Feature articles
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2010
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Stigma doesn’t discriminate; a reflection on World AIDS Day 2010
01 December 2010
By Wade Bromley, Technical Officer on HIV/AIDS, ILO Decent Work Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. December marks both World AIDS Day (1 December) and the International Day of Disabled Persons (3 December). The proximity of these important events is also a reminder that women and men with disabilities and those living with HIV/AIDS face similar issues of discrimination in the world of work.
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Disability and HIV/AIDS -- common causes of workplace discrimination
01 December 2010
By Emanuela Pozzan, Coordinator on Disability and Wade Bromley, Technical Officer on HIV/AIDS, ILO Decent Work Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. Women and men with disabilitiies and those living with HIV/AIDS join forces to fight for their rights at work.
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Bali Tourism Institute continue to grow after 30 years
19 November 2010
By Gita F. Lingga, Communications Officer of ILO-Jakarta. (Bali, Indonesia): More than 30 years ago the ILO, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), assisted the Government of Indonesia in the establishment of the Bali Tourism Institute (Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata/STP) in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Established in 1978, SPT Nusa Dua Bali has extended its reputation as the premier source of quality human resources for the tourism sector in the country. It is also the largest tourism institute under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, equipped with modern learning facilities. Participating in the ILO’s Entrepreneurship Skills Development (ILO-ESD) project last year, Yulia was able to gain new knowledge through the GET Ahead module.
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“Now, I can afford my children’s education”
29 October 2010
By Gita F. Lingga, Communications Officer of ILO-Jakarta. (Wamena, Indonesia): “This training changed my mindset,’’ said Yulia Walilo, a honey bee entrepreneur in Lani Jaya. Participating in the ILO’s Entrepreneurship Skills Development (ILO-ESD) project last year, Yulia was able to gain new knowledge through the GET Ahead module.
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“Nyeki Awa Loh Halok, Nyape Awalok Hat”
29 October 2010
By Gita F. Lingga, Communications Officer of ILO-Jakarta. (Wamena, Indonesia): “The programme not only gave me knowledge, but it also gave me a chance to expand my business by helping me with a loan,’’ said Serlina Wenda, a coffee milling entrepreneur in Jayawijaya. When joining the ILO’s Entrepreneurship Skills Development (ILO-ESD) programme in 2009, Serlina had been an established entrepreneur, with a coffee milling business that had run for more than a decade. But she believed that her business knowledge needed to be updated and developed.
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Pakistan’s devastating floods – rebuilding lives and livelihoods
22 October 2010
By Saifullah Chaudhry, Senior Programme Officer, ILO Country Office for Pakistan. (Peshawar, Pakistan) Sher Hassan watched helplessly through the driving rain as flood water approached his house. Horrified and panicking, and with little time to spare, the 24-year-old managed to take his elderly mother, five sisters and one younger bother to higher ground.
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Changing a young man's life
30 September 2010
By R. Sivapragasam, Senior Training Specialist, ILO Office in Colombo. (Batticaloa, Sri Lanka) Many young people in Sri Lanka have to drop out of school to support their families. 17-year-old Thangavel Nadesaseelan, from a remote village in Batticaloa District, had to start work at the age of 14 when his mother died. The Recovery Coordination Initiative (RCI) changed his life by providing the necessary vocational training that allowed him to find decent employment.
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Youth unemployment a challenge in Asia and the Pacific
31 August 2010
Young Asian women and men are increasingly finding it difficult to get jobs. This article looks at the situation in Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. By Kee Beom Kim, Labour Economist, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
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Turning old: a domestic workers' nightmare
31 July 2010
By Sindhu Menon. Tithli Ben migrated to Delhi in 1969 at the age of 19 after marriage to Dumru Bhai, a mechanic working in a small workshop in Mehrauli in South Delhi. They settled in a small jhuggie (makeshift shelter) near the workshop. Dumru Bhai was on contract, and used to get paid based on work done. Since it was a small workshop, the orders were few and the income was low.
