December 1999

1. Press release

   Ninth African Regional Meeting of ILO completes its work

   11 December 1999

   ABIDJAN (ILO News) - Based on the idea that in Africa "the need to pursue simultaneously the objectives of economic and social efficiency have never appeared as obvious as today", and relying on the report Decent work and protection for all in Africa by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), the 198 representatives of governments and employers' and workers' organizations from 39 countries expressed the hope that the International Labour Organization will take on greater visibility and influence with the international community and reinforce its synergy with other organizations in order to arrive at the globalization of social progress.

2. Press release

   New ILO report terms AIDS impact on African labour force "very severe"

   10 December 1999

   ABIDJAN (ILO News) - The AIDS epidemic is killing the most productive members of the workforce in Africa, and threatens to lower productivity, decrease overall demand for goods and services and spawn a new wave of child labourers and AIDS orphans, according to a new ILO report on HIV/AIDS in Africa issued here today.

3. Press release

   Opening of the Ninth African Regional Meeting of ILO. Put social dialogue at the heart of all Africa's economic and social policies, ILO Director-General urges

   08 December 1999

   ABIDJAN (ILO News) - While insisting on the need for public awareness of the main challenges facing Africa in this end-of-century period - challenges which include "a rate of growth insufficient to attenuate extreme poverty, the persistence of ethnic conflicts and civil wars and the crushing burden of debt servicing" - Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), appealed "that everyone on the continent, man or woman, should have access to decent and productive work in conditions of liberty, equity, security and dignity".

4. Press release

   ILO Conference to Promote "Decent Work" in Africa

   06 December 1999

   ABIDJAN (ILO News) - Despite a return to economic growth in many African countries, the condition of the vast majority of the continent's workforce at the close of the century is characterized by declining living standards, rising unemployment and increasing poverty, according to an ILO report prepared for the Ninth Africa Regional Meeting which opens in Abidjan on 8 December 1999.

5. Press release

   U.S. ratifies ILO Convention against the worst forms of child labour

   02 December 1999

   SEATTLE (ILO News) - "U.S. President Clinton's signing today in Seattle of the instruments of ratification of the new international Convention against the worst forms of child labour is an important boost to the campaign for universal adoption of this landmark agreement," said Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO)

6. Press release

   ILO calls for new multilateral initiative to address social implications of globalization

   01 December 1999

   SEATTLE (ILO News) - The International Labour Office (ILO) has called for a new multilateral initiative to address the social implications of globalization involving all the organizations dealing with the international aspects of economic and social policy. The initiative aims at reducing inequality of opportunity both within and between countries and ensuring that the global economy benefits working people and their families in developed and developing countries alike.

November 1999

1. Press release

   More than 140 million denied access to health care in Latin America and the Caribbean

   29 November 1999

   GENEVA (ILO News) - In Latin America and the Caribbean, "more than 140 million people, that is a third of the total population, do not have access to health services", ILO Executive Director Mary Chinery-Hesse told delegates assembled today in Mexico at the opening of an international conference on health care in Latin America and the Caribbean. 1 This means that one out of three persons in the region has no permanent access to health care services.

2. Press release

   Globalization boosts economic growth But risks widening social inequality

   19 November 1999

   GENEVA (ILO News) - Concluding its 276 th session, the Governing Body of the ILO agreed to review and expand arrangements for the continuation of its Working Party on the Social Dimensions of the Liberalization of International Trade, which was established in June 1994, with a view to examining all aspects of the relationship between trade liberalization and social progress relevant to the ILO's mandate. The Working Party will continue to meet and function, with a final decision on the specific mandate and title to be agreed at the next Governing Body in March.

3. Press release

   ILO Director-General to attend WTO Conference in Seattle

   18 November 1999

   GENEVA (ILO News) - The ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, issued a statement today formally indicating his intention to lead the ILO delegation to the WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle.

4. Press release

   Poland reaps "impressive" gains on economic, social front. But growth is "Unbalanced"

   15 November 1999

   GENEVA (ILO News) - Defying what had looked to be almost insurmountable economic problems at the outset of the decade, Poland's economy has enjoyed "an impressive economic performance" registering average annual growth rates of 5.5% since 1993 and reversing precipitous declines in output and employment which characterized the early stages of economic transition, according to an ILO report * released in Geneva today.