Working together out of poverty No miracles, just decent work Every day tens of millions of people around the world seek their own way out of poverty through a simple act: they go to work. For many, however, their efforts are not enough to escape the poverty trap. What people need are jobs - and a fair chance of getting a decent one. ...
Cooperating out of poverty: Cooperative reform in Tanzania African cooperatives are recreating themselves through member empowerment and increased commercial viability. British journalist Andrew Bibby reports from the United Republic of Tanzania where cooperatives are adopting a new approach to sustainability.
Picking education, not tea: Voices of change in Uganda The new ILO report The end of child labour: Within reach paints a mixed picture of child labour worldwide. While the global total of child labourers is on the decline, there remain some 50 million working children in sub-Saharan Africa. ...
Dispelling the migrant myth Recent media buzz has sparked the latest global debate on migrant workers. Poverty and the decent work deficit are the two main reasons these workers cross borders in search of better lives, and most often they will take any job they can find, no matter how dirty or dangerous. ...
April 2006
Disabled people in Ethiopia: Making public services work for poor people Most of Addis Ababa's estimated 3 million population lives in slums and informal settlements. In June 2005 the President of Ethiopia officially opened the first of 30 modern public shower and toilet facilities run by a cooperative of disabled persons in Addis Ababa with the support of the ILO. ...
The Decent Work Deficit: A new ILO report outlines the latest global employment trends The ILO's 2006 Global Employment Trends Brief paints a sombre picture not only of growing unemployment and poverty but of a significant lack of decent job opportunities, especially for young people. Despite the robust world economic growth of 2005, the global economy failed to deliver enough new jobs. ...
Full steam ahead! ILO adopts "super Convention" for the maritime sector Over 1.2 million seafarers represent the world's most global and globalized workforce, and it is they and the shipowners for whom they work who move the bulk of world trade as well as serving on passenger ships. ...
Real-time response The ILO's role in helping Pakistan rebuild and get back to work The ILO continues to play an important role in the earthquake recovery efforts in Pakistan. From establishing emergency employment centres and cash-for-work programmes to easing trauma through decent work, the ILO's multi-pronged approach capitalized on an existing infrastructure for technical cooperation to distribute resources quickly and efficiently.
A personal stake: Why employee-owned businesses return more than a profit Employee-owned businesses remain an oft-overlooked option for companies as a means toward ramping up productivity, profit and morale. But a new study shows that the overwhelming success of companies like UK-based John Lewis is due to innovative mechanisms to encourage employee participation and cultivate a culture of ownership. ...
December 2005
Jobs and the millennium generation: Working out of poverty At the recent World Summit of the UN General Assembly, over 150 Heads of State approved a historic Outcome Document stating: "We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the goal of full and productive employment and decent work for all... a central objective. ...
Taking root: The revival of cooperatives in Ethiopia Not all stories coming from Ethiopia are tales of tragedy. Here is one of them. Although the economy was ruined and the cooperative idea discredited by 14 years of communist rule in the country, the ILO succeeded in cultivating a cooperative renaissance. Sam Mshiu reports from Addis Ababa, where the ILO recently established its Regional Office for Africa.
How the ILO contributes to the MDGs: Stories from East Africa ILO programmes in East Africa are good examples of how decent work combats poverty and contributes to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Two programmes presented here show the importance of promoting gender equality (MDG 3) at work and youth employment (MDG 8) in order to attain sustainable poverty reduction.
Breaking the chains of poverty through microfinance The ILO has found microfinance to be an invaluable tool within its programmes in helping to reduce poverty and eliminate child labour and debt bondage. The strategy is to offer financial services like savings and credit, insurance and remittance handling to low-income groups so they are empowered, have more options and do not need to rely on the moneylender any longer. ...
August 2005
Modern daddy: Norway's progressive policy on paternity leave After a baby is born, Mom is entitled to maternity leave, but what about Dad? Shouldn't he have some time off to adjust, too? Norway tops the European league table of family-friendly nations as far as new dads are concerned, and the government is now proposing to extend the "daddy quota" from four to five weeks, for exclusive use by the father.
New ILO Report: A global alliance against forced labour Is forced labour a thing of the past? A major new ILO study, A global alliance against forced labour, reveals that not only is it a present-day issue, but it is also one of the most hidden problems of our era. The ILO estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide, half of them children, are trapped in forced labour. ...
Education for HIV/AIDS prevention at work in the Russian North Today, 1 385 people are registered with the Oblast Center for Preventing and Combating AIDS. In the northern Russian city of Murmansk, 1 out of every 100 men is HIV-positive, as is 1 out of every 200 women, aged 20 to 29. In December 2004, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and US Department of Labour launched a programme to bring education on HIV/AIDS prevention to the workplace.
