All ILO Newsroom content

June 2012

News

101st ILO annual conference concludes with call for democracy in Myanmar

15 June 2012

The International Labour Conference adopts new international labour standard on social protection and calls for urgent action on youth employment
News

Invest in youth or lose a generation, ILO says

14 June 2012

The International Labour Conference calls for urgent action to tackle the jobs crisis that affects 75 million young men and women across the globe. Political commitment and innovative approaches are needed.
Video interview

The International Labour Conference launches a new Call for Action to tackle the Youth Employment Crisis

14 June 2012

The unprecedented youth employment crisis, aggravated by the global financial crisis, has created a renewed sense of urgency for action. The newly adopted resolution by the ILO annual Conference 'The youth employment crisis : A call for action' proposes vigorous action around a menu of policy options to respond to the challenges faced by young people today around the world.
Watch highlights from the ILC session in which the resolution was adopted and interviews with Emalene Marcus-Burnett (Rapporteur of the 2012 International Labour Conference Committee on Youth Employment) and Azita Berar-Awad (Director of the ILO Employment Policy Department).
Video coverage

"Reconciliation, not retribution" says Aung San Suu Kyi in the first press conference of her European tour

14 June 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi fielded a wide range of questions at the first press conference of her Europe visit held after addressing the International Labour Conference. The Nobel laureate stressed the importance of the rule of law to put an end to conflicts in Myanmar, called for more vigilence around responsible and uncorrupted borders regarding cross-border migration to Bangladesh. She said, "We should look for restorative rather than retributive justice."
Video coverage

Myanmar needs democracy-friendly development growth, says Aung San Suu Kyi

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.
Video coverage

Myanmar welcomes lifting of restrictions on ILO technical cooperation and support announced at 2012 International Labour Conference in Geneva

13 June 2012

Stating they are "cautiously optimistic", the member states of the International Labour Organization have agreed to lift or suspend key restrictions on the ILO's work in Myanmar. Following a vote in the ILC plenary session in Geneva, the ILO agreed to lift restrictions which excluded the Government of Myanmar from receiving ILO technical cooperation and assistance. It also suspends for one year an ILO request of its members to review their relationships with Myanmar to ensure forced labour is not being used in those relationships. Under the agreement announced at the ILC, representatives of Myanmar can also now attend most ILO meetings, symposia and seminars.
Video coverage

"Full employment contributes above all to achieving human dignity", said the Italian President at the International Labour Conference

13 June 2012

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano addressed delegates today at the ILO Conference in Geneva, urging that full employment and social protection should be a top priority in achieving global development. The Head of State said growth should be focused on employment, structural reforms, a restart of public investments in infrastructure and human capital, and new research and innovations.
News

Panama’s economic boom imposes responsibility to close gap between rich and poor, President of Panama says

12 June 2012
Video interview

Changes in Myanmar – the Minister's perspective

11 June 2012

Myanmar's Union Minister at the Ministry of Labour, Aung Kyi, gives his thoughts on the way his country's reform process has moved so far, how the relationship with the ILO has evolved, and what the next steps might be.
Video News Release

Thailand: a healthy society is a productive society

11 June 2012

In the ongoing global economic crisis, the need for a "social protection floor" giving everyone access to basic social rights, services and facilities is even more urgent. The tripartite constituents at the ILO's 2012 International Labour Conference are discussing a set of guidelines for building social protection floors. But individual countries are already proving it can work. Thailand's universal health care scheme is based on the idea that only a healthy society can be a productive society.