"Trade union rights are human rights".
A monthly newsletter produced by the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities
No. 4/01
October 9, 2001
Contents
ACTRAV Symposium shows union convergence on globalization issues
ILO expresses shock and revulsion at US tragedy
Global employment forum
More than 200 trade unionists killed last year says ICFTU
Fifty years of vigilance on Freedom of Association
Bucharest hosts world trade union congress
ICFTU calls for Global Day of Action
Managing disability at the workplace
Forest industry takes lead in sustainable development practices
Promoting sustainable tourism in the Caribbean
Implementing the ILO Declaration in Africa
Protecting workers in the non-ferrous metal industries
Organizing workers in the informal economy
Role of unions stressed at joint ACTRAV/ Education international seminar
In Brief......
ACTRAV Symposium shows union convergence on globalization issues
How do we reconcile badly needed adjustment in economic policies with the equally vital need to ensure that the gains of globalization are shared evenly between countries and within countries? This is not an academic question. Adjustment will fail if it is not built on social consensus and is not seen as delivering improved living and working conditions for all. This was the clear message sent to the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organization by trade unionists from some 50 countries who took part, on September 24-28, in Geneva, in the ILO/ACTRAV Symposium on «Strengthening Workers’ Participation in the United Nations System and Impact on the Bretton Woods Institutions».
The Symposium gave a unique opportunity for dialogue between the world of labour and representatives of the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Amidst calls for greater openness and transparency, international financial institutions have gradually become more receptive to dialogue with global trade unions. Although some of the staff members of these institutions are still relectant to talk to trade union leaders.A discussion paper prepared for the symposium argues that their policies still fail to address the negative consequences of globalization on workers around the world.
The document entitled "Trade unions and the global economy: an unfinished story”, points to a number of instances where IFIs policies run contrary to ILO core Conventions, namely on the right to bargain collectively, and to universally-accepted provisions for social protection.
While union representatives attending the Symposium recognized that globalization could provide for growth, development and improved social justice, they expressed deep frustration at the lack of attention being paid to key social issues. Rather than improve workers livelihoods globalization has led so far to increased inequalities, a deepening of poverty and continued abuses of basic workers’ rights.
Among the specific criticisms levelled by trade unionists at the Symposium were a general lack of genuine consultations with the labour movement, conditionalities imposed by the IFIs which hurt development and run contrary to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, attempts to scale back labour codes, slowness and inadequacy of poverty reduction programmes, a general misconception about core labour standards, the inadequacy of WTO rules for developing countries and concerns over the fate of public services such as Education and Health under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
Representatives from the IFIs acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past and that civil society had long been left aside in adjustment programmes. However, the lessons of the Asian crisis has led both institutions to embark on reforms which included greater openness and insistence on country-owned programmes.
In this respect, trade unionists pointed to discrepancies between what governments say and commit themselves to do in the framework of the ILO and what they decide in other fora.
WTO Director General, Mike Moore, and other senior representatives of the WTO secretariat addressed the Symposium and answered questions from union delegates about making the WTO work for workers and about the possibility of labour input in the organisation. Delegates also raised questions about the availability of AIDS drugs under the Trade Related Intellectual Property Agreements (TRIPs).
Speaking at the Symposium, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO said that the failure of neoliberal policies had left an intellectual vacuum in the direction of global economic policy. «We have to occupy this vacuum. We need to change the policy and to change the policy we need dialogue», he said. Mr Somavia was referring to setting-up the World Commission on the social dimensions of globalization which will be discussed at this November’s meeting of the ILO’s Governing Body. The Commission would provide a forum for gathering all institutions involved in the globalization process.
Strengthening the role and authority of the ILO was among the priorities listed by participants in their work to give globalization a human face. Action at the national level, forging alliances with NGOs sharing union concerns and objectives and strengthening the trade union movement capacity to influence and take part in discussions over the future of global economy, were also identified as ways of improving participation.
Announcing a deeper and more focussed approach by ACTRAV in the field of education and research on globalization issues, Manuel Simón Velasco, ACTRAV Director, said that the Symposium had helped unionists to forge a strategy to confront the worst excesses of globalization and to ensure that respect for basic workers’ rights was anchored in the globalization process.
