Video News Releases

June 2013

1. 

   Malawi: Finding solutions for child domestic workers

   12 June 2013

   Millions of children around the world, mainly girls, are working in households other than their own, doing domestic work such as cleaning, ironing, cooking and looking after other children and the elderly. According to a new report on domestic work from the International Labour Organization, it's estimated at least two-thirds of these children are working under the legal minimum wage, or in conditions that are hazardous. Often, the working relationship between the child and their employer is ambiguous at best, exploitative at worst. But solutions are possible, even in a place where using children as domestic workers is a long tradition.

2. 

   Communites Tackling Child Labour in Malawi

   12 June 2013

   In Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, half the population lives under the poverty line, and it's estimated one and a half million children are in child labour. But according to the International Labour Organization, a new, community based approach to tackling the child labour problem is showing promise to eradicate it in areas where child labour has long been a part of daily life.

May 2013

1. 

   Denmark - Matching skills to jobs

   08 May 2013

   Recovery in Europe is being hampered by the fact that many of the workers who lost their jobs to the crisis do not have the skills that the labour market now demands. Vocational training programmes help keep youth connected to the labour market by ensuring they have the skills that companies are looking for.

2. 

   Sweden tackles youth unemployment through jobs guarantees

   08 May 2013

   It's not easy being a young jobseeker today. With nearly 74 million young people worldwide unemployed, youth guarantees programmes help keep youth connected to the labour market by boosting skills and giving them support to find jobs.

3. 

   Making the move from school to work in Malawi and Zambia

   08 May 2013

   The global jobs crisis is taking a heavy toll on young people in the advanced economies of Europe where 1 in five are out of work, but in the developing world the situation is much more severe. Two out of three young people in developing countries are either unemployed or trying to survive day to day in low paying, irregular jobs. There is an urgent need for training and education programs that prepare young people with the skills employers are looking for.

4. 

   Tackling Bonded Labour in Tamil Nadu

   03 May 2013

   In India's Tamil Nadu state, thousands of people desperate for money are offered advance payments to work in the region's many brick kilns. While this system has worked well enough in the past for both employers and workers, many workers run the risk of "debt bondage" because they cannot leave the worksite until they repay the advance in full. But the situation is changing now, by ILO working with government and employers, and showing workers how they can take more control of their own lives.

April 2013

1. 

   Beating the Dust Disease in Thailand

   28 April 2013

   An estimate of 200,000 workers are at risk of developing pneumoconiosis in Thailand. ILO’s Senior Specialist in Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. Igor Fedotov says, “It would not be an exaggeration to say that millions are at risk around the world” and these cases are often being unreported. With the help of the ILO, however, the Thai Ministry of Health has increased the number of skilled doctors to treat and support workers diagnosed with the lung disease, making Thailand a leader among developing economies.

2. 

   Austerity a threat to prosperity?

   09 April 2013

   Unemployment in Europe has reached historic levels and there is growing concern that the jobs crisis is so deep it will have a profound impact on the region's ability to recover.

January 2013

1. 

   Rebuilding after Typhoon Bopha

   25 January 2013

   When Typhoon Bopha blew through the southern Philippines, its winds blew away the livelihoods of thousands of families who farmed the thick coconut groves around their homes. While it will take nearly a decade before the trees can be harvested again, the ILO is bringing immediate emergency employment to the victims of the storm.

December 2012

1. 

   Reversal of gains in women's employment

   11 December 2012

   Women are still more likely to be unemployed than men around the world. That's one of the conclusions of the ILO's Global Employment Trends for Women 2012. And the report also found that, while the numbers vary from region to region, the steady progress being made by women in the workplace slowed, stopped or reversed as a result of the global economic crisis.