Articles

April 2006 

• Disabled people in Ethiopia: Making public services work for poor people
  Most of Addis Ababa's estimated 3 million population lives in slums and informal settlements. In June 2005 the President of Ethiopia officially opened the first of 30 modern public shower and toilet facilities run by a cooperative of disabled persons in Addis Ababa with the support of the ILO. ...
• The Decent Work Deficit: A new ILO report outlines the latest global employment trends
  The ILO's 2006 Global Employment Trends Brief paints a sombre picture not only of growing unemployment and poverty but of a significant lack of decent job opportunities, especially for young people. Despite the robust world economic growth of 2005, the global economy failed to deliver enough new jobs. ...
• Full steam ahead! ILO adopts "super Convention" for the maritime sector
  Over 1.2 million seafarers represent the world's most global and globalized workforce, and it is they and the shipowners for whom they work who move the bulk of world trade as well as serving on passenger ships. ...
• Real-time response The ILO's role in helping Pakistan rebuild and get back to work
  The ILO continues to play an important role in the earthquake recovery efforts in Pakistan. From establishing emergency employment centres and cash-for-work programmes to easing trauma through decent work, the ILO's multi-pronged approach capitalized on an existing infrastructure for technical cooperation to distribute resources quickly and efficiently.
• A personal stake: Why employee-owned businesses return more than a profit
  Employee-owned businesses remain an oft-overlooked option for companies as a means toward ramping up productivity, profit and morale. But a new study shows that the overwhelming success of companies like UK-based John Lewis is due to innovative mechanisms to encourage employee participation and cultivate a culture of ownership. ...

December 2005 

• Jobs and the millennium generation: Working out of poverty
  At the recent World Summit of the UN General Assembly, over 150 Heads of State approved a historic Outcome Document stating: "We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the goal of full and productive employment and decent work for all... a central objective. ...
• Taking root: The revival of cooperatives in Ethiopia
  Not all stories coming from Ethiopia are tales of tragedy. Here is one of them. Although the economy was ruined and the cooperative idea discredited by 14 years of communist rule in the country, the ILO succeeded in cultivating a cooperative renaissance. Sam Mshiu reports from Addis Ababa, where the ILO recently established its Regional Office for Africa.
• Hurricane force: As experts debate global job safety, nature provides a lesson in the unexpected
  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of rescue workers faced life-threatening dangers while trying to save the sick and stranded in the US Gulf Coast region. ...
• How the ILO contributes to the MDGs: Stories from East Africa
  ILO programmes in East Africa are good examples of how decent work combats poverty and contributes to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Two programmes presented here show the importance of promoting gender equality (MDG 3) at work and youth employment (MDG 8) in order to attain sustainable poverty reduction.
• Breaking the chains of poverty through microfinance
  The ILO has found microfinance to be an invaluable tool within its programmes in helping to reduce poverty and eliminate child labour and debt bondage. The strategy is to offer financial services like savings and credit, insurance and remittance handling to low-income groups so they are empowered, have more options and do not need to rely on the moneylender any longer. ...

August 2005 

• Modern daddy: Norway's progressive policy on paternity leave
  After a baby is born, Mom is entitled to maternity leave, but what about Dad? Shouldn't he have some time off to adjust, too? Norway tops the European league table of family-friendly nations as far as new dads are concerned, and the government is now proposing to extend the "daddy quota" from four to five weeks, for exclusive use by the father.
• New ILO Report: A global alliance against forced labour
  Is forced labour a thing of the past? A major new ILO study, A global alliance against forced labour, reveals that not only is it a present-day issue, but it is also one of the most hidden problems of our era. The ILO estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide, half of them children, are trapped in forced labour. ...
• Education for HIV/AIDS prevention at work in the Russian North
  Today, 1 385 people are registered with the Oblast Center for Preventing and Combating AIDS. In the northern Russian city of Murmansk, 1 out of every 100 men is HIV-positive, as is 1 out of every 200 women, aged 20 to 29. In December 2004, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and US Department of Labour launched a programme to bring education on HIV/AIDS prevention to the workplace.
• Girl-combatants: Women warriors fight their way back into Liberian society
  For thousands of women during Liberia's savage civil war, taking up arms was a case of kill or be killed. Now that the war is over, fear and uncertainty still stalk some of the women fighters. Their experiences have helped the ILO develop gender-sensitive policies and programmes that may help reintegrate them into society. ILO consultant Irma Specht reports.
• Microfinance in south-eastern Europe: How small business helps to create jobs
  Experience in Western countries shows that microfinance can be a useful tool in the fight against unemployment, by helping people start their own viable small businesses. An ILO project is now bringing these successful experiences to three countries in south-eastern Europe, helping to introduce microfinance as a tool in active labour market policy. ...
• The burden of gold Child labour in small-scale mines and quarries
  This year's World Day Against Child Labour focused the world's attention on the plight of child labourers in small-scale mines and quarries. The ILO estimates that about one million children aged 5 to 17 are engaged in small-scale mining and quarrying activities worldwide. These children toil under dangerous conditions and go without access to schools, health clinics, and other basic necessities. ...
• The new era of textile trade Taking stock in the post-MFA environment
  In the six months since the quota system held over from the Multifibre Agreement (MFA) expired, much public debate has taken place over the social, economic, and employment impact of this new state of play in the textile sector. ...

April 2005 

• 7th European Regional Meeting In Europe and Central Asia, a newly expanded social agenda
  The European Region of the ILO is vast, spanning Europe and Central Asia from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as well as a diversity of cultures and societies. Despite this, the 50 member States of the European Region found common ground for "a common future of democracy, economic prosperity and social justice" at the 7th ILO European Regional Meeting held in Budapest from 14 to 18 February.
• AROUND THE CONTINENTS
  A regular review of the International Labour Organization and ILO-related activities and events taking place around the world.
• Global Employment Trends 2004-2005 Global Report: More jobs, but not enough growth
  Despite robust economic growth, the global employment situation improved only slightly in 2004, with employment increasing and unemployment down marginally. The ILO's annual Global Employment Trends says employment creation is still a major challenge for policy makers.