ILO expresses shock and revulsion at US tragedy
The ILO expressed shock and revulsion at the terrorist attacks that killed thousands of people in America on September 11. «The terrorist outrages perpetrated on 11 September targeted people at work», says a statement by ILO Director-General co-signed by the Chairman of the ILO Governing Body, Alain Ludovic Tou, the Workers’ Vice-Chairman, Lord Bill Brett, and the Employers’ Vice-Chairman, Daniel Funes de Rioja. «Beyond the economic fallout, fear now grips many innocent people throughout the world. Terrorism is a threat to governments, workers and employers everywhere. We need to reflect with open minds and open hearts on how the Organization can best address the multiple implications of these major events», the statement continued.
In a separate letter addressed to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, the ILO Director General said that “It is in these moments of profound sorrow that the core values of humanity and democracy that the trade union movement shares with the International Labour Organization are put to the test. Our combined efforts are needed to ensure that they prevail. My thoughts are with you as you mourn the loss of so many loved ones”. Expressing condolences to the AFL-CIO, Bill Brett, chairperson of the Workers’ Group denounced the “cowardly attacks” on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and other places.
"Our hearts go out to the many working people who lost their lives and loved ones at the work place, those in the public services who in trying to render service, also perished or were injured”, said Manuel Simón, Director of the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities in his letter to John Sweeney. He added: “It is primarily through our mutual understanding and solidarity that we in the workers’ movement and in the wider international arena can try to promote the basic tenets of democracy. We in the ILO, especially our colleagues in the Bureau for Workers’ Activities, and others working on behalf of workers throughout the world, share your pain and sorrow."
The ILO Staff Union organized a collection enabling ILO staff to contribute to the relief funds put up by the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions. International trade union organizations all sent messages of support to the AFL-CIO and American workers and hundreds of national centres did the same. There was also concerns that the tragedy should not lead to acts of racism and xenophobia and that military action only could not defeat terrorism. According to trade union statements, political, economic and social solutions are urgently needed to remove the causes of conflict, misery and despair in which terror can take roots although never find justification.
Global Employment Forum
As part of the new multilateral drive for an approach to employment capable of creating decent work for all, the ILO will be hosting a Global Employment Forum in Geneva on November 1-3. Bringing together key players from international institutions, government, business, trade unions and civil society, the forum will offer participants a unique chance to help shape the global employment agenda. Trade unionists taking part in the Forum will voice concerns over the so far negative consequences of globalization on employment and table proposals to secure a globalization with social dimensions, including an employment-creation approach.
The Forum's objectives are to:
- Place decent employment at the centre of economic and social policy, nationally and globally
- Identify policy options at national, regional and international levels to realize the potential of the 500 million additional members of the global labour force over the next decade
- Review and discuss examples of policies and programmes which have proven effective in stimulating decent job creation
- Build a platform for strategic alliances between the ILO and other UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions to ensure an integrated approach to employment issues in policy advice globally and nationally.
More than 200 trade unionists killed last year says ICFTU
A total of 209 trade unionists were killed or “disappeared” during the year 2000 according to a report published on October 9 by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). The ICFTU «Annual Survey on violations of trade union rights» adds that about 8,500 union activists were arrested during the same period of time, 3,000 were injured, 20,000 were dismissed and over 100,000 harassed because of their trade union activities.
According to the Survey, which this year covers a record 140 countries, the trade union rights situation «is the most disturbing in: Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, China, South Korea, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Belarus and the Gulf States».
Colombia is «still the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists», says the ICFTU. In 2000, 153 trade unionists were reportedly assassinated or disappeared, showing an increase of more than 100% on 1999. «Trade unionists are regularly the target of attacks not only by paramilitaries and guerillas, but also by the authorities and employers. The State has not mobilised the resources needed to implement effective protection programmes,» explains the ICFTU.
While violence is reported all over Latin America, Asia has also resgistered a record number of abuses, according to the ICFTU report. Asia accounts for 71% of arrests and 87% of cases of harassment of trade unionists throughout the world.
