Articles

April 2010

1. 

   In search of jobs: new ILO study on labour migration in North and West Africa

   29 April 2010

   The global financial and economic crisis has brought with it significant employment and social challenges, particularly for migrant workers from developing countries. As a new ILO study on North and West Africa shows, the latter tend to be disproportionately affected by job losses in destination countries, with the flow of remittances to their countries of origin suffering a major decline. This has raised questions about the extent to which migration can contribute to development in countries of origin. ILO Online spoke with Steven Tobin, co-author of the study, about how best to leverage migration as a development factor.

2. 

   Questions and answers: Emerging risks and new forms of prevention in a changing world of work

   27 April 2010

   Workers, employers and governments mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work each year as part of an international campaign to promote safe, healthy, and decent work. This year, it is focussing on emerging risks at the workplace and new forms of prevention in a changing world of work. ILO Online spoke with Seiji Machida, Director of the ILO’s SafeWork Programme, about new ways to promote the right of workers worldwide to a safe and healthy working environment.

3. 

   Strengthening the HIV/AIDS response: Towards a new international labour standard - ILO constituents strengthen their leadership in the HIV/AIDS response

   01 April 2010

   The ILO will reach a major milestone in the global response to HIV/AIDS when the International Labour Conference votes on the adoption of an international standard on HIV/AIDS and the world of work in June 2010, almost a decade after the launching of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS. Once the standard is adopted by the representatives of governments, employers and workers of ILO member States, it will be the first international human rights instrument entirely dedicated to HIV/AIDS and applicable to all workers in all sectors, formal and informal, as well as to jobseekers, laid-off workers and persons in vocational training.

4. 

   US domestic workers find their voice

   01 April 2010

   The achievement of decent work for domestic workers ultimately depends on their capacity to organize and engage in collective action. Ground-breaking legislation covering the rights of domestic workers is on the brink of passage in New York State. If signed into law it will be the culmination of a decade of grassroots activism supported by the American labour federations AFL-CIO and may open the door to similar legislation in other states. Gary Humphreys, a California-based journalist, reports.

5. 

   “Become a man instead of a mere machine”: The ILO and trends in working hours

   01 April 2010

   In 1930, John Maynard Keynes imagined a world in which, a hundred years later, work would be to a large extent replaced by leisure. He speculated about a three-hour shift and a 15-hour working week by 2030.

6. 

   Decent work for domestic workers: Towards new international labour standards

   01 April 2010

   The work of caring and cleaning in the home for pay is one of the most important occupations for millions of workers, mostly women, around the world. According to a new ILO report prepared for the June 2010 session of the International Labour Conference, domestic work absorbs a significant proportion of the workforce, ranging between 5 and 9 per cent of total employment in developing countries, and making up to 2.5 per cent of total employment in industrialized countries. Manuela Tomei, director of the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Employment Programme, looks at the working conditions of this global and growing workforce and ways to improve them.

7. 

   Domestic work is not for children

   01 April 2010

   Last November, the Government of Cambodia convened a national consultation on decent work for domestic workers. At the end of the meeting, government, workers’ and employers’ organizations in the country agreed on the need for a new international labour standard extending social protection to those who work in the homes of others. The following article by Bill Salter, Director of the ILO Subregional Office for East Asia, was adapted from an earlier version published in a local newspaper.

March 2010

1. 

   Economic sectors at a glance: Economic recovery yet to be translated into jobs (Q&A)

   19 March 2010

   The path for labour markets to return to pre-crisis levels remains long and signs of recovery in the economy are yet to be translated into jobs, says a new study by the ILO. The paper also shows how job losses are unequally distributed across regions and economic sectors, and between developed and developing countries. ILO Online spoke with Elizabeth Tinoco, Director of the ILO Sectoral Activities Department.

2. 

   Labour inspection in Europe: fighting undeclared work and trafficking

   12 March 2010

   Europe’s labour inspectors face daunting challenges. They not only try to ensure decent working conditions, but also contribute to the fight against trafficking and undeclared work. ILO Online has set up a series of questions and answers about a new ILO report intended to help experts in EU countries share good practices and develop common policy guidelines for labour inspection and undeclared work.

3. 

   Decent Work in India - A triumph of enterprise: Sitabai’s story

   09 March 2010

   Last month, the ILO’s tripartite partners in India – the government, employers and workers – formally adopted a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP for India). The new programme will focus on enhanced opportunities for productive work for women and men, particularly for youth and vulnerable groups. The experience of a worker in Madhya Pradesh province illustrates what the ILO Decent Work Agenda can mean for workers in the vast country.