Press releases

June 2008 

• World Summit on Safety and Health - ILO welcomes new Declaration on promotion of safer workplaces
  29 June 2008 - The International Labour Organization welcomed the Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work adopted in Seoul by some 50 high-level decision makers from around the world as a major new blueprint for constructing a global culture of safety and health at work.
• 97th International Labour Conference concludes its work ─ Delegates highlight new ways to promote the ILO’s Decent work Agenda
  13 June 2008 - The 97th annual Conference of the International Labour Organization concluded its work here today after adopting a landmark Declaration designed to strengthen the promotion of Decent Work and develop new ways of responding to the growing challenges of globalization.
• ILO Governing Body elects new Chairperson ─ Committee on Freedom of Association cites Guatemala, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Iran, and Venezuela
  13 June 2008 - The Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) elected H.E. Mr. Zdzislaw Rapacki, Ambassador of Poland to the Conference on Disarmament and Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations Office in Geneva as Chairperson for its 2008-09 Session.
• ILO adopts landmark Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization
  12 June 2008 - Amid widespread uncertainty in the world of work, ranging from financial turmoil and economic downturn to growing unemployment, informality and insufficient social protection, the governments, workers and employers of the International Labour Organization have adopted a landmark Declaration designed to strengthen the ILO’s capacity to promote its Decent Work Agenda and forge an effective response ...
• World Day Against Child Labour 2008 ─ ILO says education is the “right response” to child labour
  11 June 2008 - Citing data indicating that many of the estimated 75 million children lacking primary schooling start working at an early age, the International Labour Office (ILO) said today that education was critical to breaking the cycle of child labour and poverty as well as eradicating child labour in its worst forms by 2016.
• Prime Minister of Lesotho highlights economic growth, productivity, in alleviating global food crisis
  11 June 2008 - The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Pakalitha B. Mosisili today addressed the International Labour Organization’s annual conference here and highlighted the role of sustained economic growth and agricultural productivity in alleviating the global food crisis.
• “Poverty is a universal shame”, President of Panama tells ILO delegates ─ Panama Canal is built with respect for decent work and labour rights
  10 June 2008 - The President of Panama, Martín Torrijos, today told the annual conference of the ILO that work to expand the Panama Canal will be carried out with respect for decent work and labour rights, and profits from the Canal will be used to combat poverty, which he described as “a universal shame” requiring firm political decisions.
• “Bahia Agenda” for decent work presented at ILO annual conference ─ Governor Wagner calls for “inclusion through decent work”
  10 June 2008 - The Governor of the Brazilian State of Bahia Jacques Wagner today presented the world’s first state-level Decent Work initiative at the annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) here. The plan was created with support from employers and workers and is considered an innovative model to generate more and better jobs.
• ILO Director-General calls for urgent measures to address a “globalization without social justice”
  09 June 2008 - Citing growing global imbalances in wages, jobs and productivity, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization said today counter measures were urgently needed to head off what he called a “globalization without social justice”.
• Media advisory for World Day Against Child Labour, June 12 2008 – Education: the right response to child labour
  06 June 2008 - World Day Against Child Labour will this year be marked by thousands of events in scores of countries around the world on 12 June with a focus on the need to improve access of children to education as the right response to child labour.
• ILO launches year-long campaign “Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work”
  05 June 2008 - The International Labour Organization is launching a one-year global campaign to highlight the central role of gender equality in its Decent Work Agenda and in the work of its constituents – governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations.
• International Labour Conference elects new members of ILO Governing Body
  04 June 2008 - The International Labour Conference of the ILO elected new members of the Governing Body on 2 June.
• ILO Decent Work Research Prize shared by Nobel laureate and leading Canadian labour researcher
  04 June 2008 - The International Labour Organization (ILO) today announced the ILO Decent Work Research Prize 2008 will be awarded to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and leading Canadian labour researcher Harry Arthurs.
• Tuvalu becomes 182nd ILO Member State
  02 June 2008 - Tuvalu has become the 182nd Member State of the International Labour Organization (ILO)...
• XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work - World Summit on Safety and Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 29 June – 2 July 2008
  02 June 2008 - Some 4,000 industry leaders, policy-makers and experts from over 100 countries are to gather in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 29 June to 2 July for the XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work.
• President of Slovenia addresses annual ILO Conference - Calls for worldwide implementation of decent work
  02 June 2008 - The President of the Republic of Slovenia, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), today expressed support for the Decent Work Agenda of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and called for its worldwide implementation.

May 2008 

• ILO annual Conference elects officers
  28 May 2008 - The 97th Session of the International Labour Conference, which will run here till 13 June, opened today, electing as its President Mr. Edwin Salamín Jaén, Minister of Labour and Labour Development of Panama.
• 97th International Labour Conference to address wide range of issues, including reducing rural poverty, enhancing skills and labour rights - Conference will have high-level discussion on food crisis
  27 May 2008 - More than 3,000 government, worker and employer leaders are to meet here from 28 May to 13 June for the annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to discuss a wide range of issues including rural poverty reduction, the latest developments in labour rights and enhancing skills development.
• New ILO report on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories
  22 May 2008 - The annual report of the International Labour Office on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories depicts a much degraded employment and labour situation showing that the plight of the Palestinian people has deteriorated alarmingly in a number of respects.
• Media advisory: 97th International Labour Conference, 28 May – 13 June 2008
  21 May 2008 - The 97th International Labour Conference (ILC) will take place from 28 May to 13 June 2008 in the Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, Geneva, Switzerland. The Conference is the annual tripartite meeting of the International Labour Organization’s 181 Member States.