Articles

March 2004 

• International Women's Day 2004
  Before women had many rights, they at least had their day. The first recorded National Women's Day occurred in the United States in 1909. A year later, the Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Woman's Day "to honor the movement for women's rights and to assist in achieving universal suffrage" ( Note 1). ...
• Waiting in Correntes: Forced labour in Brazil
  In a small, dusty town in Brazil's Piaui State, the "escravos", or modern-day slaves, of Correntes are on the fault lines of forced labour. In this report, the ILO shows how they become ensnared in a trap of debt and coercion - as well as what the ILO, in collaboration with the Government of Brazil, is doing about their plight.
• In Quebec, labour-sponsored "Solidarity Funds" are generating jobs
  The success of the Quebec Federation of Labour Solidarity Fund is founded upon twin objectives. Its main goal is profit, yet the Fund promotes workers' rights, and training and development for employees. Fernand Daoust, former president of the administrative council of the Fund and now special counsellor to the president, explains the vision of a unique organization.
• Global Employment Trends 2004: Record joblessness, but relief may be on the way
  Despite a second-half economic recovery in 2003, global unemployment continued its relentless climb, hitting a new record of 185.9 million for men and women, rising especially sharply for young people. Meanwhile, the number of "working poor" remained at an all-time high of 550 million. A hopeless scenario? Not quite, says a new ILO report.
• World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization: Globalization can and must change
  Can globalization change so its benefits are shared more equitably by people and countries? It not only can change, it must, says a new, groundbreaking report, presented to the ILO by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. The Commission's report says building a fair and inclusive globalization must become a worldwide priority.

December 2003 

• Xth African Regional Meeting: Decent work for Africa’s development: Signs of hope
  Half of Africa’s population, over 300 million people, live in extreme poverty on the equivalent of US$1 a day or less – the highest intra-regional poverty level and the widest gap between rich and poor in the world. ...
• "We created jobs...": The forest peoples of Mayurbhanj
  In two and a half years, an innovative ILO project has helped create well over 2,000 jobs, and pull more than 200 indebted families out of a debt trap. This three-year ILO INDISCO project aims at creating decent employment for tribal peoples in the remote forests of Mayurbhanj in Orissa, India, and is well on its way to becoming a replicable model.
• Union "dot orgs" come of age
  "Am I being paid what I should be, for the work I'm doing?" is a question many people ask but often find difficult to answer. Now, Internet sites dedicated to workplace issues can resolve this and other queries. Writer Andrew Bibby examines how workers and employers are navigating the information highway on bread and butter issues.
• Carving out a place in global markets: For Indonesia's traditional woodworking industry, globalization poses new challenges
  Globalization is altering the traditional wood furniture sector in Central Java, Indonesia, the major employer and export earner of this province. ...
• Women seafarers: Fighting against the tide? As on land, so by sea: Women join the ranks of seafarers
  Once only figureheads on the world's ocean-going ships, the entrance of women into the seafaring trade is a small, but growing phenomenon. Yet as women work their way onto the world's great ships, salt and the sea are only part of the challenges they face. ...
• A universal challenge: Social security for the world
  Only one in five people worldwide enjoys adequate social security coverage. Faced with this stark reality, the ILO has initiated a new global campaign to encourage and assist member States to extend social security to all of their citizens. The Global Campaign on Social Security and Coverage for All, reflects a global consensus among governments, employers and workers to take up this challenge. ...

September 2003 

• ILO Recommendation 193 one year after: The revival of the cooperative idea
  This June marked the first anniversary of the ILO's initiative to encourage the idea of cooperative business. ILO Recommendation 193, for the Promotion of Cooperatives, was formally adopted last year at the International Labour Conference. ...
• ILC91 Annual ILO Conference tackles new social agenda
  Fighting poverty, providing seafarers with new identity documents, and a variety of measures aimed at improving the world of work were among the highlights of the 91st International Labour Conference in June. Delegates held an impassioned debate over working conditions, and adopted radical new measures designed to improve workplace security and safety.
• New ILO study highlights labour trends worldwide: US productivity up, Europe improves ability to create jobs
  As US and global productivity accelerate, does this mean the global economic slowdown in jobs creation is over? The new third edition of Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) ( see note 1), finds that a rise in productivity and employment may be the only way to reduce poverty.
• For millions of migrants, a new Convention
  The UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families entered into force on 1 July 2003. More than 10 years in the making, the new Convention represents a major step in efforts to improve the lives of the world's vast mobile workforce. ...
• In Nepal, micro-insurance helps the poor cope with health needs
  In Nepal, the ILO's "STEP" programme (Strategies and Tools against Social Exclusion and Poverty) is working with local partners to develop health micro-insurance schemes and improve access to health care for workers in the informal economy.
• Working out of poverty: Making jobs the objective
  Work is the best route out of poverty," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia told this June's International Labour Conference. He renewed the ILO pledge to bring decent work to all parts of the globe.
• Application of standards: Committee considers Belarus, Colombia, Myanmar, other developments
  As part of ILO efforts to end the use of forced labour in Myanmar, the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards had a special sitting following up on measures taken in the context of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution. ...

June 2003 

• ILO: Workplace discrimination, a picture of hope and concern
  A new ILO report on discrimination at work - the most comprehensive to date - says workplace discrimination remains a persistent global problem, with new, more subtle forms emerging. While significant progress in combatting inequalities at the workplace is cause for hope, the report says new forms of discrimination are cause for growing concern.
• IT outsourcing goes global
  Many information technology jobs have been shifted to lower-cost countries, and may soon migrate onwards to regions offering even cheaper labour. Journalist Andrew Bibby examines how, for the first time, white-collar staff are among those affected by job exports