In nearly 60% of African countries examined in the Survey, workers were dismissed for their trade union activities. In one African country in two trade unionists have been arrested.
The annual Survey points to 108 countries where there are legal obstacles to the establishment of a trade union. «While trade union repression in the developing countries is more violent, employers in the industrialised countries also try to undermine unions», deplores the ICFTU. Australia, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States are cited for anti-union attacks.
The full text of the ICFTU Survey is available on the Internet:http://www.icftu.org/survey2001.asp?Language=EN
Fifty years of vigilance on Freedom of Association
The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, created in November 1951, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. “If it did not exist, it would have to be invented” stresses Bill Brett, chair of the ILO workers’ group in an article to appear in the next issue of Labour Education, ACTRAV’s quarterly publication. The ILO control mechanisms, of which the Committee on Freedom of Association is a key (it can examine compliance with the principles of freedom of association, regardless of whether or not a country has ratified the relevant Conventions), have undoubtedly proved to be vital for workers’ rights. “Their contribution to the restoration of democracy in such countries as Chile, Indonesia, Nigeria Poland, Portugal, South Africa and Spain is only the most visible part of an extraordinary record of achieving tangible progress in the pursuit of the ILO objectives”, Brett adds.
“In parallel to its essential function of endeavouring to shed light on the facts and to propose solutions for the cases brought before it, the Committee, in examining the roughly 2,100 cases that have been submitted to it, has given rise to a substantial body of decisions showing how the principles of freedom of association should be applied in various circumstances”, says Bernard Gernigon, Chief of the ILO Freedom of Association Branch. Gernigon underlines that “amongst the fundamental freedoms and human rights that concern the ILO, freedom of association is unique in that given the tripartite nature of the Organization, it is an essential prerequisite for its proper functioning”.
The Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Union Rights which has just been published by the ICFTU testifies to the need to remain vigilant on freedom of association. In coordination with ACTRAV, the ICFTU’s regional organisation for the Americas (Orit) will be holding a special conference on the Committee’s 50th anniversary to take place on December 10-11, coinciding with International Human Rights’ Day.
Bucharest hosts world trade union congress
The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) will hold its 25th World Congress in Bucharest on October 19-28. This is the first WCL Congress to be held in Eastern Europe. «This is an opportunity to hail the emergence of independent and pluralistic trade unionism in this region», says the WCL.
The Congress main theme is «Build a World in Solidarity: The Workers’ Movement in the 21st Century». Behind this motto, the WCL wants to discuss how trade unions can keep or regain their role as key actors in an economic context which tends to marginalize workers’ organisations. This may lead, says the WCL, to sensitive questions of adapting the workers’ movement to today’s needs as well as to transform the process of globalization which has badly affected workers worldwide.
One of the proposals tabled at the Congress will be the setting-up of a world economic and social security council capable of drawing a line between conflicting international standards such as those from the ILO and the WTO. The Congress will also renew the leadership of the WCL.
ICFTU calls for Global Day of Action
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, the ICFTU has announced that preparations for its Global Unions Day of Action on November 9 will go ahead. On and around November 9, unions and their members will be calling for a "new globalization" at work-places throughout the world. The day is set to coincide with the first day of the 4th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be held in Qatar.
Mike Moore, the Director-General of the WTO, said that the organisation still plans to hold the ministerial meeting set for Doha despite the terrorist attacks in the United States.
In a statement issued in Brussels, Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the ICFTU said that "At a time when democracy and open society are under such brutal attack, we need to strengthen democracy and global governance. We must recommit ourselves to building a world where democracy and rights prevail. The Day of Action will not only be a time for protest, but also a time for reflection and discussion. The wave of strong reactions to the recent events we have received from trade unions around the world will serve to strengthen the sense of a global trade union community and solidarity as we put forward the central demands of the Day of Action."
