International Labour Conference 2009: World leaders support ILO “Global Jobs Pact” The Pact received strong support from heads of State and government, vice-presidents, ministers of labour, workers and employers and other economic and labour leaders participating in an ILO Jobs Summit on 15–17 June. The summit provided a first-of-its-kind opportunity to discuss policies that are being implemented at national and international levels to address the global jobs crisis.
The crisis in the construction industry The construction industry has been severely hit by the economic crisis. The ILO calculates that at least 5 million construction workers lost their jobs during 2008.
Stemming the crisis: World leaders forge “Global Jobs Pact” Faced with the prospect of a prolonged global increase in unemployment, poverty and inequality and continued duress for enterprises, in June 2009 the ILO adopted a historic Global Jobs Pact designed to guide national and international policies aimed at stimulating economic recovery, generating jobs and providing protection to working people and their families.
April 2009
Gender equality at the heart of decent work Over the past year the ILO’s Bureau for Gender Equality has held a major awareness-raising campaign: Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work. In the following pages World of Work looks at themes of the campaign so far and interviews Jane Hodges, Director of the Bureau for Gender Equality.
A dynamic vision of prevention: The International Social Security Association (ISSA) Social security is everybody’s business. It affects our daily life by protecting us against work and life risks – health care needs, disability, old age and unemployment. ISSA Secretary General Hans-Horst Konkolewsky explains how social security and the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases go hand-in-hand.
The Decent Work Agenda - Looking back, looking forward: A growing consensus Ten years ago, on 15 June 1999, Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen addressed the 87th Session of the International Labour Conference, commenting on ILO Director-General Juan Somavia’s ground-breaking report Decent work. This article presents some extracts from that speech,1 together with the views of other distinguished leaders and thinkers on the ILO concept of decent work.
No vacuum: Cleaning up cleaning contracts A hidden army of workers is at work each day cleaning the world’s office blocks. Many office staff never meet the people who empty their garbage and dust their desks, for cleaning contracts often specify that the work is to be undertaken out of normal work time, in the early morning or evening periods. Yet cleaners are an essential part of modern office life. Andrew Bibby reports.
December 2007
The end of child labour: Millions of voices, one common hope
The past decade has seen an unprecedented convergence of thought and action within the worldwide movement against child labour. In the 15th year of the ILO’s International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), World of Work looks at its achievements and its vision for future action. Alec Fyfe, IPEC Senior Child Labour Specialist, contributed to this article.
Future harvests without child labour The vast majority of the world’s working children are not toiling in factories and sweatshops or working as domestics or street vendors in urban areas. They are working on farms and plantations, often from sun-up to sundown, planting and harvesting crops, spraying pesticides and tending livestock.
August 2007
Green jobs: Facing up to "an inconvenient truth"
Over the last year or so, it has dawned on policy makers, businesses and the public around the world that climate change looks set to become the biggest social and environmental challenge of the 21st century. Peter Poschen, ILO Senior Policy Specialist and focal point on climate change, looks at the social and labour impacts of this complex global challenge.
Talking weather: Trade unions and climate change
It's been a way of breaking the ice – but now it's time for real discussions and bargaining to find solutions to save not only the tops of the icebergs, but the whole planet. ...
Indigenous women overcome multiple obstacles Indigenous peoples around the world suffer from discrimination in the world of work, but indigenous women can be particularly hard hit by the double whammy of ethnicity and gender. Jessie Fredlund of the ILO Gender Bureau and INDISCO looks at the problem and finds some success stories in Bangladesh.
