Press releases

September 2008 

• Landmark new report says emerging green economy could create tens of millions of new “Green Jobs”
  24 September 2008 - A new, landmark study on the impact of an emerging global “green economy” on the world of work says efforts to tackle climate change could result in the creation of millions of new “green jobs” in the coming decades.
• Media advisory - Study by ILO, UNEP and workers and employers says tackling climate change could create millions of new jobs
  19 September 2008 - Early global efforts to avert dangerous climate change are already generating new jobs, and could produce millions of new employment opportunities, according to a new study to be launched globally by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE).
• ILO expresses concern over sentencing of Myanmar labour activist
  19 September 2008 - The International Labour Office (ILO) is concerned and disappointed at the recent sentencing to two years hard labour of U Thet Way, a Burmese (Myanmar) labour activist.
• Media advisory - ILO to consider new guidelines on ship inspection under 2006 Maritime Labour Convention
  15 September 2008 - More than 300 senior representatives of seafarers and shipowners, along with governments, are to meet here 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.
• ILO Director-General calls for increased policy coherence to achieve social justice for a fair globalization
  05 September 2008 - Warning of a backlash against “unbalanced, unfair and unsustainable” globalization, the International Labour Organization Director-General Juan Somavia called for “increased policy coherence in support of social justice for a fair globalization”.

August 2008 

• Breaking gender barriers for young women and men
  11 August 2008 - Despite efforts by the international community, gender stereotyping and employment barriers continue to affect millions of young women and men around the world, said the International Labour Organization today on the occasion of International Youth Day.

July 2008 

• ILO to emphasize workplace role in HIV prevention at international AIDS Conference in Mexico
  31 July 2008 - The International Labour Organization (ILO) is to host a series of events at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, which opens this Sunday, designed to illustrate the growing importance of the workplace in responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

June 2008 

• World Summit on Safety and Health - ILO welcomes new Declaration on promotion of safer workplaces
  29 June 2008 - The International Labour Organization welcomed the Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work adopted in Seoul by some 50 high-level decision makers from around the world as a major new blueprint for constructing a global culture of safety and health at work.
• ILO Governing Body elects new Chairperson ─ Committee on Freedom of Association cites Guatemala, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Iran, and Venezuela
  13 June 2008 - The Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) elected H.E. Mr. Zdzislaw Rapacki, Ambassador of Poland to the Conference on Disarmament and Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations Office in Geneva as Chairperson for its 2008-09 Session.
• 97th International Labour Conference concludes its work ─ Delegates highlight new ways to promote the ILO’s Decent work Agenda
  13 June 2008 - The 97th annual Conference of the International Labour Organization concluded its work here today after adopting a landmark Declaration designed to strengthen the promotion of Decent Work and develop new ways of responding to the growing challenges of globalization.
• ILO adopts landmark Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization
  12 June 2008 - Amid widespread uncertainty in the world of work, ranging from financial turmoil and economic downturn to growing unemployment, informality and insufficient social protection, the governments, workers and employers of the International Labour Organization have adopted a landmark Declaration designed to strengthen the ILO’s capacity to promote its Decent Work Agenda and forge an effective response ...
• World Day Against Child Labour 2008 ─ ILO says education is the “right response” to child labour
  11 June 2008 - Citing data indicating that many of the estimated 75 million children lacking primary schooling start working at an early age, the International Labour Office (ILO) said today that education was critical to breaking the cycle of child labour and poverty as well as eradicating child labour in its worst forms by 2016.
• Prime Minister of Lesotho highlights economic growth, productivity, in alleviating global food crisis
  11 June 2008 - The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Pakalitha B. Mosisili today addressed the International Labour Organization’s annual conference here and highlighted the role of sustained economic growth and agricultural productivity in alleviating the global food crisis.
• “Poverty is a universal shame”, President of Panama tells ILO delegates ─ Panama Canal is built with respect for decent work and labour rights
  10 June 2008 - The President of Panama, Martín Torrijos, today told the annual conference of the ILO that work to expand the Panama Canal will be carried out with respect for decent work and labour rights, and profits from the Canal will be used to combat poverty, which he described as “a universal shame” requiring firm political decisions.
• “Bahia Agenda” for decent work presented at ILO annual conference ─ Governor Wagner calls for “inclusion through decent work”
  10 June 2008 - The Governor of the Brazilian State of Bahia Jacques Wagner today presented the world’s first state-level Decent Work initiative at the annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) here. The plan was created with support from employers and workers and is considered an innovative model to generate more and better jobs.
• ILO Director-General calls for urgent measures to address a “globalization without social justice”
  09 June 2008 - Citing growing global imbalances in wages, jobs and productivity, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization said today counter measures were urgently needed to head off what he called a “globalization without social justice”.
• Media advisory for World Day Against Child Labour, June 12 2008 – Education: the right response to child labour
  06 June 2008 - World Day Against Child Labour will this year be marked by thousands of events in scores of countries around the world on 12 June with a focus on the need to improve access of children to education as the right response to child labour.
• ILO launches year-long campaign “Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work”
  05 June 2008 - The International Labour Organization is launching a one-year global campaign to highlight the central role of gender equality in its Decent Work Agenda and in the work of its constituents – governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations.
• International Labour Conference elects new members of ILO Governing Body
  04 June 2008 - The International Labour Conference of the ILO elected new members of the Governing Body on 2 June.
• ILO Decent Work Research Prize shared by Nobel laureate and leading Canadian labour researcher
  04 June 2008 - The International Labour Organization (ILO) today announced the ILO Decent Work Research Prize 2008 will be awarded to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and leading Canadian labour researcher Harry Arthurs.