Managing disability at the workplace
The International Labour Office (ILO) and its InFocus Programme on Skills, Knowledge and Employability (IFP/SKILLS) have organized a Tripartite Meeting of Experts, 3-12 October 2001, to finalize and adopt the Code of Practice on the Management of Disability at the Workplace. Unemployment among the world's 386 million disabled people of working age is far higher than for other working age individuals, with rates of up to 80 per cent reported in some countries. "Many people with disabilities can and want to work, yet they are frequently excluded", said IFP/SKILLS Director Pekka Aro. "As a result, many disabled people live in poverty and their potential contribution is lost - to their families, to employers and to society as a whole." Reasons for high unemployment among people with disabilities include: lack of access to education or training in employable skills, assumptions by employers that people with disabilities are unable to work; unavailable support services and lack of supportive legislation and policies.
The ILO Code of Practice looks at practices which will effectively enable people with disabilities to integrate into the workplace. It is designed to provide guidance in the management of disability issues which may arise in recruitment, employment, advancement, job retention and return to work for people with disabilities. It targets private and public sector employers in countries which have already developed policies for the management of disability issues in the workplace and those which are formulating policy in this field for the first time. It will also be of relevance to workers' and workers' organizations, in their role as advocates and to governments as shapers of legislation and policy, and as providers of employment-related services.
The Code draws on the 'social model' of disability which focuses on constraints faced by people with disabilities, arising from social political, economic and cultural factors. Key points underlying the Code are that, with the right skills, in the right job, with supports if required, people with disabilities are capable and reliable employees, an asset to their employers; and that managing disability issues in the workplace can be in the business interest of employers, leading to savings in terms of time lost, insurance and health care payments and cost of recruiting and retraining replacement staff.
Forest industry takes lead in sustainable development practices
Failure to address the challenges of globalization and sustain the forestry and wood industry sectors could lead to elimination of more than 5 percent of the global workforce in this area, estimated at some 47 million, says a new report by the ILO. Among the factors threatening jobs in the sector are restrictions on forest harvesting, the effects of mergers and acquisitions, structural changes and lack of resources in the forestry, wood, furniture and paper industries.
The report was discussed at a tripartite meeting in Geneva last month. Workers’ representatives at the meeting promoted the concept of sustainable development based on economic, ecological as well as social concerns. « A sound and sustainable industrial development must include these three elements and participation of trade unions in decision making» said a statement published at the end of the meeting by the Geneva-based International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW).
The forest industry has pioneered a series of tools to put the concept of sustainability into industry practice. These include new approaches to managing forests for the interests of industry as well as of local communities and the general public. Independent certification of such good management has been expanding rapidly in recent years, jointly supported by buyers of forest products, environmental NGOs, trade unions and industry. The meeting recognized that as a minimum social coverage certification should include the relevant ILO Conventions and take account of the ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forestry Work.
Contract and casual labour is on the rise in many countries and is often accompanied by decline in working conditions. The tripartite meeting agreed that contractors, subcontractors and their employees should be entitled to the benefits of the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work and this also included reference to the importance of training for these workers especially in occupational health and safety and skills development.
The ILO was requested to promote the process of social dialogue in the industry as well as voluntary agreements which conform to ILO standards. The Organization was also invited to convene another sectoral meeting as early as possible which should deal with sustainable development social dialogue.
The forestry and wood industries are most important in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, Ghana, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, South Africa and the United States. The ILO report says forestry and wood employment levels in Britain, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand, for example, fell by over 10 per cent between 1990 and 1998. Likewise, countries in transition have been losing forest industry jobs and may face more losses as restructuring continues. Production and exports in the Russian Federation have slumped to levels around those of the 1940s and more than a million jobs were lost between 1990 and 1999 in that country. Restrictions on forest harvesting introduced in China alone will affect more than 1.2 million forest workers of which some 900,000 will lose their jobs. the report says. Closures of plywood mills in Indonesia due to raw material shortages so far have cost more than 40,000 jobs. In the United States, trade unions worry that a ban on road building in public forests will cost up to 12,000 jobs.
Promoting sustainable tourism in the Caribbean
The participation of social partners in all regional and national bodies involved in sustainable tourism, the strengthening of Labour ministries to implement and enforce health and safety regulations relating to tourism and the promotion of key ILO standards and the concept of Decent Work in that industry, were among the key recommendations made last month (September 2001) at an ILO-sub regional seminar on the promotion of sustainable tourism in the Caribbean.
