All news: Asia + Pacific

Viet Nam: Serving markets and workers

Textiles are Viet Nam’s second largest export and provide about two million jobs for local workers. The sector has usually been associated with high productivity and competitiveness, but also with poor working conditions. Is it possible to reconcile...

Sri Lanka: New hope for war victims

Decades of civil war have left deep scars in Sri Lanka. An ILO training project brings new hope to some of those whose lives and hopes were shattered by the violence.

Philippines: Boosting entrepreneurship to ease jobs crisis

One third of the Philippines population live in poverty, and thousands head out every day to work abroad. The ILO is promoting entrepreneurship as an alternative to hard-to-get wage jobs and migration.

Improving delivery of entrepreneurship training to disadvantaged youth

Trainers of ILO’s entrepreneurship programme, Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB), shared their experiences in training disadvantaged youth in Masbate, Antique, Maguindanao and Agusan del Sur, during the Refresher Workshop for Master Trainers and...

ILO signs US$1,140,000 partnership with Korean Government

The ILO and the Government of the Republic of Korea have signed an agreement that will provide US$1,140,000, as well as technical expertise, to support the development of decent work in more than 15 Asian countries.

Life After Europe: A fresh start for migrant workers in their homeland the Philippines

Migrant workers sometimes find overseas work not what was promised or expected. The ILO with support from the European Commission runs programmes to assist returned migrant workers from Europe. Ms Ignacio and Ms Myra Geron returned home from...

Viet Nam ratifies the ILO Convention No.122 on Employment Policy- a significant step forward.

World Day against Child Labour - Those who work the hardest are the poorest

Media release jointly organised by UNICEF and ILO on the occasion on the World Day against Child Labour, 12 June 2012, Kathmandu, Nepal.

ILO & Japan sign agreement to support natural disaster recovery in Asia-Pacific

The ILO and the Government of Japan have signed a new Framework for Cooperation agreement that will assist Asia-Pacific countries in dealing with the effects of natural disasters and strengthen the role of employment in early recovery and...

Welcome Changes in Burma on Forced Labour and Freedom of Association: Cautious Optimism by FTUB

"The ILO Supervisory Mechanism does work." This was the sentiment echoed by all when at last some concrete steps were seen with regard to the long-standing problems of forced labour in Burma. A Commission of Inquiry was established by the ILO in...

ILSSA-OECD-ILO-Hans Siedel Foundation event

The ILO co-organised a workshop on Social Cohesion together with the Institute of Labour, Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA), the OECD, and the Hans Siedel Foundation in 30 May 2012. The event was chaired by Viceminister of the Ministry of Labour...

Media advisory: Visit of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to the ILO

Malaysia ratifies key international labour standard on occupational safety and health

The Government of Malaysia deposited with the International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187). Malaysia is the 22nd member State to ratify the...

A new social contract for Europe?

Questions and answers with Vasco Pedrina, author of “The Eurocrisis and the European trade union movement.

Launching Ceremony of the project on “Occupational Safety and Health in hazardous industries in Viet Nam” and National Workshop on...

The ILO Country Office for Viet Nam and Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) are launching the project on “Occupational Safety and Health in hazardous work in Vietnam – RAS/12/50M/JPN” and organizing a National Workshop on...

DWCP 2012-2016 Signing Ceremony

The Government of Viet Nam, the workers’ and employers’ organizations and the ILO signed the new Decent Work Country Program 2012-2016 on 24 May 2012.

Out-of-school youth find hope in entrepreneurship

Merly Ybanez dropped out from college in 2008 because her parents cannot pay anymore her school fees. Her mother, who was into small scale buy and sell of agricultural products, became a breadwinner when her father got sick. As the youngest of 6...

Technical vocational skills training for disadvantaged youth in Masbate

The Technical Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) confirmed the 2nd batch of 250 disadvantaged youth as graduates of labour market-responsive technical vocational skills training in Masbate on May 4. To date, a total of 500 disadvantaged youth...

Youth speak out on employment crisis

This 2012 International Labour Conference (ILC) will focus much of its attention on the issue of youth employment. While for years young people world-wide have had difficulty finding decent work, with the global economic downturn their struggles...

Philippine tripartite-plus stakeholders discuss ethical recruitment in the health sector

On 17 May 2012, the ILO, with the leadership of Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), organized a participatory workshop whose goal was...