All ILO Newsroom content

May 2008

  1. Statement

    Eradicating Forced Labour: The International Business Challenge by Roger Plant, London, 1 May 2008

    01 May 2008

    Presentation to the Conference "Is there Forced Labour and Slavery in your Supply Chain?", Clifford Chance, London, 1 May 2008

April 2008

  1. Statement

    Message by Mr. Juan Somavia on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work (28 April 2008)

    28 April 2008

  2. Statement

    Message by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office, on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, 28 April 2008

    28 April 2008

    Labour is not a commodity and markets must serve people. Nearly 90 years ago the protection of workers’ lives and health was set out as a key objective in the founding charter of the Organization. Today, rapid technological change and a fast-paced and globalized economy bring new challenges and pressures for all areas of the world of work. Safety and health remain integral elements of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda.

  3. News

    ILO Director-General calls for strong support for social dialogue in Africa

    24 April 2008

    In an address at the headquarters of the African Union, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Mr. Juan Somavia, called for a stronger commitment to reinforce “African tripartism” and social dialogue throughout the continent.

  4. News

    ILO and US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health agree to cooperate on expanding safety and health at work

    23 April 2008

    The Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork) of the International Labour Office (ILO) and the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) today signed an agreement aimed at expanding safety and health in the workplace.

  5. News

    ILO Conference on Green Jobs held in Japan

    20 April 2008

    The impact of environmental change on jobs, sustainable economic growth and poverty is discussed at an International Labour Organization research conference in Niigata, Japan on 21-22 April.

  6. News

    UNCTAD XII: The opportunities and challenges of globalization

    18 April 2008

    In a statement to the Twelfth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Accra, Ghana (21-25 April), the ILO calls on the international community to grasp the opportunities offered by globalization by creating an environment conducive to full and productive employment and decent work for all. It focuses on the synergies between the work of UNCTAD and the ILO, with particular emphasis on building an international response to the risks of a marked slowdown in global growth following the financial turmoil sparked by the US financial situation and the sharp rise in food prices worldwide.

  7. News

    ILO announces availability of microinsurance grants

    10 April 2008

    he International Labour Office (ILO) has announced the availability of grants from its new “Microinsurance Innovation Facility” aimed at producing new ideas and innovative approaches for insurance products for low-income people.

  8. Video

    Luxembourg Ratifies 20 ILO Conventions and Protocols - Signing Ceremony

    08 April 2008

    Jean Feyder, Permanent Representative of the Great Duchy of Luxembourg to the United Nations, delivered 20 instruments of ratification today to the ILO. Many of the 18 ILO conventions and two protocols ratified by Luxembourg's parliament are concerned with occupational safety and health. Speaking at the signing ceremony with Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the ILO's International Labour Standards Department, H.E. Jean Feyder said the ILO is a “very important actor in the balancing of globalization into a more human globalization”.

  9. News

    Luxembourg ratifies 20 ILO Instruments including 15 in the field of occupational safety and health

    08 April 2008

    The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has ratified 20 Instruments of the International Labour Organization – 18 conventions and 2 protocols, most of which are related to occupational safety and health. A combined ratification of such magnitude is relatively rare in the history of the ILO. As a result, Luxembourg has now ratified a hundred ILO Instruments.