Feature articles

August 2005 

• International Day of the World's Indigenous People 2005 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples' Rights - still a long way to go
  03 August 2005 - GENEVA (ILO Online) - The ILO has adopted the only international legal instrument now open to ratification that pertains specifically to the 350 million indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide: the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). It has been ratified by 17 countries and is internationally recognized as the foremost instrument on the subject. ...
• Kenya: Employers' organizations taking the lead on linking the informal sector to formal Kenyan enterprises
  02 August 2005 - The informal sector accounts for nearly 18 per cent of Kenya's Gross Domestic Product and comprises 90 per cent of all businesses in the country. In 2001, the sector employed 4.1 million people and their numbers are increasing. ...

July 2005 

• Decent food at work: Raising workers' productivity and well-being
  28 July 2005 - In the workplace, the main concerns of employers and trade unions seem to be safety, wages and job security. The question how do workers eat while at work is not always given much thought, according to a new ILO study. Too often the workplace meal programme is either an afterthought or not even considered by employers. ...
• "Female future": employers' organizations address gender equity
  20 July 2005 - From Norway to New Zealand, via Croatia, Kenya, Jamaica, Malaysia and the Philippines, there is almost universal recognition that equality and educational opportunities for men and women and a better balance between work and family life are vital elements in achieving equality in employment. ...
• Fuelling Gender Equality in the Canadian Auto Workers Union
  11 July 2005 - The ILO Bureau for Gender Equality has included the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) into its recent compilation of 25 good practices entitled "Gender Equality and Decent Work, Good Practices at the Workplace" ( Note 1). ...
• Smoothing the way from education to employment: UK becomes first Western country in the Youth Employment Network
  05 July 2005 - During this year's International Labour Conference, the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Department of Work and Pensions, James Plaskitt, MP, announced that the UK would join the Youth Employment Network (YEN). Mr. Plaskitt called the joint ILO, UN, World Bank network a "framework we can use to exchange our experiences with other countries". ...
• Rethinking social security: pension reform in Latin America
  01 July 2005 - SANTIAGO de Chile (ILO on line) - In the past decade, many Latin American governments have radically restructured their old age income security systems, following the lead of Chile, which undertook its major pension reform in 1981. The defining characteristic of the reforms has been a shift in the basis of public pensions from social to individual responsibility. ...

June 2005 

• "Employment fuels development"
  28 June 2005 - The newly elected Chairman of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO), Carlos A. Tomada says employment should be seen as an important element of democratic stability and the fight against poverty. The link between employment, democracy and poverty will be on top of the agenda of the next Summit of the Americas scheduled in November in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata.
• 93rd International Labour Conference Closing the "hope gap": youth speak about finding jobs
  23 June 2005 - A recent high-level discussion held by the Youth Employment Network (YEN) brought international policy-makers face-to-face with young people to discuss the role of youth employment in the international development agenda. ...
• 93rd International Labour Conference Armenia: part of decent work is being safe at work
  22 June 2005 - Safety at work in Armenia has been deteriorating since the Soviet Union's collapse. The situation is typical for many transition countries but Armenia has taken the first steps now to promote safer and healthier working environments. Occupational safety and health was also on the agenda of the International Labour Conference which considered a new promotional framework in this area. ...