At present, tourism accounts for approximately 25 per cent of total employment in the Anglophone Caribbean and is expected to generate 21.3 per cent of total exports in the region as a whole. Travel and tourism contribute up to 6% of the region’s GDP. Yet, participants at the seminar noted that the resource base upon which this economic activity is founded remains «fragile» and stressed that the environmental attraction need to be managed sustainably. Increased pollution, coastal zone degradation, freshwater shortages and loss of bio-diversity were all threatening the nature of the industry as a result of mass tourism and an unsustainable approach. Increases in crime, in the use of drugs and the spreading of HIV-AIDS were also identified as problems directly linked to the tourism expansion together with a deterioration of working conditions as industry tries to keep pace with the demands at peak times of the year.
The seminar which was opened by Leroy Trotman (Barbados), worker member of the ILO Governing Body called for a coordinated, strategic response for the promotion of sustainable development. Michael Sebastian, Deputy Director, represented the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities.
Implementing the ILO Declaration in Africa
More than seventy participants from all over Africa, drawn from trade unions, and employers’ organisations, government, International Trade Secretariats, friendly organisations from Europe and representatives of intergovernmental organisations including the ILO took part in a three day conference on the implementation of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The conference held in Nairobi last month was organised by ICFTU-AFRO and hosted by COTU Kenya. It started with a minute of silence in remembrance of the thousands of innocent people, including trade union members, who died in the brutal terrorist attacks in the USA.
"The ICFTU-AFRO takes the view that workers rights be linked to trade agreements and the process should be open, fair, multilateral and give time for problems to be resolved amicably by discussions and negotiations. The WTO and ILO should cooperate closely in the implementation of international workers’ rights", ICFTU-AFRO General Secretary Andrew Kailembo told the conference. In his remarks, Ali Ibrahim, Director of the ILO area office in Dar es Salaam, underlined the efforts being made by his office to implement the declaration. Addressing the Conference, Dan Cunniah, Secretary of the ILO Workers group, insisted on the importance of the follow-up of the ILO Declaration and its complementarity to the existing supervisory mechanisms put in place by the ILO to secure respect for Conventions.
Protecting workers in the non-ferrous metal industries
Protecting workers from occupational safety and health hazards, preventing or reducing the incidence and severity of illnesses and injury and promoting consultations and cooperation between governments, and employers and workers’ organizations are the key objectives of a new Code of practice on safety and health in the production of non-ferrous metals. The code was adopted at a meeting of Experts on Safety and Health representing governments, employers and trade union specialists in those industries.
While it is not aimed at replacing national laws or regulations or accepted international standards, the Code provides practical guidance on the role and obligations of the competent authorities and the responsibilities, duties and rights of employers, workers and all parties involved, with regard to workplace hazards. It is mainly designed as a basis for prevention and protective measures. The work of the workers' group at the meeting was co-ordinated by representatives from the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF).
The non-ferrous metals sector is diverse and is growing quickly. It has its own occupational safety and health issues. Increasingly sophisticated products are being produced using an array of chemicals and treatment processes in the smelting, refining and finishing stages. Recycling, including the separation of complex compound materials, is growing in importance for economic, environmental and sustainable development reasons.
Organizing workers in the informal economy
Analysis of trade union and cooperative action in the informal economy shows many examples of useful, innovative, at times inspiring projects which meet the needs and aspirations of workers in the informal economy by strengthening their own capacity to organize and associate together. A new publication by the ILO Cooperative Branch examines trade union-cooperative strategies for organizing workers in the informal economy.
Entitled “Organizing workers in the informal sector: a strategy for trade union - cooperative action”, the book looks at the problems and need of workers in the informal economy as well as responses to those by both the trade union movement and the cooperatives. It then looks at joint approaches at local, national and international levels.
Facing the dilemma of either promoting the informal economy as provider of employment and income or seeking to extend regulation and social protection to it, the document argues that “we can pursue both objectives simultaneously, by drawing on the strengths of both the trade union and cooperative movements, promoting associations in the informal economy that have the features of both cooperative and trade union and that promote both social protection and income growth.
