What's new

  1. UNITED NATIONS & TANZANIA sign first ever UN Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP)

    The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the United Nations signed into act the first ever United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP) in the history of the global UN system. The UNDAP is the country programme of cooperation for all UN agencies operating in Tanzania for 2011-2015. It will touch specifically upon: Economic Growth; Environment and Climate Change; Education; Health and Nutrition; HIV and AIDS; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Social Protection; Governance; Refugees; and Emergencies and Disaster Response.

  2. The impact of pesticide exposure on child labourers in agriculture

    22 June 2011

    The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO held a side event during the conference (on 22 June at 13:00) to highlight the impact of pesticide exposure on children, and child labourers in particular. ILO News spoke to Paola Termine, ILO Technical specialist on child labour in agriculture, who is also coordinating the International partnership for cooperation on child labour in agriculture, ahead of the meeting.

  3. Discussions on social security for all get under way

    07 June 2011

    The 100th International Labour Conference has started discussions on ways to establish social security for all as a powerful and affordable tool to promote economic growth, reduce poverty and mitigate the impact of crises. Yet, only about 20 percent of the world’s working age population has access to comprehensive social security systems, according to a new conference report, entitled “Social Security for Social Justice and a fair Globalization”.

  4. Business Africa Strategic Parthers Forum

    The IOE, in collaboration with PEC, ILO and the World Bank Institute, is organizing a one-day Business Africa Strategic Partners Forum to be held at the ILO Headquarters. The theme of the event is "Advancing Private Sector Development and Governance in Africa". Keynote speakers include Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, President of the IOE and former CEO of NEPAD, Mr. Charles Dan, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Office for Africa, Mr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, African Union, Mr. Sam Cho., UN Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. Djordjija Petkoski, World Bank Institute and Mr. Azad Jeetun, Director of Mauritius Employers’ Federation. During this occasion the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa will launch its 2011 Economic Report on Africa.

  5. EGYPT: ILO AND CIDA LAUNCHED A NEW JOINT PROJECT TO TACKLE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) launched a new 10 million CAD$ joint project entitled “Decent Jobs for Egypt’s Young People: Tackling the Challenges Together” and designed to increase employment opportunities for young men and women, especially vulnerable groups, through capacity building and skills development.

  6. Namibia Tripartite Agreement on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work

    The signing of a tripartite MoU between the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the National Union of Namibian Workers and the Namibia Employers Federation is an attempt at accelerating, expanding, scaling up and replicating effective and comprehensive HIV and AIDS/Wellness Workplace Programs in the public and private sector.

  7. CoopAfrica Fund selects 6 new projects in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda

    CoopAfrica selected six new projects in the fifth Call for proposals for 2011. In this round,CoopAfrica’s Challenge Fund supported initiatives implemented by cooperative support organizations for the benefit of women and/or youth. The Call was open to proposals from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania Mainland and Uganda for grant options up to 20,000 USD.

  8. Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Sector

    A training workshop on occupational safety and health in the construction sector was organized in Addis Ababa from 23 - 27 May 2011, by the ILO Country Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The training aimed at equipping participants with concepts, methodologies and techniques that would enable them perform inspection visits on occupational safety and health in the construction sector. The training mainly targeted labour inspectors and government officials in charge of inspection visits. At the end of training, participants were awarded certificates of participation. The certificates were handed over to the participants by Mr. Charles Dan, Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa.

  9. Enabling Environment Research for women’s entrepreneurship

    The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Gender and Women’s Empowerment Unit (GWE), in partnership with the ILO, revised its Draft Strategic Framework on Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment. The framework is an important milestone for gender and women empowerment in South Africa, which provides guidance, focus and specific recommendations for the support required to ensure the full participation of women within the South African economy

  10. COTU (K) 12th Governing Council Conference

    The COTU (K) 12th Quinquennial Governing Council Delegates Conference and Elections is organized at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisuma, Kenya. Prominent African Government Oficials, Trade Union leaders, Representatives of Employers as well as the ILO Assistant-Director General and Regional Director for Africa, Charles Dan, attended the three-day interactive Conference. High on the Agenda were Youth Employment, Gender, Human trafficking and Child Labour issues as well as partnerships for efficient responses of the Trade Union Movement in Kenya and Africa.

  11. ILO-TECL II Girls meet UN’s First Youth Champion in South Africa

    MONIQUE COLEMAN, American actress, and United Nations (UN) first Youth Champion, visited South Africa to promote the observance of the UNs International Year of Youth.

