Articles

May 2011

1. 

   Social security and ageing populations in developing countries

   01 May 2011

   It is common knowledge that life expectancy in Western countries has increased over the past several decades and will continue to rise. However, it may come as a surprise to some that the ratio of elderly people is rising faster in the developing world than in industrialized countries.

2. 

   Fighting forced labour through labour inspection: A report from Brazil

   01 May 2011

   This June, the 100th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva will hold a general discussion on labour inspection. Efficient labour inspectorates have the potential to prevent accidents at work, protect workers, improve their working conditions and enhance productivity by guaranteeing a decent working environment.

April 2011

1. 

   ILO training keeps Fiji green and clean

   28 April 2011

   April 28th is observed globally as World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Waste collectors in Fiji have reason to celebrate this day, because, thanks to a new ILO programme combining ‘green’ environmental support measures with occupational safety and health (OSH) practices, they are enjoying better, safer and greener working conditions. By Surfaka Katafono, National Programme Officer, ILO Country Office for Pacific Island Countries.

2. 

   World Day for Safety and Health at Work - OSH Management system: A tool for continual improvement

   26 April 2011

   Each year, governments, employers and workers mark the World Day for Safety and Health. This year’s theme for the day is “Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Management System: A tool for continual improvement”. Improvement is in fact needed: according to ILO data, an estimated 337 million workplace accidents and 2.3 million deaths occur per year, or some 6,300 deaths every day. ILO Online examines how OSH management systems can make a difference.

3. 

   Training better supervisors means better business for Cambodia’s factories

   12 April 2011

   Studies have shown that autocratic managerial styles and aggressive techniques do not result in productive workers. What motivates workers is a working environment where those who supervise them work with them; give them clear instructions, full support and encouragement. This is what the ILO in Cambodia is working to achieve, as Maeve Galvin, Communication and Advocacy Officer and Ying Bun, Better Factories, ILO Cambodia, report.

4. 

   Developing self reliance – Building hope: The ILO Employment for Peace Programme in Somalia

   07 April 2011

   Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, has been racked by violence and insecurity for nearly two decades. But there are signs of hope: among them, an ILO programme which provided a visible peace dividend to poor communities by engaging them in large scale employment-intensive projects. This and similar projects will be discussed at the ILO-IGAD-African Union Conference on "Employment for Peace, Stability and Development" on 11-12 April 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Conference will map out a regional strategy for the Horn of Africa built upon a “virtuous triangle” consisting of the creation of employment opportunities, social protection for the most vulnerable and empowerment of people and communities. ILO Online reports from Mogadishu.

5. Youth unemployment in the Arab world is a major cause for rebellion

   05 April 2011

   While images from protests in the Arab region go around the world, it is timely to look at the reasons that brought these mostly young people on to the streets. An extremely high youth unemployment rate of 23.4 per cent in 2010, is one major but not the only cause for these popular uprisings, says Dorothea Schmidt, senior employment expert in the ILO office in Cairo.

March 2011

1. 

   World Water Day (22 March 2011) - Bringing safe water to communities: the role of the ILO

   16 March 2011

   Despite the UN General Assembly declaring that access to safe water is a human right, thousands die each day because of water-related diseases, and many countries are not expected to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals on water. The ILO is working with governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations to identify priorities for investment infrastructure in order to create employment opportunities and bring safe water to communities. In advance of World Water Day on 22 March, ILO Online spoke with Carlos R. Carrión-Crespo, ILO Sectoral Specialist for Public Services and Utilities.

2. 

   The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and International Women’s Day: 100 years on

   08 March 2011

   The first International Women’s Day commemorated a demonstration by women workers in New York in 1857. But what established the modern celebration of International Women’s Day in history, was the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York on 25 March 1911 that killed 146 young women workers, most of whom were immigrants. From the ashes of that tragic event, the pursuit of social justice for women and men ignited that day continues be felt around the world 100 years on. From New York, ILO On-line reports on the fire that changed everything.

February 2011

1. 

   Youth join green jobs push in China

   15 February 2011

   Yang Shumbo, a Chinese electronic sciences student invented a device to save electricity. He developed this into a business under a pilot project of the Greener Business Option (GBO), an ILO Green Jobs Programme initiative. GBO aims to encourage entrepreneurship in green businesses among young people. Report from Chengdu, China, by Satoshi Sasaki, Specialist on Enterprise Development and Job Creation, ILO Beijing and Vincent Jugault, Senior Specialist in Environment and Decent Work, ILO Bangkok.