Events and meetings

January 2013

1. Youth Employment Focal Points in Asia-Pacific

   31 January - 1 February 2013, Bangkok, Thailand

   A retreat of Asia-Pacific youth employment focal points is planned for January 31- February 01, 2013. The meeting, to be held in Bangkok, will reflect on the nature of activities to be planned and will also agree on the first steps of a regional youth employment action plan.

December 2012

1. The Commemoration of the International Migrant Day: The 2012 Review – Progress, Opportunities and Challenges on Labour Migration

   18 December 2012, Jakarta, Indonesia

   The 2012 review is conducted as part of raising the media awareness concerning issues related to labour migration.

2. Workshop on "National employment policy for Cambodia with a focus on young women and men”

   18 - 19 December 2012, Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh

   This meeting will bring together some 100 senior representatives of the Government’s line ministries, employers’ and workers’ organisations as well as key stakeholders. Participants will include senior officials (director or deputy level) from the ministries of labour, industry, commerce, interior, information, rural development, planning, women’s affairs, agriculture and finance, NIS (National Institute of Statistics), CARD (Council for Agriculture and Rural Development), NSSF (National Social Security Fund); NAA (National AIDS Authority); SNCCL (Sub-National Committee on Child Labour), NEA (National Employment Agency, SNEC (Supreme National Economic Council), and senior members of CAMFEBA and Trade Unions, youth representatives including university students, development partners/UN agencies, including ADB and ILO, as well as representatives from the implementing. The objective of the workshop is (1) To discuss the findings of the background studies. (2) To discuss implications for the NEP of the recommendations made by the background studies in terms of: a. main components of the NEP; b. existing labour market institutions or new institutional/coordination arrangments (e.g the expanded role of the National Training Board, CARD) that can potentially address the recommendations made; and c. policy areas that need collaboration with other ministries or other institutions/organizations.

3. National Workshop on Knowledge Sharing and Project Closure (Dissemination of Final Reports of Child Labour Assessment Surveys in Kampot and Kep, of Good Practices and Lessons Learned Documentation, and of Expanded Final Evaluation of the ILO IPEC Time Bound Support Project, Phase II in Cambodia)

   17 - 18 December 2012, Inter-Continental Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

   The ILO IPEC TBP Support Project, Phase II in Cambodiais ending on 29 December 2012. To conclude the project, Child Labour Assessment Surveys in the representative target provinces of Kampot and Kep, Good Practices and Lessons Learned Documentation, and the Expanded Final Evaluation of the Projecthave been conducted. The final reports of these are being finalized which will be printed and disseminated to all project’s partners and stakeholders in Cambodia for future reference and action. Since the project is preparing to close after its intensive implementation over the last 4 years and with the knowledge and experiences generated through these recent studies and EFE of the project, the project has planned to hold the captioned workshop purposely for knowledge sharing where the final reports and key findings of these exercises will be presented to all project’s partners and stakeholders, giving them a forum where they can reflect and share their feedback and observations on the key achievements, GPs and LLs, gaps, challenges and recommendations that have been identified by the independent consultants from the project’s implementation with their involvements for the last 4 years and for them to be prepared for their continued commitment and efforts to combat child labour, especially its worst forms towards achieving the country’s twin goals by 2015 and 2016. This workshop will be participated about 120 particpants from the Government institutions, Employers and Workers' Organizations, Civil Society Groups and other project's stakeholders.

4. Livelihood cluster responds to onslaught of Typhoon Pablo

   13 December 2012, Manila, Philippines

   The onslaught of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) in the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental affected the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and their families. Agriculture and agricultural industries, service sectors and infrastructure are among the critical areas for livelihood recovery.

5. 

   Visit of the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder

   13 - 15 December 2012, Bangkok, Thailand

   Mr Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General will visit Thailand from 13 to 16 December 2012. During his visit, he will meet the Prime Minister, the Minister of Labour, representatives of the Government, workers, employers and international orgnizations and visit some project sites.

6. Expert Group Meeting on Green Growth and Green Jobs for Youth

   12 - 13 December 2012, United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok

   The expert group meeting will be organized jointly by the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of UNDESA, ESCAP, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the UNEP. The meeting will take place at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok from 12-13 December 2012.

7. Workshop on Using the ILO Gender Mainstreaming in TVET in Bangladesh Resource Guide

   10 - 12 December 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   Female participation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and employment in Bangladesh is strikingly low. In public TVET institutions, female students make up 9 per cent to 13 per cent of student numbers. In Bangladesh’s workforce, female involvement remains at roughly 25 per cent for women aged 15 – 59. In addition, only about 10 per cent of women who are employed earn wages for their labour.

8. National partners forum on child labour

   10 - 12 December 2012, Manila, Philippines

   Partners in the fight against the worst forms of child labour will gather in the 2nd International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) National Partners Forum to share best practices and lessons learned including emerging challenges in the provinces of Bukidnon, Masbate, Northern Samar and Quezon Province.