  12. Global economic crisis opens up new space for discrimination at work, ILO says

    16 May 2011

    In the new Global Report on Equality at Work 2011, the International Labour Office (ILO) notes that in spite of continuous positive advances in anti-discrimination legislation, the global economic and social crisis has led to a higher risk of discrimination against certain groups such as migrant labour.

  13. Arab Labor Conference: Focus on Youth Employment, MSMEs and Social Dialogue

    The 38th session of the Arab Labor Conference (ALO) was held in Egypt's capital Cairo, with the participation of the tripartite constituents and ILO Assistant Director-Generals and Regional Directors for Africa and Arab States, respectively Mr. Charles Dan and Ms Nada Al Sharif. The Conference – which reelected the Director-General of the ALO, Dr. Ahmed Luqman for a new term (2011 – 2015) – highlighted new reports on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as employment boosting development engine, impacts of the global economic crisis on the national and Arab workers as well as social dialogue for sustainable development. His Excellency, Dr. Ahmed Hassan El Borai, Minister of Manpower and Migration of the Arab Republic of Egypt and participants underscored the need to fight robustly youth unemployment as a development priority in Arab countries.

  14. Labour Law Reform: Capacity Building Workshop

    13 May 2011

    The workshop stemmed from the Road Map of the tripartite Labour Law Reform Advisory Council which identified capacity building of stakeholders involved in the labour law reform process as a key element. The workshop was aimed at bringing stakeholders and labour law experts together to discuss and fuse areas of common interest and identify areas of difference in the labour law harmonization and reform process. The recommendations from the workshop together with the position papers from the tripartite partners will form the basis of further negotiations by the tripartite Labour Law Reform Advisory Council which has the mandate to guide the law reform process.

  15. Participatory Gender Audit Facilitators Workshop

    The purpose of the Participatory Gender Audit Facilitators Workshop was for ILO constituents to reflect and acquire information on the methodology which promotes organizational learning on mainstreaming gender practically and effectively. The workshop was intended to encourage ILO Constituents to undertake a self-assessment regarding gender equality.

  16. Youth Employment/Governance/Democracy in Africa - The Role of Trade Unions

    The High Level Workshop - jointly organized by the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation (SWTUF) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) - on "Capacity Building on Youth Employment, Governance, and Democracy in Africa: the Role of Trade Unions" was held at the FRiendship Hall in Khartoum, Sudan in the presence of the Federal Minister of Labour Dak Bishop and OATUU President and Chairman of the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation (SWTUF) Professor Ibrahim Ghandour. "Africa's youth is the solution to Africa's development challenge", stated Charles Dan, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa in his opening speech with some 2.2 million of Young Africans entering the labor market annually.

  17. Questions and answers on Growth, Productive Employment and Decent Work in the LDCs

    06 May 2011

    In preparation for the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV), the International Labour Organization (ILO) has produced a report “Growth, Productive Employment and Decent Work in the LDCs,” which argues for transformative policies for decent work in LDCs. UN-NGLS (United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service) interviews José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director for Employment, ILO, on the key insights and recommendations of the report.

  18. Tripartite Negotiating Forum Technical Committee Workshop

    06 May 2011

    The Workshop was held at Carribea Bay, Kariba, Zimabbwe in line with the objectives of the ILO/UNDP Project on Strengthening of Social Dialogue and Tripartite Cooperation in Zimbabwe which is focused on the revival of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). The meeting was held as a follow-up to the official launch of the Kadoma Declaration “Towards a shared national social and economic vision” by the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe on 26 February 2010.

  19. Reducing poverty through tourism (Questions & Answers)

    03 May 2011

    Least Developed Countries (LDCs) can draw on a range of policies to drive an agenda of structural transformation and decent work. A special event at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries to be held in Istanbul from 9-13 May, 2011, features Hotel, Catering and Tourism (HCT) as one of the fastest-growing economic sectors worldwide which can significantly contribute to social and economic development, as well as poverty reduction in LDCs. ILO Online spoke with Wolfgang Weinz, Hotels, Catering and Tourism Specialist in the ILO’s Sectoral Activities Department.

  20. First ILO participation to the World Economic Forum on Africa

    03 May 2011

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) attended for the first time the 2011 World Economic Forum in Africa which convened more than 900 leader from government, private sector and civil society from 4 - 6 May in Cape Town, south Africa.