All ILO Newsroom content

October 2012

1. 

   Employment update

   Asia-Pacific: Quality and quantity of jobs dropping

   22 October 2012

   Slowing growth in many Asian countries has accentuated labour market challenges in a region that has the world’s largest youth population, and where precarious work is widespread.

August 2012

1. 

   Video News Release

   Return to Chitwan: The Bote people in Nepal

   08 August 2012

   Throughout the world, the traditional lifestyles of indigenous people are threatened by changing times, economic development and poverty. In Nepal, one group of tribal people barred from their traditional hunting grounds for nearly 40 years may yet see the old way of life return, thanks to a new law protecting their rights.

2. 

   Video News Release

   Transitioning to Green Jobs in Sri Lanka

   03 August 2012

   “Green jobs” can be created in the most fundamental of workplaces, and the result can benefit traditional industries. That’s what is happening in Sri Lanka, where former “waste pickers” at Sri Lanka’s garbage dumps were given new skills to work more efficiently and protect their health, and that is benefitting one of the island’s iconic industries.

July 2012

1. 

   Video News Release

   A green initiative brightens Bangladesh

   02 July 2012

   70% of all families living in Bangladesh’s countryside are not connected to the national electricity grid; the power lines either haven’t reached their villages or the cost of connection is too high for them. But now, with help from the ILO and Australia, and encouraged by the central government some villagers can get low cost solar power as an alternative energy source. And new skills are required to bring solar power to Bangladesh’s villages, which is creating the demand for “green jobs” to get the job done.

May 2012

1. 

   Article

   Youth speak out on employment crisis

   21 May 2012

   This 2012 International Labour Conference (ILC) will focus much of its attention on the issue of youth employment. While for years young people world-wide have had difficulty finding decent work, with the global economic downturn their struggles have become more acute and what was a challenge has been transformed into a crisis. By Matthieu Cognac, Youth Employment Specialist, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

April 2012

1. Article

   Eight blocks for building better working lives

   27 April 2012

   May 1st is Labour Day, an opportunity to reflect on the near-universal experience of work, its quality and quantity. One ILO initiative is seeking to achieve 100 per cent ratification of the eight ILO Conventions covering fundamental labour standards by 2015. Tim De Meyer, the ILO Senior Specialist on International Labour Standards and Labour Laws explains why these instruments are important and how they are linked to relieving poverty and improving lives.

December 2011

1. 

   Video

   Video: Building a Sustainable Future with Decent Work in Asia and the Pacific

   04 December 2011

   Economically, the Asia-Pacific region has performed impressively in recent years. But the austerity measures in Europe and contracting consumer markets in the United States – Asia’s two largest export markets - are threatening the region’s continued growth. Growing unrest among the region’s massive, under-employed youth population and persisting unfair distribution of economic gains are challenges that must also be addressed. The ILO and its constituents in government, employer and worker organizations are trying to find a common approach that benefits all.

2. 

   Video

   Video: Coordinated Macroeconomic, Employment and Social Protection Policies in Asia and the Pacific

   04 December 2011

   A post-crisis, macroeconomic framework that supports more inclusive and balanced growth requires a renewed commitment to full employment as a core macroeconomic policy goal. Trade and investment policies can work together with tax and social protection systems to support employment, and ensure that the benefits of growth and productivity are shared more widely. Some of the ways forward are the creation of a basic social protection floor and public employment guarantee schemes targeting the unemployed and working poor.

3. 

   Video

   Video: Productive Employment, Sustainable Enterprises and Skills Development in Asia and the Pacific

   04 December 2011

   Even before the current series of economic and jobs crises the quality of jobs being generated was a cause for concern. Unless this issue is addressed it will not be possible to rebalance growth in the region effectively. Non-standard and informal employment, offering low pay and poor working conditions, have grown steadily and are contributing to growing inequalities in incomes. Closer attention is needed to reducing poverty, creating productive employment and social and economic mobility, with particular attention given to the needs of young people. The formal economy can be expanded in low and middle income economies in the region, and an enabling environment with support for sustainable enterprises is possible. Increasing investment in human resources and improving working conditions with and through engagement of the social partners can play an important role in this process.

4. 

   Video

   Video: Rights at Work and Social Dialogue in Asia and the Pacific

   04 December 2011

   Throughout the region increasing numbers of collective and individual disputes are creating strain on dispute resolution mechanisms. Underpinning any solution must be a system that delivers more equitable growth. For this to happen, the region's future development must be based around adherence to international labour standards - including core and governance Conventions, respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, and effective mechanisms supporting dialogue, voice and organizational rights. Reducing informality of work, regulating the employment relationship and targeting persistent discrimination are ways forward. Improved productivity can be linked to better wages, using effective labour market institutions and social dialogue, and measures to ensure that workers have sufficient leverage in determining and protecting standards of living.