ILO - BRUSSELS
NEWSLETTER N°. 3/2006
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New charter for the maritime sector
On 23 February 2006, the ILO adopted a comprehensive new labour standard for the maritime sector at the 94th International Labour Conference
(Maritime). The new Convention clearly sets out, in plain language, a seafarers' 'bill of rights' while allowing a sufficient degree of national
discretion to deliver those rights with transparency and accountability. This Convention, which consolidates and updates 68 existing ILO maritime
Conventions and Recommendations adopted since 1920, will apply to all ships engaged in commercial activities with the exception of fishing vessels
and traditional ships. Countries that do not ratify the new Convention will remain bound by the previous Conventions that they have ratified,
although those instruments will be closed to further ratification.
The Convention sets minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship and contains provisions on conditions of employment, hours of work and rest,
accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering, health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection. To find out more
about this new Maritime Labour Convention, which will enter into force after it has been ratified by 30 ILO Member States with a total share of at least
33 % of world gross tonnage, click
here to read the ILO press release or
here to read an interview with Cleopatra
Doumbia-Henry, director of the ILO's International Labour Standards Department.
More profitable cooperatives
A European Commission communication three years ago called for the encouragement of financial participation by employees in their own companies
as a political priority within the EU Member States.
Click here to read an article about one example of a successfully
co-managed company in London which also refers to a recent ILO study on the subject. According to this study, which you can consult by clicking
here, the survival rate of worker cooperatives
and employee-owned firms in market economies appears to equal or surpass that of conventional firms. Moreover, such firms also match or even exceed
conventional firms in terms of productivity.
Click
here to find out more about the ILO's activities to support cooperatives.
The ILO is also organising a series of courses on policies associated with cooperatives at its training centre in Turin from 15-26 May 2006.
Further details are available
here.
Working and employment conditions for older workers
The debate on raising the age of retirement is currently attracting a great deal of attention in many European countries. The ILO has just
published a new study on working conditions and terms of employment for older workers in Europe which, amongst other things, covers issues such
as equality, working time and the hidden realities behind the link between work and family life. Click
here to read the study, which was based on ILO Recommendation
162 (1980), the text of which is available
here.
Towards better social dialogue in ports
From 24 to 28 July 2006, the ILO Training Centre in Turin will run a workshop aimed at boosting social dialogue in ports. The course will focus
in particular on social dialogue in the process of structural adjustments and private sector participation in ports. Further information is available
here.
Did you know?
The ILO website has a photo archive containing thousands of work-related images, part of a wide range of resources available to journalists,
the media and institutions. The photos, which are sent out by e-mail, can be used in articles or publications directly related to the ILO or its
activities. Most of the photos used in our newsletters are also sourced from this database. Click
here to find out more.
New publications
The following recent ILO publication may be of special interest to our readers:
Job and work analysis. Guidelines on identifying jobs for persons with disabilities
By Robert Heron
2006, vi+42 pp., ISBN 92-2-117864-1; €10
These guidelines analyse methods and strategies for improving and promoting job opportunities for disabled jobseekers. The publication covers
issues such as recruiting staff with disabilities, required changes in the workplace, how to ask relevant questions, how to listen attentively
and how to carefully observe the situations encountered by these workers. Click
here to order a copy.
Scheduled meetings
Please
click here for a list of ILO meetings scheduled for 2006.
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
