Events coverage

June 2009

  1. Speech given by Mr. Jean Maninat, ILO Regional Director for Americas, during the opening day of the International Labour Conference (video file)

    03 June 2009

  2. Speech given by Mr. Charles Dan, ILO Regional Director for Africa, during the opening day of the International Labour Conference (video file)

    03 June 2009

  3. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia opening remarks to the ILC

    03 June 2009

    A six to eight year employment and social protection crisis may ensue if measures are not urgently taken now to avert it, according to ILO Director-General Juan Somavia in his opening remarks to the 98th International Labour Conference. He called on delegates to adopt a "Global Jobs Pact" to remedy a lag in employment recovery.

May 2009

  1. Forced Labour report cites opportunity cost of coercion

    12 May 2009

    Forced Labour costs USD 20 billion per year - Roger Plant, Head of the ILO's Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour, explains the financial as well as moral reasons why governments throughout the world must crack down on forced labour.

March 2009

  1. IMF Managing-Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn addresses ILO’s Governing Body on responses to the current global financial and economic crisis

    23 March 2009

    The Director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn has called for increased cooperation between the IMF and the International Labour Organization, saying that coordination between multilateral institutions was crucial in addressing the global economic crisis. He was speaking at a high level meeting of the ILO in Geneva.

  2. Nobel prize-winning economist, Professor Joseph Stiglitz addresses Governing Body

    13 March 2009

    Nobel prize-winning economist, Professor Joseph Stiglitz, addressed a special sitting of the Governing Body on the impact of the global financial and economic crisis. He was presented with the 2008 ILO Decent Work Research Prize by ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, who praised his call for a more balanced globalization and stronger regulation of financial markets.

  3. Lord Mark Malloch Brown, United Kingdom Minister for the United Nations at the ILO

    02 March 2009

    Lord Mark Malloch Brown, United Kingdom Minister for the United Nations discusses preparations for the London Summit on Stability, Growth and Jobs during his visit to the ILO.

February 2009

  1. Social Justice Under Threat?

    20 February 2009

    February 20 2009 marked the first World Day of Social Justice was celebrated at the ILO's Geneva headquarters with a panel discussion about "The Crisis: Threat or Opportunity for Social Justice?". Speakers included ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, Khalid Janahi (Ithmaar Bank), Anita Normark (Building and Wood Workers' International), Rick Samans (World Economic Forum), Jack Lowe (BlueOrchard), Karen Tse (International Bridges to Justice) and Raymond Torres (Director of the ILO's International Institute for Labour Studies) in an animated debate moderated by ILO Director of Communication Zohreh Tabatabai.

  2. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia praises Portuguese pastry shop on equal pay policy

    13 February 2009

    ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, visits one of Lisbon's oldest restaurants to see the organisation's equal pay for equal work policy in action. The Pasteis de Belem is one of 40 Portuguese restaurants that has implemented pay equity solutions for its male and female workers, using an innovative job evaluation method developed by local employers associations, trade unions and the ILO. It provides a detailed profile of workers skills combined with the demands of the job, including physical hazards and stress.

November 2008

  1. ILO has a major role to play in responding to the economic crisis says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

    19 November 2008

    ILO Director General Juan Somavia welcomed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today to the ILO's Governing Body. Finding solutions to the economic crisis requires the kind of forward thinking represented at the ILO, said the Secretary-General, which brings together employers, workers and governments. "We are going to need this kind of partnership, and this kind of practical approach, to get through this difficult time," he added.