended by key officials from the Ministries of Labour and Foreign Affairs, along with representatives of business groups, trade unions, and other social partners. The inaugural ceremony marks “the final step in the formalization of the ILO’s presence in Viet Nam,” and is “a milestone” in the organization’s relationship with the government and the Vietnamese people, Yasuyuki Nodera, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, told the gathering.
The ILO’s work in Viet Nam has focused on strengthening the country’s ability to respond to the challenges posed by its deepening integration into the global economy. ILO action has included advice to the government on the drafting of new labour legislation, training for small businesses, incorporating women’s issues into employment policies and improving on-the-job safety and health.
For further information, please contact the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in Bangkok, phone: +662/288-1234, fax: +662/288-1735, e-mail: thompsons@ilobkk.or.th
New ILO Lisbon Office
In April 2003, the ILO officially opened an office in Lisbon. The Director of the office, Carlos Castro Almeida, referred, in a message on the ILO Web site, to the longstanding cooperation between Portugal and the ILO, and described the new Office as a facilitator in the triangular relationship between Portugal, the Portuguese-speaking countries, and the ILO, particularly in the field of labour and social issues.
For further information, please contact the ILO Lisbon Office, Rua Viriato, 7 B 71, 1050-233 Lisboa (Portugal),phone: +35121/317-3440 /9; fax: + 35121/314-0149
Workout
Sports can play an important role in the workplace, says Adolf Ogi, special adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Sport for Peace and Development. Addressing an ILO meeting in Bangkok on 19 March, Mr. Ogi also stressed sport’s contribution to peace, development and education. Among those represented at the meeting were the Thai Ministry of Labour, the Employers’ Confederation of Thailand, the Labour Congress of Thailand, the Thai Trade Union Congress, the National Congress of Thai Labour, and the State Enterprise Workers’ Relations Confederation.
Participants responded positively, and suggested that sport in the workplace could be used to promote industrial relations, to improve overall health and fitness, and as a tool to combat drug abuse. Mr. Ogi cited the ILO involvement in a success story in Mozambique where dialogue with the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, employers, and trade unions led to innovative ways of creating jobs through the development of local small-scale manufacturing of sporting goods.
For further information, please contact the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, phone: +662/288-1234, fax: +662/288-1735,e-mail: thompsons@ilobkk.or.th
Maternity protection for informal workers
An estimated 400 million men and women in India almost 95 per cent of the workforce are engaged in the informal economy. They have few, if any, social provisions. In particular, women in the informal economy do not receive maternity leave or benefits. The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) has an integrated insurance scheme, known as VimoSEWA. This was the first programme in the country to develop a maternity benefits scheme for informal women workers.
A recent ILO report examines the benefits and related services available through the programme, which was launched in the Gujarat region. Recommendations include addressing the still huge and unmet need for maternity benefits in the informal economy, including an integrated approach to services such as health care and special nutrition. A similar study on Nepal discusses how maternity care has been integrated into health micro-insurance schemes in the country and can be expanded to cover more women.
For further information, please contact the Global Programme on Strategies and Tools Against Social Exclusion and Poverty (STEP), Social Security Policy and Development Branch, phone: +4122/799-6544, fax: +4122/799-6644, e-mail: step@ilo.org
Turin symposium on Solidarity and Social Protection in Developing Countries
Over one hundred decision-makers, researchers and officials of bilateral and multilateral donor institutions from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Arab States, and Europe met in Turin on 23 to 25 April at an international symposium on solidarity and social protection systems in developing countries. Social protection is recognized in international agreements as a universal right. Yet only one in five people in the world has adequate coverage.
More than half of the world’s population have no social security protection at all. Organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the ILO and its Training Centre in Turin, the symposium reviewed the roles of governments and social actors in strengthening social protection systems in developing countries, so as to combat poverty and economic insecurity, and generate guidelines for future cooperation.
For further information, please contact the Conference Secretariat, International Training Centre of the ILO, Social Protection Programme, Viale Maestri del Lavoro 10, 10127 Turin, Italy, phone: +39011/693-6359, fax: +39011/693-6548, e-mail: socpro@itcilo.it, or check www.itcilo.it
Assistance for prevention of trafficking in Cambodia and Viet Nam
The Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) have extended a total of 1.2 million US dollars through the Trust Fund for Human Security, to the “Prevention of Trafficking in Children and Women at a Community Level in Cambodia and Viet Nam” project, to be implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The project aims to build community capacity to prevent trafficking in children and women in a total of seven localities in Cambodia and Viet Nam where trafficking is recognized as one of the most serious problems. Activities include awareness-raising on the risk and prevention of trafficking and rural skills training on food security and income generation.
For further information, please contact the: ILO Tokyo Branch Office, United Nations University, 8th floor, Headquarters Bldg. 53-70 Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan, phone: +813/5467-2701, fax: +813/5467-2700, e-mail: tokyo@ilotyo.or.jp