News

February 2008

1. 

   Bahamas ratifies major new ILO Maritime Labour Convention

   12 February 2008

   The Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas today handed over its instrument of ratification of the historic Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

2. 

   ILO experts to highlight critical aspects of human trafficking at Vienna Forum

   11 February 2008

   Leading experts representing the International Labour Organization (ILO), including senior employers and trade unionists, are to focus new attention on critical aspects of human trafficking such as forced labour, and the role of employers and workers in combating trafficking within supply chains, at the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking on 13-15 February.

3. IFC and ILO team up to support Jordanian clothing exports through improved labour standards

   07 February 2008

   Jordanian Minister of Labour announces the Better Work Jordan project

January 2008

1. 

   ILO projects global economic turbulence could generate five million more unemployed in 2008

   23 January 2008

   Economic turbulence largely due to credit market turmoil and rising oil prices could spur an increase in global unemployment by an estimated 5 million persons in 2008, according to the ILO's annual Global Employment Trends report (GET). ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, speaking on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, called this year’s global jobs picture "one of contrasts and uncertainty".

2. 

   ILO to launch annual report on Global Employment Trends 2008

   16 January 2008

   The ILO is to issue its annual Global Employment Trends report (GET) providing a comprehensive analysis of current global employment, unemployment and labour market trends. The report analyses the impact on the labour markets of a wide range of factors, ranging from population and economic growth to economic turbulence stemming from the credit crisis in industrialized countries, rising oil prices, and a projected slowdown in economic growth.

December 2007

1. 

   Heads of five international organizations met in Berlin to work closely together for a Fair Globalization.

   20 December 2007

   Shaping a fair globalization not only requires that governments consult more closely, but also that key international organizations act with greater coherence to achieve jointly set goals. German Chancellor Angela Merkel therefore met in Berlin with the heads of five international organizations-- the ILO, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to discuss fair ground rules for a socially equitable and open global economy.

2. 

   Brazil, ILO launch South-South cooperation against child labour

   14 December 2007

   The Brazilian Government and the International Labour Organization launch a major new initiative to promote specific South-South technical cooperation projects and activities that contribute effectively to the prevention and elimination of child labour, in accordance with the international obligations of each country.

3. ILO Director-General deplores death of ILO staff member

   13 December 2007

   Deeply regretting the loss of life of at least nine UN staff members following the attack on the UN premises in Algiers on 11 December 2007, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Juan Somavia announced the death of an ILO staff member, Mr. Abderrahim Hanniche, as a result of the bomb blast.

4. 

   Experts from seven South-East European countries discussed the youth employment challenge

   12 December 2007

   Despite increased economic growth, the inability of economies to create enough decent and productive jobs is hitting youth especially hard, experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia concluded at a meeting here on 6 and 7 December.

5. 

   OSCE-IOM-ILO launch Handbook on Labour Migration for the Mediterranean

   12 December 2007

   ILO together with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are launching a major new tool here today to assist governments and social partners around the Mediterranean to regulate labour migration.