Feature articles

2012

1. 

   Giving an ancient craft a new shine: Training youth in the brassware sector in India

   27 March 2012

   Low levels of education, lack of skills, diplomas or certificates within a technical field severely limit the chances of gainful employment for a vast number of youth in India. A new programme of skills developing and training, however, is providing an alternative. Neelam Agnihotri, ILO communication officer in New Delhi, reports how this initiative is providing new jobs for youth in the centuries-old traditional brassware industry in Moradabad, northern India.

2011

1. Ray of hope – Ramayees’s story

   02 December 2011

   Fishing had been the mainstay of Ramayee and her husband Kandeeban of the tiny coastal hamlet of Oyalikuppam before that fateful day in December 2004 when giant waves of Tsunami washed away their home and virtually everything they owned including boats and fishing nets, leaving a trail of destruction and bleak future for survivors.

2. 

   Recognition for India’s invisible workers

   30 May 2011

   Domestic workers play an important role in the economy and they allow others to go out and earn money. Yet they remain invisible, unprotected and their contribution is often not recognized. At the forthcoming International Labour Conference (in Geneva, 1-17 June) the ILO and its members will debate drafts that could lead to the first international instruments specifically designed to protect domestic workers. By Neelam Agnihotri, Communication & Information Officer, ILO Country Office for India

3. Bringing hope to the hopeless

   05 January 2011

   12 year old Murugesan from Tiruvallur District of Tamilnadu was obliged to replace his ailing father, who could no longer work at the local rice mill. His family was in debt to the mill owner and the boy had no choice but to go to work to pay back the loan...

2010

1. 

   A triumph of enterprise : Sitabai's story

   01 March 2010

   ILO's tripartite partners in India -- the Government, employers and workers -- formally adopted a Decent Work Country Programme for India. The new programme focuses on enhanced opportunities for productive work for women and men, particularly for youth and vulnerable groups. The experience of a worker in Madhya Pradesh Province illustrates what the Decent Work Agenda can mean for workers in this vast country.

2. Rebuilding lives : from despair to determination

   25 January 2010

   By Neelam Agnihorti, Communication and Information Officer, ILO Subregional Office for South Asia Suresh’s life came to a standstill when he learnt of his HIV+ status three years back. A well educated young man in his early thirties, Suresh had a well-paying corporate job in New Delhi, India. He was married and had the dreams and aspirations of any young man his age. Life was good and he had a great future ahead--till one day when he fell ill and was diagnosed with TB. He was shocked when further investigations revealed he was HIV positive.