Indonesia, ILO to tackle worst forms of child labour
In April 2004, the ILO launched a Time-Bound Programme of support to assist the first phase of Indonesia's national plan of action to tackle the worst forms of child labour. Immediate targets of this programme will be children involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, offshore fishing, mining and the footwear sector. The support programme will last four years, with some US$4 million to finance, among other activities, public awareness enhancement, advocacy, capacity building and promotion of labour concerns in national and local policies, and direct services to affected children. According to ILO estimates, some four million children below the age of 18 in the country are involved in employment deemed to be dangerous. Indonesia was the first Asian country to ratify the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). A national action committee was set up in 2001, and a 20-year national plan was established under Presidential Decree No. 59/2002. Indonesia was one of the first countries to join IPEC in 1992. Since then many projects have been conducted to demonstrate that work without child labour is possible. Two projects particularly relevant to the new initiative involve children working on fishing platforms in North Sumatra, and children in the footwear industry in Cibaduyut, Bandung. These projects, started in December 1999, will come to an end in July.
For further information, please contact the InFocus Programme on Child Labour (IPEC), phone: +4122/799-8438, fax: +4122/799-8771, e-mail: ipec@ilo.org
The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention comes into force in Russia
The situation of thousands of children subject to severe forms of work and sexual exploitation is expected to improve with the coming into force on 24 March, of the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). Surveys carried out by the ILO in 2001, revealed an increasing number of working street children in Russia forced into prostitution, scavenging, cargo handling and drug dealing. ILO estimations provide the following figures: 16,000 working street children in St. Petersburg, 50,000 in Moscow and up to 30,000 in the Leningrad region. Since 2000, IPEC has been supporting local initiatives and projects in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The ILO cooperates with the federal and regional Governments in order to develop and put into action concrete plans for combating the worst forms of child labour.
For further information, please contact the ILO Moscow office, phone: +7095/933-0810, fax: +7095/933-0820, e-mail: moscow@ilo.org
GURN: A new research network for international labour
The Global Union Research Network (GURN) is an initiative launched in Turin this past January by the Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV), in cooperation with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, and the ILO International Institute for Labour Studies. Its aim is to create a network giving union organizations better access to the research carried out within trade unions and allied institutions, while enabling them to exchange information on matters of joint concern, and to develop the capacity to make analyses and take part in debates and policy formulation.
One of GURN's first pilot projects will enable union organizations to debate the report on migrant workers prepared for a general discussion at this year's International Labour Conference. These debates will feed into the Workers' Group preparations for the Conference. Five other topics are on GURN's agenda for the coming months: bilateral and regional trade agreements, corporate governance, poverty reduction strategy papers, multinationals, and the renewal of the international trade union movement. Discussions on each of these subjects will feature on a Web site accessible via the ACTRAV site. In addition to the network, ACTRAV has developed a Masters Programme on Labour Policies and Globalization, in cooperation with the University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics, the international labour movement and academic partner institutions throughout the world.
For further information, please contact ACTRAV, phone: +4122/799-7448, fax: +4122/799-6570, e-mail: actrav@ilo.org
Barcelona Forum 2004: One hundred and forty-one days for a better world
Cultural diversity, sustainable development and conditions for peace. These three topics will be leading the discussion in Barcelona from 9 May to 26 September - when some 1,500 speakers and almost 5 million visitors will try to find solutions to the burning issues facing our planet. Organized by the City of Barcelona, the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government, this initiative is supported by UNESCO and the ILO, which will be taking part in the dialogue on "working cultures" to be held from 28 June to 1 July, as part of Forum Barcelona. This four-day dialogue will be based around four themes: work between present and future; employment and globalization; employment for all is possible; and unions, challenges and changes. A series of two-hour workshops will allow people to familiarize themselves with the problems and questions surrounding the world of work.
Representatives from across the ILO will also be participating in dialogues on international cooperation and conflict prevention, women and gender, migration, youth employment and child labour. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia will attend the closing stages of the forum, where the topic of discussion will be "Constructing the Global Agenda".
For further information, please visit www.barcelona2004.org
Improving labour-management relations in Southern Africa
An ILO project in South Africa led to the establishment of a dispute resolution system which manages over 120,000 dispute referrals each year. Under the project, funded by the Swiss government, the ILO helped the Government, businesses, and unions to establish the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and trained the social partners to manage conflict more effectively. Since then, labour relations in the country have improved significantly and the country has experienced its lowest levels of labour unrest in three decades. The ILO also helped to establish, and provides technical support to, a committee of senior business and labour leaders working to address South Africa's deepening unemployment crisis. The Millennium Labour Council, launched by President Mbeki in July 2000, aims to boost economic recovery and job creation. Because of the success of the South African programme, the ILO extended similar technical assistance to Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Angola, too, will benefit from technical assistance in a new phase of this project. That work has registered major recognized successes, most notably in Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana. In Lesotho, for example, several new institutions have been created under law, including a Directorate for Dispute Prevention and Resolution; an Industrial Relations Council with representatives from the Government, business, and labour; and both a labour court and a labour appeals court. In Swaziland, a Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission was created to assist in settling disputes as rapidly and simply as possible, as well as a large number of conciliators and arbitrators trained in arbitration and dispute resolution techniques. It opened its doors in January 2001, and recently established two satellite offices to bring dispute prevention closer to the workplace.
For further information, please contact the ILO InFocus Programme on Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration, phone: +4122/799-7147, fax: +4122/799-8749, e-mail: ifpdialogue@ilo.org
ILO Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Youth Employment in the Arab States
An ILO meeting on youth employment held in Amman, Jordan from 5 to 9 April 2004, brought together tripartite delegations from 16 Middle East countries, representatives of international organizations (including the ICFTU and the IOE), regional and Jordanian organizations, young people from Jordan, as well as youth representing the Youth Employment Network, local academia and ILO consultants. The meeting discussed the most appropriate policies and programmes to address the youth employment question in the Arab States. Proposals included a national youth conference in Jordan (and similar conferences in other countries), which could serve as a discussion forum on effective youth employment strategies; a national youth action plan for Jordan in cooperation with employers, workers, and youth organizations; an Arab labour market database; an action manual for decision makers; and a Youth Employment Network for the Arab region.
For further information, please contact Regina Monticone, phone: +4122/799-6819, e-mail: monticone@ilo.org
ILO expert honoured for work on safety and health in Vietnam
The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has awarded its Certificate of Merit to an ILO expert - the first time a foreigner has been recognized in this manner. Dr Tsuyoshi Kawakami, an expert in occupational safety and health, was honoured for 13 years of work on improving living and working conditions for people in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. In that time he has organized many training programs and research projects for local farmers, small business owners, workers and employers, helping them to improve the quality of life of themselves and their families. Dr Kawakami, who comes from Tokyo, was presented with the award during Vietnam's 6th National Safety Week, held earlier this month, by the Vice Minister of MOLISA, Mr. Le Duy Dong. Dr Kawakami has worked for the ILO for four years. Prior to that, he was with the Institute for Science of Labour, in Kawasaki, Japan.
For further information, please contact Sophy Fisher, Regional Information Officer, ILO Bangkok, phone: +662/288-2482, e-mail: fisher@ilo.org