Articles

June 2009

1. 

   Decent Work for domestic workers: a long way to go.

   17 June 2009

   The ILO and other women’s advocacy groups consider domestic work to be among the most precarious of occupations. The present economic downturn and jobs crisis sweeping the world is likely to aggravate those vulnerabilities depicted in a report to the 2009 International Labour Conference taking stock of gender equality in the world of work. ILO press officer Allan Dow reports from Bangkok.

2. 

   Taking the crisis as an opportunity: How the garment industry in Kyrgyzstan faces a 40 per cent decline in exports

   16 June 2009

   After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the country’s transition to a market economy, the Kyrgyz garment industry was one of the first to recover. Today, it is the first sector that has been severely hit by the global economic and social crisis.

3. 

   Migrant working girls, victims of the global crisis

   10 June 2009

   More than 100 million girls are involved in child labour worldwide, according to a new ILO report for World Day against Child Labour 2009. The report warns that the global financial crisis could push an increasing number of children, particularly girls, into child labour. ILO Online reports from Moscow where migrant workers and their children are the first to be hit by the crisis.

4. 

   Girls in gold-mining: “I don’t want my children to be like me”

   10 June 2009

   Over 18,000 girls and boys are engaged in mining and quarrying in the Philippines. For many generations, the search for gold in small-scale mining has been a means of survival for poor families. Girls in such work are particularly vulnerable. Minette Rimando, ILO press officer in Manila, wrote this report for ILO Online.

5. 

   Work sharing: A strategy to preserve jobs during the global jobs crisis

   05 June 2009

   Work sharing could be a relevant response to the global jobs crisis, according to a new ILO policy brief prepared for discussion at the International Labour Conference in Geneva from 3-19 June 2009. Work sharing policies and programmes can result in a “win-win-win” solution benefiting workers, employers and governments. ILO Online spoke with ILO working time expert Jon C. Messenger.

6. 

   HIV/AIDS: Discussions on a new labour standard begin at ILO conference

   03 June 2009

   This week, governments, workers and employers representing the ILO's 183 member States begin a two-year process during which they will discuss a ground-breaking draft labour standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of work. ILO Online asked ILO/AIDS Director Dr. Sophia Kisting to explain the significance of this development, and how a new labour standard would help address the global challenge posed to the world of work by the pandemic.

7. 

   Questions and answers on the global jobs crisis

   02 June 2009

   More than 4,000 delegates representing governments, employers and workers are meeting at the annual Conference of the ILO from 3 to 19 June to discuss ways of addressing the global crisis in jobs and social protection. ILO Online asked Raymond Torres, Director of the ILO International Institute for Labour Studies about the current jobs situation, and how decent work policies can tackle the crisis.

May 2009

1. 

   ILO welcomes new regulations on ship breaking as crisis boosts the industry

   29 May 2009

   After more than five years of negotiation, delegates from 59 countries to an International Maritime Organization (IMO) conference signed the Hong Kong Agreement regulating the recycling of ships on 15 May 2009. For the ILO, the agreement is an important step to make ship breaking decent work. ILO Online spoke with manufacturing specialist David Seligson and maritime industry specialist Dani Appave from the ILO Sectoral Activities Department.

2. 

   From labour exploitation to forced labour: a fine line

   11 May 2009

   Forced labour is a crime that requires severe punishment. But clear guidance is needed, to determine the often thin dividing line between labour exploitation and forced labour. Zambia is one of the African countries to have taken steps both to understand the problems through research and to instigate measures to combat them. The case illustrates some of the dilemmas.

3. 

   Questions and answers on “The cost of coercion"

   11 May 2009

   A new ILO report on forced labour entitled “The cost of coercion” says that victims of forced labour lose an estimated USD 20 billion ever year in unpaid earnings. This and other findings provide a powerful economic argument for stepping up global action against forced labour. ILO Online spoke with Roger Plant, head of the ILO’s Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour.