Official visit
30 January 2013
Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, highlighted the need to turn informal employment into decent jobs in the formal sector. He spoke during a Latin America visit that took him to Buenos Aires and Lima.
Labour rights
24 October 2012
Many domestic workers in Europe do not enjoy as much legal protection as other workers. ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers – which will come into force in a year’s time – offers a chance to improve the lives of the millions of people who work in this profession.
Article
07 June 2012
It was exactly 30 years ago that the ILO first used the term “informal sector” to describe the activities of the working poor who were working very hard but who were not recognized, recorded, protected or regulated by the public authorities.
Article
07 June 2012
Set up as an international forum to exchange experience in the measurement of the informal sector, document the data-collection practices, including definitions and survey methodologies followed by member countries, and recommend measures for improving the quality and comparability of informal sector statistics.
Feature
05 April 2012
People working in the informal economy are vulnerable and often lack social protection. When natural disasters such as the 2011 flood in Thailand strike, they are frequently left without adequate support. But now the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other United Nations agencies are working with the Thai Government to change this and create a suitable social protection system. Alice Molinier and Kakkanang Ghettalae, ILO Social Protection Consultants, and Poonsap Tulaphan, Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion report.
Feature
27 March 2012
Low levels of education, lack of skills, diplomas or certificates within a technical field severely limit the chances of gainful employment for a vast number of youth in India. A new programme of skills developing and training, however, is providing an alternative. Neelam Agnihotri, ILO communication officer in New Delhi, reports how this initiative is providing new jobs for youth in the centuries-old traditional brassware industry in Moradabad, northern India.
Article
12 October 2009
A joint study from the International Labour Organization and the WTO has found that high incidence of informal employment in the developing world curbs countries ability to benefit from trade openings. ILO Director General, Juan Somavia, and WTO Director General, Pascal Lamy, opened a meeting in Geneva to launch the study.
Video
06 June 2008
Daniel Funes de Rioja, Executive Vice-President of the International Organization of Employers, discusses the Decent Work agenda, informality in the Latin American economy and the relevance of the International Labour Organization to today's world.
Video
02 April 2008
In Ghana, local authorities are teaming up with informal workers to find solutions for reducing poverty and bringing decent work opportunities to their communities. It’s a new initiative that has been so successful in the two areas where it’s been trialed, that it’s going to be rolled out across Ghana in the months to come. ILO TV reports.
Article
09 February 2007
In Bangkok, food sold by street vendors provides more than just a cheap and healthy meal. For tens of thousands of people it is a vital source of income and a recipe for reducing poverty. According to a study recently published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), street vendors shouldn't be seen as a nuisance and a traffic obstruction but as entrepreneurs who generate "cultural capital" while building a healthier future for themselves and their families. The study says the right policies and positive social attitudes can benefit not just the vendors and their customers but entire economies as well. ILO Online reports.