ILO - BRUSSELS
NEWSLETTER N°. 1/2007
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Strong global economic growth fails to generate enough jobs
The number of unemployed reached new heights in 2006, despite strong global economic growth. According to the ILO's Global Employment Trends,
released on 25 January, although the number of people working worldwide is the highest on record, the number of unemployed is also at an all-time
high of 195.2 million, equivalent to a global unemployment rate of 6.3%. The report makes another alarming finding, namely that the number of poor
workers (i.e. those living on less than 2 dollars a day) has also reached an unprecedented level (1.37 billion). This confirms the trend witnessed
in recent years of strong economic growth generating more productivity gains than job increases. The report notes that young people and women are
the categories most affected by unemployment.
The ILO stresses that the creation of decent and productive jobs (not just any job) is a prerequisite for reducing both unemployment and the
number of poor workers. This in turn is a pre-requisite for development and long-term economic growth.
Click here to read the ILO press release on the report or
here for a summary of the report (including regional statistics).
New Convention strengthens rights of people with disabilities
The ILO has welcomed the adoption by the United Nations of a new Convention on the rights of people with disabilities. ILO experts said the
Convention represents a major change in that it prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all forms of employment, and calls on
states to open up opportunities in mainstream workplaces to job seekers with disabilities in contrast to past practice, in which large numbers
worked in sheltered workshops, in conditions not covered by employment or minimum wage laws.
The UN Convention will be open for signature and ratification on 30 March 2007. It will enter into effect one month after it has been ratified
by 20 countries.
Click here to read the ILO press release on the subject or
here to view the ILO Disability Programme website.
Focus on migrants in China
The ILO has just compiled two reports on migrant workers in China. The first focuses on the tens of thousands of Chinese who have returned to
China after studying abroad. Close to a quarter of the 930,000 students who went abroad for studies between 1978 and 2005 returned and the number
of returnees is growing. Although tremendous opportunities and rewards await those who have acquired skills abroad, particularly in the field of
advanced technologies, the government's efforts to promote return migration are creating problems: preferential policies for returnees have
created bad blood between the latter and those who have never left China. To find out more,
click here to read the report.
Another ILO article relates to migrants within China and focuses on a TV series designed to encourage migrant workers to start their own businesses.
The programme is the result of a unique collaboration between Sichuan TV, the Chinese Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the ILO's Start
and Improve Your Business Programme (SIYB). While the programme is on-air, local labour offices are opening hotlines to answer questions from
migrants interested in starting their own businesses and are channelling them to the appropriate training centres.
Click here to read the article.
Database of abandonment of seafarers
The complexity of globalisation and its impact on shipping have made helping seafarers abandoned in foreign ports more pressing than ever. A
recently created ILO database on recorded incidents of abandonment of seafarers is the first step in this direction. Since January 2004, the
database has recorded 40 cases of abandonment of seafarers in ports around the world, from Algeciras to Adelaide, Portland to Piraeus. More than
500 seafarers from all over the world were owed hundreds of thousands of euros in wages when their vessels were abandoned. The information stems
from governments and other relevant organisations, including seafarers' welfare associations, trade unions and shipowners, who are invited to
send the appropriate information to the ILO.
Click here to consult the database or
here to read an ILO feature service article
on this issue.
Calendar of courses at the ILO Training Centre
The calendar of courses at the ILO International Training Centre can be viewed by
clicking here. The Turin-based Centre works to enhance the
capacity of governments, employers' organisations, workers' organisations and other social and economic actors to play an effective role in the
economic and social development of their countries and regions. This year's courses cover a wide variety of areas including analysis of labour
markets, gender mainstreaming in development activities, micro-finance, HR management in the civil service and strategies for extending social
protection. Some distance learning courses are also available.
Effective cooperatives in East Africa
Using four case studies in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, a brochure produced by the ILO, the International Co-operative Alliance and the
International Trade Union Confederation shows how informal economy workers can organise themselves and by taking collective action improve their
lives and make their voices heard. The formula originated with the ILO's SYNDICOOP project, which promotes trade unions and cooperatives as an
alternative to the informal economy and a means of fostering decent work.
Click here to view the brochure or
here to access the SYNDICOOP website.
Did you know?
The ILO has been working with indigenous and tribal peoples since the 1920s. It is responsible for the only international instruments currently
in force that deal exclusively with the rights of these peoples. ILO work in the field of indigenous and tribal peoples falls mainly into two
categories: adoption and supervision of standards; assistance to indigenous and tribal peoples and to States. Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples (1989) is the main convention in this area. It covers a range of issues pertaining to indigenous and tribal peoples, including land rights,
access to natural resources, health, education, vocational training, conditions of employment and contacts across borders.
Click here to access the part of the ILO website dealing with this issue.
New publications
The following recent ILO publications may be of special interest to our readers:
- Freedom of Association
Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee of the Governing Body of the ILO – Fifth (revised) edition
2006, xii+276 pp. ; ISBN 92-2-119031-5 ; €20
Since its establishment 55 years ago, the Freedom of Association Committee has dealt with more than 2,500 complaints of infringement of freedom
of association submitted to it either by governments or by organisations of employers or workers. Fully revised and updated, this digest brings
together these decisions and principles in a concise form for easy reference and serves as a useful guide to the policies and actions to be
adopted so as to ensure the fundamental principles of freedom of association.
Click here to order a copy.
- Shipbreaking. What can be done?
Bilingual DVD English/French
2006 ; ISBN 978-92-2-018790-6 ; €28
This DVD contains the documentary “The Shipbreakers” as well as the text of the ILO’s Safety and Health in Shipbreaking: Guidelines for Asian
Countries and Turkey. In this unique DVD the ILO takes a candid and frank look at the daily lives of those who toil in this dangerous industry.
The CNN award-winning documentary illustrates the occupational hazards and exposes the often atrocious working conditions of those who dismantle ships.
The increasing number of ships transporting goods generated by globalisation begs the question: who is responsible for scrapping vessels at
the end of their useful life? Can shipbreaking be done in a decent and humane way? The issues raised by this DVD call into question the pathway
opened up by globalisation.
Click here to order your copy.
Scheduled meetings
Please
click here for a list of scheduled ILO meetings in 2007.
Contact us
For more information on the ILO's activities, please contact the :
ILO Brussels
Rue Aimé Smekens 40
B -1030 Brussels
Belgium
Tel.: + 32 02 736 59 42
Fax: +32.02 735 48 25
E-mail: brussels@ilo.org
Website : www.ilo.org/brussels