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Media for Labour Rights 2010 reporting award. "Filipino domestic workers : the struggle for justice and survival"
18 June 2010
The Third Annual Media for Labour Rights feature-writing prize has been awarded to Nina Corpuz, a journalist from the Philippines, for an article on domestic workers and the threats of trafficking and abuse that they face. The award is given by the ILO's International Training Centre in Turin.
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Training and developing Bangladesh's budding professionals
01 June 2010
By Arthur Shears, Chief Technical Advisor, ILO Technical and Vocational Education and Training Reform project in Bangladesh.
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Physical disability no barrier to young Sri Lankan entrepreneur
29 April 2010
By Henrik Vistisen & Gihan Thalgodapitiya, Youth Employment Project, (ILO/Japan), Sri Lanka (Kegalle, Sri Lanka) Puspakumara turns on the light and positions his wheelchair in front of a workbench at his electronics repair shop. Television monitors and mobile phones are carefully laid out on the bench as Puspakumara gets down to work.
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Indigenous Cambodians’ long wait for collective land ownership
29 March 2010
By Sandra Yu, Local Strategies for Decent Work Specialist, ILO Subregional Office for East Asia, Sek Sophorn, National Coordinator and Min Muny, Consultant in Cambodia. (Modulkiri Province, Cambodia) Joy is etched into the faces of indigenous families here who’ve gathered here to celebrate the Royal Government of Cambodia’s preparations to formally recognize their community. On the eve of a general assembly of the people of the Orona, Phnong Group in Keo Seima, Mondulkiri Province, the community’s elders – in colourful head dress – share wine and stories of their ancestors.
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From a migrant worker to a cooperative leader
15 March 2010
By Muhamad Nour, Labour Migration Project Coordinator in East Java, and Gita F. Lingga, Communications Officer of ILO-Jakarta. (East Java, Indonesia): in The global challenges of the crisis, however, can still turn into opportunities. And, here is a story of Waniti, a 38-year old mother of three. This former migrant worker established a cooperative specifically designed and targeted to former migrant workers and their families in Malang City, East Java, Indonesia. Malang City is well-known as one of the main sending areas of migrant workers in the country.
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A triumph of enterprise : Sitabai's story
01 March 2010
ILO's tripartite partners in India -- the Government, employers and workers -- formally adopted a Decent Work Country Programme for India. The new programme focuses on enhanced opportunities for productive work for women and men, particularly for youth and vulnerable groups. The experience of a worker in Madhya Pradesh Province illustrates what the Decent Work Agenda can mean for workers in this vast country.
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New ILO report on labour and social trends in Sri Lanka, 2009
29 January 2010
By Steven Kapsos, ILO Geneva. On December 8 2009, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower, Central Bank and Department of Census and Statistics released a joint report on “Labour and Social Trends in Sri Lanka 2009", which was produced with technical and financial support from the ILO. The report provides a broad review of major trends in labour and social conditions in Sri Lanka, and also looks ahead to 2020 with informed projections, likely scenarios and policy implications.
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Rebuilding lives : from despair to determination
25 January 2010
By Neelam Agnihorti, Communication and Information Officer, ILO Subregional Office for South Asia Suresh’s life came to a standstill when he learnt of his HIV+ status three years back. A well educated young man in his early thirties, Suresh had a well-paying corporate job in New Delhi, India. He was married and had the dreams and aspirations of any young man his age. Life was good and he had a great future ahead--till one day when he fell ill and was diagnosed with TB. He was shocked when further investigations revealed he was HIV positive.
2009
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Putting Cambodia back to work
14 December 2009
By Mr Kee Beom Kim, Labour Economist, ILO. The world economy is showing some encouraging signs of a recovery. For countries like Cambodia, which are export-dependent, this is particularly good news.
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Helping women and men with disabilities fulfil their potential
24 November 2009
By Emanuela Pozzan, ILO Subregional Cordinator on Disability, ILO Subregional Office for East Asia. December 3 marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The theme this year focuses on the empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities. Emanuela Pozzan, Subregional Coordinator on Disability looks at one Vietnamese woman whose work in this area has achieved international recognition.
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Domestic work is adult work
09 November 2009
An opinion editorial by Bill Salter, Director, ILO Subregional Office for East Asia on child domestic workers in Cambodia.