Feature articles

September 2008 

• Women migrant workers: seizing opportunities, upholding rights
  24 September 2008 - Nearly half of the world’s migrants are women. Increasingly, migration provides them with opportunities to find better jobs. However, many still accept lower skilled jobs for higher pay and some may even become victims of exploitation and abuse. ...
• Questions and answers on Tripartite Expert Meetings on Flag State and Port State inspection guidelines under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
  15 September 2008 - More than 300 senior representatives of seafarers and shipowners, along with governments, are to meet in Geneva between 15 and 26 September to discuss guidelines on flag-state and port-state inspection on board of ships under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2006. ...
  • Questions and answers on Maritime Labour Convention
  • Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
• Maritime Labour Convention: Setting sail for a decent future
  10 September 2008 - When the ILO adopted the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 in February 2006, Director-General Juan Somavia called it “making labour history” for the world’s more than 1.2 million seafarers. Two years on, the MLC has been ratified by three key flag states representing nearly 20 per cent of the world’s gross tonnage with many more ratifications and industry agreements already under way. ...
  • Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
  • Questions and answers on Maritime Labour Convention

August 2008 

• Cementing social peace, political stability and economic growth in Nepal
  27 August 2008 - Between 1996 and 2005 Nepal was ravaged by war and on the threshold of ‘failed state’ status. In 2006, the country finally succeeded to pull itself back from the brink. In April this year national elections were held but the major political parties have failed to form a new coalition Government and disputes over key political positions remain unresolved. ...
• Breaking gender barriers: A young woman’s quest in a male-dominated profession
  11 August 2008 - One billion people will reach working age within the next decade – the best educated and best trained generation of young men and especially young women ever. But despite great efforts carried out by governments and social partners, the youth unemployment crisis is growing, and the gender barriers have yet to be overcome. ...
• 9 August – International Day of the World’s Indigenous People 2008 – Organizing out of poverty: indigenous peoples in the Philippines
  07 August 2008 - There are more than 5,000 different indigenous peoples living in some 70 countries in the world. About 70 per cent of them are in Asia and the Pacific, mostly in rural areas. They often lack control over land and resources and face high levels of discrimination and poverty. ILO Online reports from the Philippines where indigenous peoples were able to organize themselves to have a stronger voice.

July 2008 

• HIV/AIDS - Universal action now: the role of the workplace
  31 July 2008 - When the 17th International AIDS Conference gets underway in Mexico City on 3 August, it will mark one of the largest gatherings ever held on HIV/AIDS, with more than 20,000 expected to attend. For the ILO, the conference will provide a global platform for intensifying awareness of the vital role of the workplace in addressing a wide range of HIV/AIDS issues. ...
• Road building in Liberia: One UN, many new jobs
  17 July 2008 - After 14 years of conflict, Liberia has begun working its way back to peace and prosperity. But with a high rate of working poor, job creation is a daunting challenge. ILO Online reports from the capital, Monrovia.
  • Road-Building for a New Liberia -
• The AREA programme in Argentina: working together to create jobs
  11 July 2008 - The ILO-run AREA project, funded by the Italian government, has helped many Argentine workers and companies recover from the 2001 financial crisis by creating jobs and improving livelihoods. ILO Online reports from Argentina.
  • Working Out of Financial Crisis in Argentina -
• International Day of Cooperatives - Cooperating in times of crisis
  03 July 2008 - This year, the growing role of cooperatives in confronting global crises of climate change and food price rises is garnering growing attention. Cooperatives can play an increasingly important role in balancing economic, social and environmental concerns as well as in contributing to poverty reduction and prevention. ILO Online interview with Hagen Henry, Head of the ILO’s Cooperative Programme.
  • Message from Juan Somavia Director-General of the International Labour Office: "Confronting Climate Change through Cooperative Enterprise"
• Microinsurance and OSH: helping to cope with workplace risks
  02 July 2008 - Work-related accidents and diseases take a grim toll every year. Although prevention can help improve occupational safety and health (OSH), microinsurance can also play a complementary role in coping with workplace risks and provide direct benefits to employers and workers. ILO Online reports.

June 2008 

• “We will continue to move forward”: managing risk at work in Kazakhstan
  17 June 2008 - The 18th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Seoul, Republic of Korea, will unveil best practices and examples in promoting effective occupational safety and health (OSH) systems as one of the key factors in sustainable economic growth and development. ...
• Extending occupational safety and health to the informal economy - Article for the XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work
  17 June 2008 - Over 1 billion people, more than 60 percent of Asia’s workforce, are still working in the informal economy, with little or no social protection. Experience shows that workers and small businesses in the informal economy are usually motivated to improve safety and health conditions out of their own initiative, but they still need practical support. ...
• In Kyrgyzstan, employment and training programmes help stem a rural exodus
  16 June 2008 - Providing decent employment in agriculture for young people is an immense challenge but mass migration from rural to urban areas has led to poverty in and around cities. ...
• From entrepreneurship to education: how empowering women can help their children learn
  16 June 2008 - Women’s entrepreneurship helps reduce poverty, promote gender equality and empower women. But it has another impact – providing women with the means to improve the health of their families and finance the education of their children. ...
• Feature for World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June 2008 – Street children in Russia: Back to school, back to life
  12 June 2008 - The ILO has estimated that some 165 million children between the age of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of these children work long hours, often in dangerous conditions. Education provides a means through which economically and socially excluded children and youth can lift themselves out of poverty. ILO Online reports from the Russian Federation.
  • World Day Against Child Labour 2008 - Education: The right response to child labour
• The “Gateway School”, a way of eliminating child labour
  11 June 2008 - Education is a human right and a key factor in the reduction of poverty and child labour. Yet, over 70 million primary-age children are not enrolled in school and most of them are part of the 218 million children worldwide involved in child labour. ...
  • World Day Against Child Labour 2008 - Education: The right response to child labour
• Feature for World Day against Child Labour, 12 June 2008 – The road to school is a route out of child labour
  11 June 2008 - Asia-Pacific enjoys a reputation as a vibrant economic region, but it is also home to more working children than any other region in the world; an estimated 122 million children aged 5-14 years are compelled to work for their survival. Some try to balance school with their long hours of work, but millions of these children are not enrolled in school at all. ...
  • World Day Against Child Labour 2008 - Education: The right response to child labour
• Feature for World Day Against Child Labour 2008 – When “voceadores” learn to SCREAM: Giving a voice to education instead of child labour
  10 June 2008 - Education is often seen as an empowerment right, that can lift economically and socially marginalized children and youth out of poverty. Yet in some developing countries, education remains more of a luxury than a reality for many poor children, who are forced to work instead. This year’s World Day Against Child Labour is promoting education as the right response to child labour. ...
  • World Day Against Child Labour 2008 - Education: The right response to child labour
• Feature for World Day Against Child Labour - From muddy fields to the classroom: a boy’s journey out of child labour
  09 June 2008 - The international community has taken significant steps in the eradication of child labour and the International Labour Organization has recognized that the end of the worst forms of child labour is within reach. Still, it is an uphill struggle and much remains to be done. ...