Video News Releases

June 2010

1. 

   Sisana is HIV Positive and Back at Work

   17 June 2010

   Over a year ago ILO TV interviewed Sisana Buba, a supermarket cashier who was sick at home with an HIV-related illness. ILO TV returned to Swaziland recently to find Sisana feeling well and back at work. The supermarket where she works has a HIV/AIDS workplace policy. As a result Sisana hasn't suffered from discrimination from her colleagues, and has had access to anti-retroviral treatment. Developed with the help of the ILO, this kind of HIV/AIDS workplace policy is now going global, with the adoption of an international labour standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of work at the ILO's 99th International Labour Conference.

2. 

   India: Ending the Stigma of HIV/AIDS for Construction Workers

   17 June 2010

   In India, construction is one of the fastest growing sectors engaging a large number of migrant workers from across the country. With little knowledge about HIV, and culturally and socially isolated in India’s big cities, migrant workers are especially vulnerable to HIV infection. Informal workers, including migrant workers, make up 93 per cent of India’s 400 million-plus workforce. How to tackle discrimination towards workers with HIV and help prevent the spread of HIV have become a national priority, with the adoption of a national policy on HIV/AIDS and the world of work.

3. 

   India: Fighting Child Labour with School Lunches

   11 June 2010

   In the past 10 years, more than 30 million children have been taken out of child labour. But according to the ILO's Global Report, today an estimated 215 million children are still working, on the streets, in farm fields, in some of the worst and most hazardous forms of work. Integrated national policies to protect children, get them out of work and into school have made an impact, moving the international community closer to its goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. One way forward can be found in India, and the world's largest school lunch program.

May 2010

1. 

   South Africa: World Cup Jobs

   24 May 2010

   When "World Cup Fever" hits South Africa, it will bring worldwide attention, and big money. It's estimated the half million visiting fans will inject more than two and a half billion dollars into the South African economy, and more than 150 000 jobs will be created. But how many of those new jobs will still be around when the World Cup is over is a key concern for South Africa.

2. 

   Uganda: HIV Orphans Off the Streets and into School

   10 May 2010

   Africa has the highest incidence of child labour in the world, further complicated by high rates of HIV. But some Sub-Saharan African countries like Uganda have been world leaders in getting children out of child labour and into primary school through a National Child Labour Policy that specifically addresses HIV.

3. 

   ILO Reports on Child Labour Globally

   07 May 2010

   Amid growing concerns over the impact of the economic downturn, the International Labour Office (ILO) warned in its new Global Report "Accelerating Action Against Child Labour" that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are slowing down and called for a re-energized global campaign to end the practice.

January 2010

1. 

   Record Global Unemployment in 2009

   27 January 2010

   The number of jobless worldwide reached nearly 212 million in 2009 following an unprecedented increase of 34 million compared to 2007, on the eve of the global crisis, the International Labour Office (ILO) said in its annual Global Employment Trends report. "The increase that we've seen is the largest since we began tracking these global and regional trends in 1991 and in some countries we actually know this increase in unemployment is the largest they've seen since the Great Depression," said Lawrence Jeffrey Johnson, who directed the publication of the report.

December 2009

1. 

   Francis Blanchard: Former ILO Director-General Dies at age 93

   10 December 2009

   Francis Blanchard of France, who served as Director-General of the International Labour Office during the turbulent and transitional years 1974 to 1989, died on Wednesday, 9 December 2009 at the age of 93.

2. 

   Haiti: From Storm Recovery to Sustainable Development

   09 December 2009

   In 2004, Hurricane Jeanne swept through the historical port city of Gonaïves in Haiti, sending walls of water and mud down the surrounding slopes and changing the face of the city forever. A project managed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been helping local residents organize themselves to build erosion control networks to protect the city from future mudslides and heavy run-off. ILO TV reports.

3. 

   Serbia: Employment of People with Disabilities

   03 December 2009

   Until recently, people with disabilities in Serbia faced many barriers to decent work opportunities. When the Balkan country passed a disability law in 2009, the International Labour Organization created a pilot project to sensitize 100 companies about the employment of people with disabilities. The ILO was able to respond quickly, thanks to its “Regular Budget Supplementary Account” (RBSA) - a fund based on voluntary contributions from Member States. It was created in 2008, and has been a critical resource in response to the economic crisis and the need to enhance the ILO’s capacity to promote decent work.