Articles

September 2006

  1. An honest day's work? Considering the nebulous notion of today's work-life balance

    01 September 2006

    Atypical and unpredictable work schedules are on the rise worldwide, thanks to an ever-increasingly connected, responsive and demanding global economy. Consequently, work-life balance in industrialized countries is becoming a thing of the past. A new ILO publication, Decent working time: New trends, new issues, is a collection of papers from some of the leading international scholars in the field and considers the profound changes in the nature of working time - and indeed the nature of employment itself. US writer Jennifer Monroe reports.

  2. Picking education, not tea: Voices of change in Uganda

    01 September 2006

    The new ILO report The end of child labour: Within reach paints a mixed picture of child labour worldwide. While the global total of child labourers is on the decline, there remain some 50 million working children in sub-Saharan Africa. But the unprecedented international movement to end child labour, including an innovative awareness-raising campaign using local radio shows, is opening a window of opportunity for Africa's fight against the practice. The ILO's Kevin Cassidy reports from a tea plantation in Uganda.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

April 2006

  1. A global Convention for a global workforce

    01 April 2006

    The 94th ILC adopted the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 in February, providing a comprehensive labour standard and setting the tone for future Conventions that will regulate not only a sector but address the issues posed by globalization

  2. PLANET WORK Women in sports: How level is the playing field?

    01 April 2006

    On the courts and in the courtrooms, the subject of a woman's role in professional sports - and the huge gap between opportunities, funding and media exposure given to males and females in the sporting world - is emblematic of the larger question on gender equality today: is equal really equal? The issue of women and their role in the sporting world includes all the issues currently being debated in the wider world - such as women in decision-making roles, women in management, women in a wide range of professions. Planet Work examines how the role of women in the world of sports illustrates the gender state of play in the wider world, and how women are helping to promote gender equality in a wider professional context through sports.

  3. Taming the beast: A look at the many forms and guises of workplace violence

    01 April 2006

    When it comes to violence in the workplace, such as sexual harassment, bullying and threats, abuse of power and even murder, people are asking why it happens, and who can stop it. But violence is a ubiquitous shape shifter, lurking in formal and informal workplaces alike, and it is often hard to pinpoint its occurrence and its instigators. Today, workplace violence is receiving more exposure, and organizations like the ILO are taking a steadfast stance against it by developing standards, codes of practice and community awareness. Based on the ILO's newly released Violence at work ( Note 1), in its third edition, Alicia Priest explores who's at risk, what's at stake and what's being done to stop it.

  4. A personal stake: Why employee-owned businesses return more than a profit

    01 April 2006

    Employee-owned businesses remain an oft-overlooked option for companies as a means toward ramping up productivity, profit and morale. But a new study shows that the overwhelming success of companies like UK-based John Lewis is due to innovative mechanisms to encourage employee participation and cultivate a culture of ownership. Andrew Bibby explores how this company model of a fully or majority employee-owned business is not only self-sustaining and successful, but is in fact widely applicable.

  5. Real-time response The ILO's role in helping Pakistan rebuild and get back to work

    01 April 2006

    The ILO continues to play an important role in the earthquake recovery efforts in Pakistan. From establishing emergency employment centres and cash-for-work programmes to easing trauma through decent work, the ILO's multi-pronged approach capitalized on an existing infrastructure for technical cooperation to distribute resources quickly and efficiently.