ILO - BRUSSELS
NEWSLETTER N°. 3/2007
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Increasing numbers of working women in poverty
A new report by the ILO shows that while more women then ever before are in work, a persistent gap in status, job security, wages and education
between women and men is contributing to the feminisation of working poverty. In 2006, the ILO estimated that 1.2 billion of the 2.9 billion workers
in the world were women. However, more women than ever before are unemployed (81.8 million), stuck in low productivity jobs in agriculture and
services or receiving less money for doing the same jobs as men. The study stresses that the poorer the region, the more likely it is that women -
to a greater extent than men - will work as unpaid contributing family members or low-income self-employed workers. The step up to salaried
employment, though, is a major step towards freedom and self-determination for many women. This ILO study, "Global Employment Trends for Women
Brief - 2007", is available
here, and a press release on this topic is available
here.
Flexicurity as a means of tackling unemployment
Last month we presented to you a new ILO study ("Flexicurity. A relevant approach in Central and Eastern Europe") that showed that while economic
growth has accelerated in Central and South-Eastern Europe since 2000, it has not adequately translated into employment creation.
This study shows that, paradoxically, the positive economic trend also coincided with a relative worsening of youth unemployment and decreasing
protection at the workplace in this region. It argues that an approach combining flexibility and security is the most relevant for the region and
suggests appropriate reforms of economic, labour market and social policies. An interview with the co-authors of the book, available
here, highlights the key findings of this study and the
strategies proposed for improvement. You can also order a copy of the study by clicking
here.
Getting young people more involved in youth employment policies
There are more than 1 billion young people aged 15 24 in the world today, and 85% of them live in developing countries. While for some,
globalisation and technological change will offer new opportunities for work with a decent income, many young people across the world face
very bleak employment prospects: 44% of the world's unemployed are aged between 18 and 24. Increasingly, governments are trying to improve
job prospects for the next generation, but they are failing to get young people closely involved in drawing up these policies, thereby
undermining their effectiveness. A guide produced by the ILO's Youth Employment Network puts forward some strategies to promote the involvement
of young people in employment policies concerning them. The final version of this guide is not yet ready, but a preliminary version is available
on the ILO site (
click here).
How are wages fixed in the informal economy?
There is little information on wage fixing in the informal economy. It is often assumed that informal wages are fixed according to the law
of the demand and supply of labour. However, an ILO research study carried out in Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa shows that wage
fixing in the informal economy is a much more complex and elaborate process than that. Reference to the minimum wage in force in the country
is common, in particular if this wage is easily calculated and familiar to everyone. This research study, available
here, shows that labour laws can, to a certain extent, reach
the informal economy, provided that they are formulated in a simple and realistic way and adapted to the social and economic realities of countries.
An increased role for the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Europe
Ministers of Health from the European Union and 16 non-EU countries meeting in Bremen on 11 and 12 March decided to step up the fight against
HIV/AIDS. The ILO welcomed this declaration, saying it contains provisions that give greater recognition to the role of the workplace in the
fight against the pandemic. The new Declaration commits the ministers to new initiatives for fighting AIDS in the European context, including
discrimination and the protection of rights, confidentiality and the reintegration in the labour market of HIV-positive workers on antiretroviral
treatment. There is an urgent need for action: according to UNAIDS, an estimated 270,000 people in Europe were newly infected with HIV in 2006,
bringing to 1.7 million the number of people living with HIV - a twentyfold increase in less than a decade.
The ILO's presentation to the Bremen Conference showed how its work is based on the Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, the value
of which was explicitly recognised in the Declaration. This code is available
here. Also of note is the publication by the ILO
of an interview with Dr Sophia Kisting, Director of the ILO Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, about HIV/AIDS in Europe and the role
played by the ILO in the fight against this pandemic across Europe. This interview is available
here.
New publications
The following recent ILO publications may be of special interest to our readers:
Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy
(Fourth edition)
2006; vi+26 pp.; ISBN 978-92-2-219010-2; €7
The activities of multinational enterprises (MNEs) resulted in efforts to draw up international instruments for regulating their conduct and
defining the terms of their relations with host countries. That was the situation in 1977, the year that saw the adoption by the ILO Governing
Body of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration). The principles laid
down in this universal instrument offer guidelines to MNEs, governments, and employers’ and workers’ organisations in such areas as employment,
training, working and living conditions and industrial relations. The fourth edition of the MNE Declaration was adopted by the Governing Body
in March 2006. The purpose of this new update of the MNE Declaration was to include references to relevant ILO instruments that have been adopted
since the last update in 2000. Please click
here to order this new edition.
Working for better times: Rethinking work for the 21st century
Edited by Jean-Michel Servais, Patrick Bollé, Mark Lansky and Christine L. Smith
2006; xii+785 pp.; ISBN 978-92-2-217956-5; €42
To most people, work is the mainstay of livelihood, social integration and identity. But the 21st century meaning of “work” can no longer be
taken for granted. As patterns of work continue to shift in response to the demands of production and trade in the global economy, major challenges
have indeed arisen – not only in the lives of individual workers, but also for employers exposed to global competition, and for the makers of
national and international policy and law. At the heart of the debate lies the challenge of reframing the concepts and rules whereby people’s
socio-economic security and the human dimensions of work can be reconciled with the global market’s growing need for competitive labour flexibility.
This volume offers unique insights into current thinking and policy options on these issues. You can order your copy (in French, with the title
"Travail et temps au XXIe siècle") by
clicking here.
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
