All ILO Newsroom content

September 2011

  1. Article

    The story of Siti Tarwiyah: Beaten to death in Saudi Arabia; blood money is all that remains of a mother’s love

    15 September 2011

    “I’m still so traumatized. I can not forget my late wife. Her body was covered in wounds as a result of regular caning,” recalled Hamid, the husband of Siti Tarwiyah who died in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, three years ago. Her body was bruised everywhere because members of the employers family used to smash her up against walls. She was only 32 years old when she died.

  2. Article

    The story of Ceriyati: Escaping abuse in Malaysia

    15 September 2011

    Ceriyati Binti Dapin, a 37-year-old mother of a handicapped son, had no other choice but to become a migrant domestic worker in order to supplement the income of her husband Ridwan, who worked as an ojek driver in the Central Java town of Brebes. Despite the long recruitment process and delays in getting employment in Malaysia, she had a strong desire to help her husband cover her son’s regular medical costs.

  3. Article

    The story of Cassina: Trapped in war-torn Iraq

    15 September 2011

    Like most of her peers in Subang, West Java, Cassina had a strong desire to lift her family out of poverty as it had a debilitating effect on them since her marriage in 1996. Her husband’s daily income as an ojek driver was inadequate to cover their daily needs and pay for their ten year-old son’s monthly school tuition fees. Having heard the success stories about her fellow villagers working in Malaysia and Middle East, she decided she wanted to work in Abu Dhabi.

  4. Video

    ILO Director-General interviewed at the European Parliament

    14 September 2011

    Following his address to an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament Conference of Presidents, ILO Director-General, Mr. Juan Somavia, was interviewed saying "the real economy must take the driver's seat of the global economy, with a financial system at its service.

  5. Video

    Excerpts from ILO Director-General address to the European Parliament

    14 September 2011

    "The real economy must take the driver's seat in the global economy, with a financial system at its service" Mr. Somavia told members of the European Parliament during an address in Strasbourg.

  6. Statement

    ILO Director-General address to the European Parliament

    14 September 2011

  7. Statement

    Statement on Fiji, by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia

    13 September 2011

  8. News

    Media Advisory: ILO Director-General Juan Somavia to address the European Parliament

    07 September 2011

  9. News

    African ministers call for ILO support to boost employment-intensive investments in infrastructure

    07 September 2011

    Ministers from some 13 African countries at the 14th Regional Seminar for Labour Based Practitioners have called on the International Labour Organization (ILO) to boost its cooperation with other international partners to support employment-intensive investments in infrastructure and other sectors.

August 2011

  1. Video

    Moldova: Code of Conduct to Eradicate the Worst Forms of Child Labour

    30 August 2011

    In Moldova, there has been success in fighting child labour in the country's vast agricultural sector. One key to that success is the employers' Code of Conduct to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, which was developed with assistance from the ILO. Moldova's employers are also investing in new technologies and in their communities, to ensure a more prosperous future without child labour.