ILO - BRUSSELS
NEWSLETTER N°. 11/2006
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ILO advocates an ambitious programme to strengthen labour inspection worldwide
On 17 November, the ILO's Governing Body finished its work (a press release summing up the key points is published
here). Its main proposal entailed taking a fresh set of measures designed
to modernise, step up and reinvigorate labour inspection throughout the world. These include tripartite audits of labour inspections to help
governments identify and remedy the weak points of inspections, draw up appropriate codes of ethics and good practice, compile information dossiers
on labour inspection, devise systems for managing health and safety in the workplace and also suitable training programmes for inspectors. For a
full list of these measures,
click here.
In addition, for the first time, the ILO defined reasonable indicators for the number of labour inspectors, based on the size of the workforce:
1 inspector per 10,000 workers in industrialised countries with a market economy, 1 per 20,000 in transition economies, and 1 per 40,000 in less
developed countries. However, according to an ILO report available by
clicking here, in many countries the reality is still far
removed from the indicators recommended by ILO. For example, in a country like Bangladesh, there is currently 1 inspector per 3,200,000 workers.
Click here to read the ILO press release on the new measures recommended to
strengthen labour inspection worldwide, or
here to read a report on the topic.
4,000 Turkish children escape the worst forms of child labour
More than 4,000 children and adolescents from three provinces in Turkey have escaped the worst forms of labour over the past two years thanks
to a labour inspection campaign launched by ILO via its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). The programme has
enabled the establishment of a reliable worldwide watchdog and reporting mechanism as well as the creation of software to record the scope and
type of child labour and the extent of children's schooling. Working minors attended school, whereas older youngsters were sent to continuing
and vocational training centres. The families of these children were also monitored and helped by being given vocational training, advice and
remunerative employment. To read a detailed feature on this project,
click here.
14.8% rise in the number of unemployed young people
According to a new ILO report, the number of jobless young people aged between 15 and 24 has risen over the past decade, whereas hundreds
of millions of other young people with jobs are continuing to live in misery. The report, which you can consult by
clicking here, indicates that between 1995 and 2005 the number of young
unemployed rose from 74 to 85 million, an increase of 14.8%, and that more than 300 million young people in work, roughly a quarter of the world's
youth, are living below the poverty line of US$2 a day. The report estimates that at least 400 million decent, productive jobs - i.e. new, better
quality jobs - are needed to enable youngsters to exploit their productive potential to the full.
Click here to read the ILO press release issued to coincide with the
report's publication. Another publication worth noting is the new ILO study on the obstacles and incentives to young people worldwide to set
up companies, which can be accessed by
clicking here.
The ILO welcomes the creation of a new international trade union confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) was established in Vienna on 1 November by trade unions affiliated to the now dissolved
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and World Confederation of Labour (WCL),
plus a number of other national trade unions. The new confederation, which represents 307 unions in 154 countries and has 168 million individual
members, was formed to give workers around the world a stronger voice to meet the challenges posed by globalisation. Its Constitution and programme
pledge full support for the ILO and its mission of promoting decent jobs for all and fair globalisation. The main goals set out in the ITUC Constitution
include strengthening the role of the ILO and ensuring the universal application of international labour standards. The ILO's Governing Body
has officially conferred general advisory status upon ITUC.
Click here to read the ILO press release on the creation of ITUC, or
here to read the speech given by ILO Director-General Juan
Somavia at the ITUC's founding conference.
Better labour organisation can prevent violence
The ILO's World of Work magazine recently published an article on workplace violence and how to put a stop to it. Available by
clicking here, the article is based on the third edition of
the ILO's study entitled Violence at Work (see our previous newsletter). According to the authors of the study, workplace violence is far
from sporadic, unmotivated and unpredictable. On the contrary, it is a highly complex phenomenon that is intimately linked with economic,
organisational and social characteristics of the culture of labour. The study shows that the problem's main causes lie in work organisation
and the atmosphere in the workplace, which are also the key to its solution. The problem can only be detected and solutions put in place if
workers and their representatives are involved. The article published in World of Work also identifies the professions at risk and estimates
the cost of workplace violence.
Using microfinance to smash poverty
During work done in the field, the ILO has found microfinance to be a precious instrument for combating poverty and helping to eliminate child
labour and debt bondage. The strategy entails offering financial services like savings and loans, insurance and the management of funds'
repatriation to low-income groups, to give them the means to create their own company, whilst at the same time benefiting from advice and
financial security. Whereas the ILO does not primarily set out to distribute funds awarded for microfinance projects, its know-how and relations
with social partners make it better placed than any other organisation to seek out funding possibilities.
To read a report on microfinance published in the ILO magazine World of Work,
click here. To find out more about ILO's activities
in this connection, see the website of the ILO's Social Finance programme, available by
clicking here. The ILO also welcomed the awarding of the 2006 Nobel
Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, pioneers in microfinance in Bangladesh.
Did you know?
One section of the ILO website is devoted entirely to the new Maritime Labour Convention, which consolidates and updates 68 maritime conventions
and recommendations adopted since 1920. In addition to reproducing the text of the convention, this section of the website also lists the advantages
it brings to the tripartite partners and answers the questions most frequently asked about it. The convention is increasingly considered a textbook
example of how to manage the social consequences of globalisation.
Click here to access this section of the website.
Programme of meetings
Please
click here for a list of ILO meetings scheduled for 2006 and 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
