Articles

February 2009

1. 

   Achieving the seafarers’ international bill of rights: more than half way there!

   23 February 2009

   When the ILO adopted the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) on 23 February 2006, Director-General Juan Somavia called it a historic moment for the world’s more than 1.2 million seafarers. Three years on, in line with the ILO’s five-year Action Plan, this key global agreement has now been ratified by five major flag States and key ILO Members, representing nearly 45 per cent of the world’s gross tonnage. Many more Member ratifications supported by international industry agreements are already under way.

December 2008

1. 

   ILO, China launch first HIV/AIDS prevention campaign for internal rural migrant workers

   17 December 2008

   The 200 million internal migrant workers in China play a vital role in the country’s mining, construction, and transportation sectors. But the lack of awareness about HIV puts them at risk of contracting the disease. Last November, the ILO and China’s State Council AIDS Committee Office jointly launched the country’s first HIV/AIDS prevention campaign for internal rural migrant workers. ILO Online reports from Beijing.

2. 

   From high fashion ‘alta moda’ to dress-making in Ukraine

   17 December 2008

   At 16 per cent, the region of Chernivtsi in Ukraine has the highest unemployment rate in the country and the lowest number of women employed. This is why the region was chosen for an ILO project, funded by Development Cooperation Ireland, that addresses the root causes of labour migration and tries to stem irregular migration and trafficking through training, job placement and entrepreneurial activities. ILO Online reports from Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

3. 

   Migrants in times of economic crisis: ILO/UNDP join forces to make Tajik migration safe

   16 December 2008

   Tajikistan is the poorest of the Central Asian republics and a huge supplier of migrants: 800 000 of its 7 million inhabitants, most of them men, are working abroad. While many migrants are already at risk of all kinds of abuse, they may also become the first victims of the current financial and economic crisis. ILO and UNDP have joined forces to empower migrant communities and make migration safe. Olga Bogdanova from the ILO Moscow office reports from the Tajik capital Dushanbe.

4. 

   The ILO at 90: Working for social justice

   01 December 2008

   As we mark the 90th anniversary of the ILO, the Organization’s values and mandate endure.

5. 

   Workplaces are key avenues for responding to the challenge of HIV/AIDS

   01 December 2008

   This year, the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2008) is being held in Senegal. Mr. Assane Diop, Executive Director of the ILO’s Social Protection Sector, answers our questions.

November 2008

1. 

   Driving for change: action on HIV/AIDS in the road transport sector

   28 November 2008

   In a number of countries, HIV prevalence is higher among road transport workers than in the general population. To respond to the challenge of HIV/AIDS in the sector, workers’ and employers’ representatives from around the world will meet in Geneva on World AIDS Day, 1 December, for a training and learning event. ILO Online reports from a border crossing between Kenya and Uganda.

2. 

   From Veil to Camera: Empowering women through skills training

   13 November 2008

   In many countries, women face more barriers than men to acquire the necessary skills to use new technologies and to start innovative economic activities. For the 60 per cent of women employed in agriculture in South Asia, access to quality education, skills training and entrepreneurship development tools not only represents a way out of poverty, but also provides them with opportunities of empowerment in the world of technology, as this ILO Online report from central India shows.

3. 

   Proper ship breaking: a test for globalization and decent work

   03 November 2008

   The last voyage of the ship "Otapan" to a Turkish ship breaking yard last July was a victory for "pre-cleaning" advocates of reducing the human and environmental dangers inherent in ship dismantling and recycling. But does it also lead to decent working practices? Last week, experts from the ILO, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the Basel Convention met to discuss measures to promote guidelines that would make ship breaking not only clean but "green". Questions and answers with a ship breaking expert from the ILO Sectoral Activities Branch.

October 2008

1. 

   Revisiting the Minimum wage in the Enlarged EU: Addressing changes and challenges in the labour markets

   29 October 2008

   The minimum wage has returned to the core of the EU policy agenda. EU enlargement and increased migration flows for employment and better pay are one factor, but others include the significant rise in non-standard forms of employment, normally associated with lower wages, high proportions of low-paying jobs, rising insecurity and growing numbers of working poor. This week, an ILO–EC Conference in Brussels revisits the question of minimum wages in Europe and their influence on earnings and well-being of low paid workers and their families. ILO Online spoke with Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead from the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Employment Programme.