Green Jobs
27 February 2013
ILO Green Jobs Programme coordinator, Peter Poschen, outlines the business and job opportunities that could emerge from a shift to a greener economy.
Article
21 June 2012
The transition towards a greener economy is expected to affect about half of the global labour force or roughly 1.5 billion people. This means changes in terms of job types and workers’ skills – a topic that is high on the Rio+20 agenda.
Article
20 June 2012
A global online discussion highlighted the power social media can wield in the debate on our planet’s future. The daylong event was held as world leaders converged on Rio de Janeiro for the Rio+20 Summit.
ILC 2012
14 June 2012
Aung San Suu Kyi called for international aid and investment to promote economic progress in Myanmar and in particular focussed attention on the problem of youth unemployment. Highlighting the potential of her country both in terms of its natural and human resources, she noted, "it is not so much joblessness as hopelessness that threatens our future. The Nobel laureate made her landmark address to a packed Assembly Hall at the 101st session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Article
02 February 2012
Natural disasters destroy livelihoods but the aftermath also offers opportunities to create jobs and revitalise the economy as there will be high demand for construction and other recovery works. For the last ten years, the ILO has engaged in post-disaster reconstruction in countries in Asia and the Pacific, including China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and beyond. So the Organization was also prepared to help when tropical storm Washi heavily affected villages and major cities in the Philippines last December. Minette Rimando from the ILO office in Manila reports.
Feature story
20 September 2011
According to a recent ILO study, 2 billion people will be aged 60 or over by 2050. While most discussions about population ageing turn around the sustainability of pension systems, a forthcoming ILO meeting to be held in Geneva on 21-22 September, will focus on the impact of the greying of societies on labour supply in the retail commerce sector, an industry that has traditionally drawn a large proportion of its workers from people aged 30 and under. ILO Online spoke with John Sendanyoye, the ILO’s Commerce Sector Specialist.
Article
16 February 2011
Water is a basic requirement for all life, yet water resources are facing increasing demands from, and competition among, users. In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water.
Article
15 February 2011
Yang Shumbo, a Chinese electronic sciences student invented a device to save electricity. He developed this into a business under a pilot project of the Greener Business Option (GBO), an ILO Green Jobs Programme initiative. GBO aims to encourage entrepreneurship in green businesses among young people. Report from Chengdu, China, by Satoshi Sasaki, Specialist on Enterprise Development and Job Creation, ILO Beijing and Vincent Jugault, Senior Specialist in Environment and Decent Work, ILO Bangkok.
News item
15 December 2010
The ILO praised the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) on climate change for including social and decent work dimensions in the outcome document, signaling broad recognition for a “just transition” to a low-carbon economy with decent work and greener jobs.
From the field
09 December 2009
In 2004, Hurricane Jeanne swept through the historical port city of Gonaïves in Haiti, sending walls of water and mud down the surrounding slopes and changing the face of the city forever. A project managed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been helping local residents organize themselves to build erosion control networks to protect the city from future mudslides and heavy run-off. ILO TV reports.