What's new

  1. Informal employment curbs trade benefits for developing countries

    12 October 2009

    A joint study from the International Labour Organization and the WTO has found that high incidence of informal employment in the developing world suppresses countries' ability to benefit from trade opening by creating poverty traps for workers in job transition. “The study confirms what we know from experience, that by promoting complementarity between decent work objectives and trade, financial and labour market policies, developing countries are much better placed to benefit from trade opening, advance the social dimension of globalization, and to cope with the current crisis” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.

  2. ILO welcomes US funding to tackle child labour worldwide

    08 October 2009

    The International Labour Organization’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) has welcomed the award of the US Department of Labour of $59 million in new grants to combat child labour in 19 countries around the world. A large part of these funds are to support ILO-IPEC country projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where despite the significant progress in the past years in combating child labour, millions of children are still forced to work at the expense of their health, education and future.

  3. G20 Commit to Putting Quality Jobs at the Heart of the Recovery

    25 September 2009

    Leaders of the G20 have welcomed the ILO Global Jobs Pact and the building of “an employment-oriented framework for future economic growth”. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, who was invited to present a report on policies and prospects for jobs and social protection to the Pittsburgh Summit said, “I welcome the significant commitment of the Leaders to “implementing recovery plans that support decent work, help preserve employment and prioritize job growth.”

  4. Despite continued rise in unemployment, measures taken by G20 governments will save up to 11 million jobs in 2009

    18 September 2009

    Employment and social protection measures taken by G20 governments since the economic crisis began will have created or saved an estimated 7 to 11 million jobs in the G20 countries this year, the Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO) said in a communication at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh.

  5. ILO Launches Fourth Call for Proposals to Promote Cooperatives in Africa

    12 September 2009

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) announces the launch, on 14 September 2009, of a fourth call for proposals to promote social economy organizations based on cooperative values and principles through the Cooperative Facility for Africa (CoopAfrica) programme. The programme provides assistance through the Challenge Fund, a competitive bidding process, which supports projects on a cost-sharing basis.

  6. Disability Equality Training for Parliamentarians in Zambia *MPs PLEDGE ACTION ON INCLUSION OF DISABLED PEOPLE*

    07 August 2009

    Members of influential Parliamentary Committees have pledged to do all they can to ensure the full rights of people with disabilities in Zambia. They aim to achieve this through awareness raising at all levels, and by pressing for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

  7. ILO welcomes new support for the Global Jobs Pact from the UN Economic and Social Council

    27 July 2009

    The International Labour Office welcomed the adoption of a resolution on the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact sponsored by more than 170 countries attending the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting in Geneva.

  8. Technical Seminar: Labour Market Information to Monitor Progress on Decent Work in Africa and African Preview: ILO Guide to the New Millennium Development Goals Employment Indicators

    23 July 2009

    The ILO seminar running from 20 July to 24 July 2009 is a follow-up to the endorsement of the four new employment indicators under the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDG) Target 1b (Achieve full productive employment and decent work for all) by the Secretary General of the UN and the President of the General Assembly at a UN High Level Meeting on the 25th September 2008.

  9. ILO adopts “Global Jobs Pact” aimed at creating jobs, protecting workers and stimulating economic recovery

    19 June 2009

    Faced with the prospect of a prolonged global increase in unemployment, poverty and inequality and the continuing collapse of enterprises, the International Labour Organization adopted a 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.

  10. ILO meets with high-level experts to discuss the crisis and the future of the automotive industry

    22 May 2009

    Against the backdrop of the global economic and social crisis, senior experts on the automotive sector from Europe, Asia and the Americas met here on 20-21 May with top officials of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to discuss the state of the automotive industry and its future directions.

  11. New ILO report says “Cost of Coercion” to workers in forced labour surpasses USD 20 billion per year

    12 May 2009

    In a new study on the patterns of forced labour worldwide, the International Labour Office (ILO) says the “opportunity cost” of coercion to the workers affected reaches over USD 20 billion per year.

  12. World Day for Safety and Health at Work public march urged for a strong safety culture at work

    28 April 2009

    Celebrating the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, a public march was held in Addis Ababa, on April 28, 2004, calling for a strong safety culture at work.

  13. World Day for Safety and Health at Work Public march in Addis Ababa urged for a strong safety culture at work

    28 April 2009

    More than 250 representatives from government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, staff members from the Public Health Department of Addis Ababa University and the International Labour Organization (ILO) called for a strong safety culture at work on 26th April at a public rally in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

  14. National High Level Tripartite Symposium on “Mitigating the present Economic and Job Crisis through Decent Work and Social Dialogue”

    23 April 2009

    What began as a crisis in finance markets has rapidly become a global jobs crisis. Unemployment is rising. The number of working poor is increasing. Businesses are going under. Concern is growing over the balance, fairness and sustainability of the sort of globalization we have had in the run up to the financial crash.

  15. National Tripartite Symposium tackles job crisis through Decent Work and Social Dialogue

    23 April 2009

    The President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Girma Wolde Giorgis opened the first national tripartite symposium on “Mitigating the present economic and job crisis through decent work and social dialogue” held under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Addis Ababa.

  16. Ethiopia Marks the 90th Anniversary of th International Labour Organization (ILO)

    21 April 2009

    Press conference on the celebrations of the 90th Anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO)

  17. ILO launches third call for proposals to promote cooperatives in Africa

    13 April 2009

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) today announced the launch of a third call for proposals to promote cooperatives through the Cooperative Facility for Africa programme

  18. ILO Director-General calls London G20 Summit "an important step forward on a difficult road"

    03 April 2009

    The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Juan Somavia welcomed the outcome of the London G20 Summit, saying that “The leaders of the G20 have made significant progress in consolidating a coordinated international response to the deepening global crisis".

  19. ILO calls for urgent global jobs pact to forestall "prolonged and severe" employment crisis

    24 March 2009

    The Director-General of the International Labour Organization called for a “Global Jobs Pact” to forestall a “prolonged and severe” jobs crisis that would lead to a massive increase in unemployment and working poverty.

  20. ILO warns economic crisis could generate up to 22 million more unemployed women in 2009, jeopardize equality gains at work and at home

    05 March 2009

    The economic crisis is expected to increase the number of unemployed women by up to 22 million in 2009, the International Labour Office (ILO) says in its annual Global Employment Trends for Women report (GET), adding that the global jobs crisis is expected to worsen sharply with the deepening of the recession in 2009.