The publication bases its findings, amongst other, on discussions that took place in Geneva during an International Symposium on Trade Unions in the Informal Sector which was organized by the ILO Bureau for workers’ activities in 1999. Reference is also made to the proposed recommendation on the promotion of cooperatives which will be tabled to next year’s International Labour Conference, following a first discussion held in June this year. Copies of the publications are available on request, please contact ACTRAV.
Role of unions stressed at joint ACTRAV/ Education international seminar
Senior representatives from Education International, the world’s largest international federation for teachers and workers in education, took part in a seminar organized jointly with the ILO Bureau for workers’ activities in Geneva on September 10-14. The purpose of the seminar was to provide EI field staff with detailed information on the ILO standards setting activities and control mechanisms. Particular attention was devoted to the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work and its follow-up and ways of promoting ratification of the 8 core Conventions and, above all, their practical implementation.
EI believes that the implementation of the core conventions and the promotion of the Declaration be a priority in its work. In many parts of the world, education personnel are still denied the provisions of the ILO Conventions contained in the Declaration. Special attention has to be given to this sector largely staffed by Women. Moreover, it is hoped that through the education sector, society at large becomes aware of the contents and implications of the Declaration via school curricula."
Representatives from ACTRAV and from the Declaration department also insisted representatives insisted on trade unions’ involvement in the Follow-up to the Declaration in particular their contribution to the reports that have to be submitted each year by governments from countries were the said Conventions have not been ratified. The input by workers’ organisations was described as vital in order to ensure that the ILO can fully assess the situation in the various countries and where relevant to identify problems and abuses.
In Brief......
- The ICFTU’s regional organization for the Americas (ORIT) and the WCL’s Latin American Workers centre (CLAT) have agreed to initiate a process of unity of action to defend and promote respect for human rights and core labour standards, defend jobs, decent work, fair wages and social protection of workers in the continent. The move, which lays the ground for the setting up of a joint coordinating body between the two organizations, was announced in Santa Fe de Bogota where leaders of the two organizations were attending a world trade union solidarity summit with the Colombian trade union movement, last month (September 2001). The joint statement issued at the end of this ORIT/CLAT meeting also makes proposal for a joint plan of action by the two organizations with regard to integration processes unfolding in the region.
- The world has moved at a record pace in ratifying the international convention that calls for immediate action to outlaw the worst forms of child labour. Estonia has become the latest member State to ratify its Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, bringing the number of ratifications for the international treaty banning the most abusive, exploitative forms of child labour to 100. The ILO has 175 member States. ILO Convention No. 182 was unanimously adopted two years ago by the International Labour Conference, on 17 June 1999. It first came into force on 19 November 2000 - one year after gaining ratifications from two Member States. Check list of ratifying countries.
- An OATUU/ILO High Level Seminar on «promotion of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS will take place on October 6-7 in Algiers. ACTRAV representative Abdoulaye Diallo will speak on the role trade union organization in promoting the Code as well as on initiatives aimed at fighting the pandemic from the work place. The ILO Code of Practice adopted this year provides workers, employers and governments with new global guidelines - based on international labour standards - for addressing HIV/AIDS and its impact at the enterprise, community and national levels where most infections occur.
- Reports from ACTRAV representatives in Central Africa indicate that 5 out of 11 countries in that region have now ratified the 8 core Conventions referred to in the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work. ILO/ACTRAV efforts will now concentrate on promoting Conventions 138 and 182 (child labour) in those countries that have not yet ratified the instrument.
- A French Association for the International Labour Organisation has been formed. It will hold its first meeting in Paris on October 19, dealing with the relevance and efficiency of international labour standards. The Association is chaired by Jean-Jacques Oechslin, a former member of the ILO Governing Body
- World of Work, the magazine of the ILO, is organizing a survey to know its readership better and update its mailing lists. A questionnaire has been included in its August issue which we strongly suggest readers should respond to enabling the editorial team to be able to adapt contents according to the demands of those using the publication in their day-to-day work. The Survey as well as samples of the magazine will soon be accessible on-line on the Communication Department website: http://www.ilo.org/communication
