Features

2012

1. 

   Article

   Working a childhood away in Afghanistan’s kilns

   07 June 2012

   Children as young as five work as brick makers in Afghanistan’s kilns, as poverty and debt keep their families in low-wage bonded labour. Tackling the issue is far more complex than just banning child labour in the kilns, the ILO says.

2011

1. 

   Article

   From the depths of an African shantytown, a nascent youth employment movement grows

   14 December 2011

   In Africa’s second largest slum, youth unemployment is sky high. But cooperative projects are helping youth find work and slowly lift themselves out of poverty through such projects as raising food in community gardens, processing waste for bio-fuel or providing improved sanitation. Journalist Anne Holmes reports on how this emerging economic revival is making a small but significant dent in a major ongoing challenge.

2. 

   Questions and Answers

   Questions and answers on food security

   13 December 2011

   Recent food price shocks threaten some 1 billion people with hunger. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that climate change, along with rampant commodity speculation and lack of social protection are contributing to widespread food insecurity, resulting in hunger, poverty and even increased child labour. ILO On-line talked to Marva Corley-Coulibaly and Uma Rani Amara, senior economists at the ILO International Institute for Labour Studies about the growing concerns over food insecurity, and what urgent actions are needed to address the crisis.

3. 

   Feature story

   Building a social protection floor in Mozambique

   10 October 2011

   Mozambique is a low-income country with high levels of poverty, informal and rural labour. Seriously affected by HIV and AIDS and exposed to climatic shocks and crises such as floods and droughts, the country’s institutions only have a limited capacity to deal with such shocks and offer social protection for the poor and vulnerable population. To address these challenges, an ILO technical cooperation project financed by Portugal works, together with other UN Agencies, to improve public policies and strengthen institutional capacity for the extension of social protection in Mozambique and other Portuguese-speaking African countries.

4. 

   Feature story

   Empowering South Africans with decent work

   07 October 2011

   While African economies have bounced back from the economic crisis, daunting challenges for the continent remain, including poverty, unemployment and underemployment. Faced with these and other major challenges, the Republic of South Africa is one of the 27 African ILO Member States that are implementing Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) aimed at promoting decent work as a key component of their national development. ILO Online reports from Johannesburg, South Africa.

5. 

   Article

   The ILO and Manual Scavengers in India: Paving the long way towards the elimination of discrimination based on social origin

   18 July 2011

   For millions of people, contemporary India has become a land of opportunities, and the largest democracy in the world has experienced a remarkable economic growth during the last decade. Yet, as India accelerates its pace towards development, many are left behind due to long standing caste-based discrimination in employment. ILO Online reports from Rajasthan, India.

6. 

   Article

   Questions and answers on the ILO response to challenges in the Arab World

   08 July 2011

   On 8 July 2011, the International Labour Organization (ILO) hosted a meeting on “The Arab World, Towards a New Era of Social Justice”, which brought together representatives of countries from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the international community, donors and ILO constituents. A background paper entitled “Challenges in the Arab world: an ILO response” on the ILO’s strategy and response was the basis for the discussions. It provides figures and trends on the employment situation and answers a series of questions around creating decent work opportunities in the region. A series of concept notes was also presented, covering areas where the MENA countries have requested ILO assistance. ILO is developing work in the MENA countries and seeks additional funding for some of these programmes.

2010

1. 

   Article

   Vulnerable employment and poverty on the rise, Interview with ILO chief of Employment Trends Unit

   26 January 2010

   The economic crisis has had a major impact throughout the world on the level of employment as well as its quality. The ILO’s annual report on "Global Employment Trends 2010" says the share of workers in vulnerable employment worldwide may have increased by more than 100 million in 2009, and with it global poverty. ILO Online spoke with Lawrence Jeffrey Johnson who directed the publication of the report.

2009

1. 

   Social Entrepreneurship Award 2009

   One dinner that changed thousands of lives

   27 October 2009

   Last month, the Salvadoran NGO Agape was awarded the Social Entrepreneurship Award 2009 for Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic. The prize, presented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, recognizes Agape’s contribution to improving the lives of thousands of poor Salvadorans as well as its leadership and innovation in applying a successful business model.

2. 

   Gender equality

   India’s barefoot solar engineers fight climate change and poverty

   04 September 2009

   The year 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the ILO’s gender equality action plan, and the end of a year-long global ILO campaign on gender equality and the world of work. One of the themes of the campaign was the linkage between climate change and the role of women in the world of work. Mandy Cunningham, a freelance journalist, reports from Rajasthan, India where women are at the forefront of what the ILO calls Green Jobs; jobs which are created as a result of economies adapting to climate and environmental change.