ILO American Regional Meeting sets new "Hemispheric Agenda" for a decade of decent work The Sixteenth American Regional Meeting of the ILO, held in Brasilia from 3-8 May, announced the start of a "Decade of promoting decent work in the Americas". The meeting came amidst concerns over the need for millions of new jobs to ease a massive employment deficit facing Latin America.
A code on safety and health breaks new ground for the world's miners Experts representing workers, employers and governments, meeting at the ILO in May, adopted a new Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Underground Coalmines designed to improve the safety and health of workers in one of the world's most dangerous sectors.
April 2006
International Women's Day 2006 ILO activities organized around the world For the sixth straight year, the ILO organized activities to mark 8 March, International Women's Day, around the world. This year's theme was "Women in Sports", but ILO offices also marked the day with discussions on women in the workplace, developments in the labour market and moves by member States to improve working conditions and legislation relating to women in the world of work.
Women entrepreneurs in Africa ILO and AfDB strengthen support African women entrepreneurs are playing an ever-increasing role in African economies. The ILO and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have jointly launched a series of reports ( Note 2) providing concrete recommendations for action to support growth-oriented women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda.
Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) ILO report sees wide gaps in wages, productivity gains Global economic growth is increasingly failing to translate into new and better jobs that lead to a reduction in poverty, according to the latest Key Indicators of the Labour Market. The KILM 2005 ( Note 1) illustrates that within this global trend, different regions show mixed results in terms of job creation, productivity results, wage improvements and poverty reduction.
ILO study says eliminating child labour in Latin America could yield major economic benefits Eliminating child labour in Latin America within the next 20 years could generate an estimated US$340 billion in economic benefit as a result of children's improved access to universal education and better health care. Benefits will vastly outweigh the costs of eliminating child labour, estimated at about US$105 billion to be invested between 2006 and 2025. ...
New ergonomic loom helps to reduce child labour in carpet weaving Recently, the inventor of a new "ergonomic" loom which will help reduce the use of child labour in the carpet weaving sector by improving the working conditions and incomes of adult weavers has been awarded the 2005 Tech Museum Prize for his pioneering work.
Sea change: Joint IMO and ILO working group addresses need for protection of seafarers Globalization, complex vessel ownership and flagging, and multinational crewing have made it more pressing than ever to create guidelines for speedy and humane treatment of seafarers caught in unforeseen difficulties. A joint working group of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the ILO discussed such guidelines on 19-21 September in London.
August 2005
293rd Session of the Governing Body New Chair elected, Committee on Freedom of Association report adopted The ILO Governing Body ( Note 1) elected Carlos A. Tomada, Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Security of Argentina, as Chairperson for its 2005-06 session. The 293rd Session of the Governing Body also considered a range of other business, including a report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.
Safe workplaces become universal goal for World Day participants ILO statistics indicate that an increasing number of work-related deaths and injuries occur each year, due in part to rapid industrialization in some developing countries. Work-related illness has become a major risk as well. For this year's World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April, voices from around the globe spoke out on the importance of safe workplaces.
93rd annual Conference ILC 2005: Paving the way for action on key labour concerns Some 3,000 government, employer, and worker delegates attended the 93rd annual Conference this year, holding intense discussions on the need to eliminate forced labour, create jobs for youth, improve safety at work, and tackle what ILO Director-General Juan Somavia called a "global jobs crisis". Here is an overview of the outcomes of the meeting.
Update: The SOLVE approach to addressing psychosocial problems at work Now in its fifth year, SOLVE, the initiative launched by the ILO's SafeWork Programme to address psychosocial problems at work, has expanded to over 40 countries, and course materials are currently available in eight languages. Trade unions and employers are finding value in the programme's integrated and dialogue-based approach.
April 2005
Latest report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association cites Nepal, Guatemala, Venezuela and Zimbabwe GENEVA - Nepal, Guatemala, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are among the serious and urgent cases cited by the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association in its latest report, adopted by the 292nd Session of the ILO Governing Body, for serious infringements of the principle of freedom of association and violations of trade union rights. ...
