Feature articles
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2012
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Buried in bricks: Bonded labour in Afghanistan
06 February 2012
Bonded labour of adults and children in brick kilns is one of the most prevalent, yet least known forms of hazardous labour in Afghanistan. A new ILO study on the phenomenon marks the first attempt to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of bonded labour in two provinces of the country. ILO Online spoke with Sarah Cramer, lead author of the ILO study.
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After the storm: Rebuilding livelihoods in the Philippines
02 February 2012
Natural disasters destroy livelihoods but the aftermath also offers opportunities to create jobs and revitalise the economy as there will be high demand for construction and other recovery works. For the last ten years, the ILO has engaged in post-disaster reconstruction in countries in Asia and the Pacific, including China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and beyond. So the Organization was also prepared to help when tropical storm Washi heavily affected villages and major cities in the Philippines last December. Minette Rimando from the ILO office in Manila reports.
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Land rights mean social justice for Cambodia's indigenous peoples
27 January 2012
February 20 is World Day for Social Justice, focusing attention on the necessity for economic growth to promote equity and social justice, and that “a society for all” must be based on social justice and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms. In Cambodia new legislation is helping some indigenous peoples achieve some of these rights and build a more secure future. By Maeve Galvin, Communication and Advocacy Officer, ILO Cambodia
2011
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Freeing Cambodia's children from work by 2016-A real possibility?
02 December 2011
Story of Nit's family, her family lives in a shaky thatch hut a short walk from the magnificent Ta Prohm ruins in the Angkor World Heritage Site. Her grandfather abandoned his family 15 years ago, and with no farm land, everyone has done their bit to stay together. Like her mother, aunt and grandmother, Nit now sells bracelets, postcards and magnets to tourists
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The dreamweaver of Lake Sebu
02 December 2011
Story of Subi Nalon, the seventy-five-year-old inherited the skill from her mother and has been weaving t'nalak since he was 15.
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Cambodia's young people look for a brighter future
02 December 2011
Story of Yeth Chenda, 21-year-old Yeth CHenda recently found a job as a receptionist in a rural hotel in Kampot, Southern Cambodia, with the assistance of an International Labour Organization (ILO) job centre project
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Mrs Thanh gets a passport; Skills training holds rural families, communities together
02 December 2011
Story of Tran Thi Thanh, a 43-year-old grandmother in My Loc, who acquired her first-ever passport and will use it to find work in Taiwan as a domestic workers
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Vietnamese apparel factories producing a good bargain for all. An Australian Government - ILO Partnership Agreement Success Story
02 December 2011
Story of Dang Thu Hoan, a Vietnamese worker who helps produce around US$13 billion in textile export revenues for Viet Nam.
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Towards a greener and fairer society
01 November 2011
Climate change means that resource scarcity and environmental degradation have become major, and urgent, challenges. In response, the ILO is promoting the concept of green jobs as a driving force towards a greener and fairer development path that can support economic and social development at a sustainable level. By Vincent Jagault, Senior Specialist in Environment and Decent Work, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
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The role of employment in crisis recovery
29 September 2011
Emergency relief aid is the priority in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe, but recovering jobs and livelihoods are an important part of reconstruction. Through labour-intensive infrastructure rehabilitation projects and other kinds of job creation, the ILO helps disaster victims rebuild their lives. By Shukuko Koyama, Crisis Specialist, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
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Public-private partnerships in Asia Pacific – the best of two systems
26 August 2011
Public-private partnerships are gaining increasing traction in international development cooperation and are being used more and more by the International Labour Organization (ILO). By Wolfgang Schiefer, Chief, Regional Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and UN Reform, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
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Wage policy in Thailand
24 August 2011
Opinion editorial by Jiyuan Wang, Director, ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic International Labour Organization.
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Young Timorese beautician is a cut above the rest
29 July 2011
Eugenia de Jesus Cardoso now runs a successful beauty salon in her hometown, in Maliana, her hometown in Timore-Leste. She gained the business and specialist skills she needed during a training programme run by the Timore-Leste Government and the ILO’s Youth Employment Promotion (YEP) programme. By Matt Crook for the ILO Liaison Office for Timor-Leste
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Philippines’ fight against hazardous child labour goes on-line
12 June 2011
(Manila, Philippines) Rodel Morcozo, a former child labour, now works for Senator Loren Legarda and is a strong advocate against child labour. To fight against child labour, the Philippines launched an internet site-- Child Labor Knowledge Sharing System. By Minette Rimando, Information Officer, ILO Country Office for the Philippines
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Recognition for India’s invisible workers
30 May 2011
Domestic workers play an important role in the economy and they allow others to go out and earn money. Yet they remain invisible, unprotected and their contribution is often not recognized. At the forthcoming International Labour Conference (in Geneva, 1-17 June) the ILO and its members will debate drafts that could lead to the first international instruments specifically designed to protect domestic workers. By Neelam Agnihotri, Communication & Information Officer, ILO Country Office for India
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ILO training keeps Fiji green and clean
28 April 2011
April 28th is observed globally as World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Waste collectors in Fiji have reason to celebrate this day, because, thanks to a new ILO programme combining ‘green’ environmental support measures with occupational safety and health (OSH) practices, they are enjoying better, safer and greener working conditions. By Surfaka Katafono, National Programme Officer, ILO Country Office for Pacific Island Countries.
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Training better supervisors means better business for Cambodia’s factories
29 March 2011
By Maeve Galvin, Communication and Advocacy Officer and Ying Bun, Better Factories, ILO Cambodia. Good supervisors help workers become more efficient and productive, bad ones affect morale and competitiveness. But when ordinary workers are promoted they often find it difficult to acquire the necessary skills. In Cambodia, a specially-created training programme is answering this need, helping train supervisors to be firm, fair and effective leaders in Cambodia’s US$2.5 billion garment industry.
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Forging stronger partnerships for decent work in Asia-Pacific
01 March 2011
By Cristina Tiron and Wolfgang Schiefer, Regional Unit for Partnerships, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Assisted in part by the region’s faster recovery from the global economic crisis, Asia and the Pacific is seeing an increase in the number of middle-income countries. This enlarged group brings new opportunities to exchange knowledge and expertise and forge new partnerships - between agencies, institutions, governments - including South-South cooperation that can help realize decent work for all.
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Youth join green jobs push in China
15 February 2011
Yang Shumbo, a Chinese electronic sciences student invented a device to save electricity. He developed this into a business under a pilot project of the Greener Business Option (GBO), an ILO Green Jobs Programme initiative. GBO aims to encourage entrepreneurship in green businesses among young people. Report from Chengdu, China, by Satoshi Sasaki, Specialist on Enterprise Development and Job Creation, ILO Beijing and Vincent Jugault, Senior Specialist in Environment and Decent Work, ILO Bangkok.
2010
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Indigenous women break traditional barriers by becoming entrepreneurs
22 December 2010
By Gita F. Lingga, Communications Officer, ILO-Jakarta. An ILO/UNDP project to help women in Jayawijay, Lani Jaya and Yahukomo regencies of Papua, Indonesia become entrepreneurs to help lift them out of the poverty line.