Articles

September 2006

Dispelling the migrant myth

01 September 2006

Recent media buzz has sparked the latest global debate on migrant workers. Poverty and the decent work deficit are the two main reasons these workers cross borders in search of better lives, and most often they will take any job they can find, no matter how dirty or dangerous. But the crux of the debate lies in the extent of their contributions - and as a result the level of responsibility to be undertaken by the host countries for their labour rights. ILO specialist on workers' activities Luc Demaret and senior migration specialist Patrick Taran weigh in on the current state of play for migrant workers, and in doing so separate fact from fiction in the latest chapter of the migrant debate.
Decent Work for All UN moves to strengthen global efforts to promote Decent Work for poverty reduction and sustainable development

01 September 2006

The High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), meeting in early July, adopted a wide-ranging Ministerial Declaration on full and productive employment and decent work, saying it would help strengthen efforts by the UN and the multilateral system to create jobs, cut poverty and provide new hope for the world's 1.4 billion working poor during the next decade. The Declaration provides further support for the ILO's Decent Work agenda and reinforces efforts to make decent work for all a global goal and a national reality.
Business with a conscience: Why best practice is good practice

01 September 2006

As global business continues to diversify and grow, social dialogue plays a crucial role in encouraging the adoption and implementation of corporate social responsibility policies.

August 2006

14th Asian Regional Meeting, Busan, Republic of Korea (29 August - 1 September) Making progress in combating child labour in Asia

28 August 2006

Despite declines both in the child population and in the number of economically active children, the ILO estimates that Asia has the largest number of child workers in the 5-14 age group - some 122 million. Here are some FAQs on child labour compiled by ILO Online.
14th Asian Regional Meeting, Busan, Republic of Korea (29 August - 1 September) Improved working conditions create a win-win story in Asia's factories

24 August 2006

Asia's ability to sustain its impressive economic growth and competitive edge will depend greatly on the ability of governments and companies to ensure the benefits are shared by employers, the workforce and the wider population. This is the conclusion of a new report ( Note 1) on the region's economic and social trends, prepared for the Asian Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization. ILO Online reports on one new approach which, by linking productivity with improved working conditions, is ensuring that the benefits of globalization are felt from the shop floor to the boardroom.
14th Asian Regional Meeting, Busan, Republic of Korea (29 August - 1 September) Workers on the move in Asia

24 August 2006

In recent years, almost three million workers in Asia have left their homes each year to work abroad, according to a new report for the ILO's Asian Regional Meeting. While the growing mobility has benefited sending and receiving countries as well as the migrant workers themselves, migration also poses enormous challenges for states of the region. Many still have to develop policies and programmes for regulating cross-border movements, protecting the basic rights of migrants, including those in an irregular status, and adjusting to the external shocks that globalizing labour markets often bring.
Saving lives, protecting jobs: Strategic HIV/AIDS responses by enterprises (SHARE)

11 August 2006

Ninety per cent of the 40 million people living with HIV worldwide will get up today and go to work. For many, it will be a day of stigma and discrimination and struggling with ill health, often with limited information, help or treatment. But for others, this is beginning to change as employers and workers seek to overcome the epidemic with national support, says a new ILO report ( Note 1) available at the XVIth International Conference on AIDS which opens Sunday (13 August) in Toronto. The report explains how, with the assistance of the US government, the ILO supports workplace education programmes in 23 countries, reaching about 300,000 workers in some 300 enterprises. ILO Online reports from Lesotho.
International Day of the World's Indigenous People 2006 Recognizing the rights of the guardians of the forest: "pygmies" in Cameroon

04 August 2006

The Project to Promote ILO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (PRO 169) was launched in 1996 to protect the human rights of some 350 million indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide. Cultures and lifestyles of indigenous communities differ significantly from those of the dominant society, and their survival depends on the recognition of their rights and access to their traditional land and natural resources. ILO Online reports from Cameroon.

July 2006

A "vector" of hope for street children in St. Petersburg

28 July 2006

Some groups of child labourers, including street children, are particularly difficult to reach. The ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) project in St. Petersburg, where 16,000 children work in the streets, seeks to rehabilitate these children and show the way to other regions in the Russian Federation.
Russia needs migrant workers to support economic growth

20 July 2006

Since the early 1990s, the Russian Federation has been the biggest receiving, sending and transit country for migrant workers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The country will need between 800,000 and 1.5 million migrant workers each year to compensate for its shrinking labour force and maintain economic growth. Poorer countries in the neighbourhood could solve the problem by sending their excess labour to Russia if the government adapts regulations and working conditions for migrants to the new situation..