9. Staff Off-side Meeting

   5 - 7 December 2012, Rock Royal Hotel, Kep province

   Currently ILO Phnom Penh has a total of 53 staff working in ten different projects. Virtually all ILO staff in Cambodia are project staff . Team building and working as one across projects and among staff members has become increasingly important as a means to deliver the breadth of the DWCP in Cambodia. Staff have been encouraged to work together as a way to help create cohesion and a practical sense of the ILO "delivering as one" amongst ILO projects. The objectives of the Meeting are to (1) develop a joint work plan for the DWCP implementation for 2013; (2) establish a joint monitoring and evaluation framework for the DWCP; and (3) strengthen team building and delivering as one amongst the various projects and project staff.

10. ILO ACTRAV /ACFTU - Regional Training Course of Trade Union Educators

    5 - 13 December 2012, Bangkok, Thailand

    The aim of the training is to assist union educators in Asia and the Pacific region to strengthen union education programmes that increase the capacity of trade union organisations to represent and activate membership.

11. Tripartite Annual Review of Decent Work Country Programme

    4 December 2012, Sunway Hotel, Phnom Penh

    The meeting is intended to contribute to strengthening ILO constituents’ capacities to implement and monitor the DWCP and ensuring the transparency and national ownership of the Country Programme. The meeting will involve up to 75 senior representatives of the Government’s line ministries, employers’ and workers’ organisations to review key milestones/achievements in 2011 and 2012, to share and discuss main challenges for implementing the DWCP and to set key priorities for 2013 or beyond. Specifically, the meeting aims at: a)Reporting key achievements for 2011 and 2012 against the established performance indicators and targets as well as related milestones as prescribed in the DWCP document; b)Identifying important challenges. c)Confirming priorities, tasks, targets for 2013 and developing indicators for achieving the priorities.

12. Participation of Women in the Sri Lankan Labour Force: Trends, Barriers and Policies

    4 December 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    A tripartite workshop on “Participation of Women in the Sri Lankan Labour Force: Trends, Barriers and Policies” to be held on 4th December 2012. The purpose of the study is to enhance the understanding of female labour force participation in Sri Lanka in terms of trends, drivers and barriers for women in order to develop a key set of findings and recommendations that are relevant to policymakers and other constituents in the country. The workshop aims to review the study on female labour force participation in Sri Lanka and provide feedback on the findings of the analysis and recommendations for the revision of the study and highlight key issues and policy responses to be taken forward by the ILO, government, trade unions and employer organizations. The workshop will bring together representatives of government ministries, Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka, employer organizations and trade unions, civil society, academics and international organizations.

13. Working Together for the Rights of the Migrant Workers

    3 December 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Trade Unions hold a consultation to develop a common minimum agenda and a plan of action on the rights of the Bangladeshi migrant workers. The opening of the event was marked by the presence of not only the trade union leaders but also the representatives of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE) and the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA). Participation of all the Tripartite Constituents in the opening informed the discussions that followed during the day.

14. Policy dialogue on the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord

    2 - 4 December 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord, ministers, indigenous and tribal peoples’ representatives, civil society, academia and international organisations gathered at Dhaka University for a policy dialogue on the implementation of the Accord. The policy dialogue took place from the 2nd - 4th December 2012 and was arranged by the Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Peoples with the support of ILO, UNDP, the European Union, the High Commission of Canada, Danida and Research and Development Collective (RDC).

November 2012

1. National Conference on ILO Convention 151

   28 November 2012, The Rembrandt Hotel

   The International Labour Organization adopted in 1981 the Convention 151 – Labour Relations (Public Service), which concerns protection of the right to organize and procedures for determining conditions of employment in the public service, noting the considerable expansion of public-service activities in many countries and the need for sound labour relations between public authorities and public employees’ organizations.

2. Regional Training and Knowledge Sharing Workshop: Enhancing Labour Statistics for Measuring Decent Work in Asia and the Pacific

   27 - 30 November 2012, Bangkok, Thailand

   The ILO will convene a regional knowledge sharing and training workshop on Enhancing Labour Statistics for Measuring Decent Work in Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, from 27 to 30 November 2012, at the Amari Watergate Hotel.

3. Forum on ILO Convention 151 for Senate Legislative Staff and Officers

   26 November 2012, Padilla Room, Senate Office of the Philippines

   ILO Convention 151 seeks to address current problems faced by civil servants. The Convention seeks to create an international legal framework for ensuring the right to organize of civil servants, facilities for unions, procedures for determining terms and conditions for employment, settlement of disputes and civil and political rights.

4. Training of Trainers (ToT) on Work Improvement in Small Enterprises (WISE)

   25 - 29 November 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   Young people make up a huge segment of Bangladesh’s population; almost 60 million people are below 18 years of age. Many of them, due to a lack of access to quality education, support their families through employment in the informal sector. In Bangladesh, this sector is characterized by low-skilled, repetitive work options and occupational health and safety hazards.

5. A National Workshop to discuss the ILO report “Female Employment Trends in South Asia: Case Study of Bangladesh”

   22 November 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   A National Workshop to discuss the ILO report “Female Employment Trends in South Asia: Case Study of Bangladesh” was held on 22 November 2012 at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel, Dhaka.