News and Press releases
November 2009
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ILO says economic crisis eroding real wages for second year running
03 November 2009
Global growth in real wages slowed dramatically in 2008 as a result of the economic crisis and is expected to drop even further this year despite signs of a possible economic recovery, the International Labour Organization said. “The continued deterioration of real wages worldwide raises serious questions about the true extent of an economic recovery, especially if government rescue packages are phased out too early. Wage deflation deprives national economies of much needed demand and seriously affects confidence”, said Manuela Tomei, Director, ILO Conditions of Work and Employment Programme and lead author of the study.
October 2009
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Informal employment curbs trade benefits for developing countries
12 October 2009
A joint study from the International Labour Organization and the WTO has found that high incidence of informal employment in the developing world suppresses countries' ability to benefit from trade opening by creating poverty traps for workers in job transition. “The study confirms what we know from experience, that by promoting complementarity between decent work objectives and trade, financial and labour market policies, developing countries are much better placed to benefit from trade opening, advance the social dimension of globalization, and to cope with the current crisis” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
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ILO welcomes US funding to tackle child labour worldwide
08 October 2009
The International Labour Organization’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) has welcomed the award of the US Department of Labour of $59 million in new grants to combat child labour in 19 countries around the world. A large part of these funds are to support ILO-IPEC country projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where despite the significant progress in the past years in combating child labour, millions of children are still forced to work at the expense of their health, education and future.
September 2009
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G20 Commit to Putting Quality Jobs at the Heart of the Recovery
25 September 2009
Leaders of the G20 have welcomed the ILO Global Jobs Pact and the building of “an employment-oriented framework for future economic growth”. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, who was invited to present a report on policies and prospects for jobs and social protection to the Pittsburgh Summit said, “I welcome the significant commitment of the Leaders to “implementing recovery plans that support decent work, help preserve employment and prioritize job growth.”
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Despite continued rise in unemployment, measures taken by G20 governments will save up to 11 million jobs in 2009
18 September 2009
Employment and social protection measures taken by G20 governments since the economic crisis began will have created or saved an estimated 7 to 11 million jobs in the G20 countries this year, the Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO) said in a communication at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh.
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ILO Launches Fourth Call for Proposals to Promote Cooperatives in Africa
12 September 2009
The International Labour Organization (ILO) announces the launch, on 14 September 2009, of a fourth call for proposals to promote social economy organizations based on cooperative values and principles through the Cooperative Facility for Africa (CoopAfrica) programme. The programme provides assistance through the Challenge Fund, a competitive bidding process, which supports projects on a cost-sharing basis.
August 2009
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Disability Equality Training for Parliamentarians in Zambia *MPs PLEDGE ACTION ON INCLUSION OF DISABLED PEOPLE*
07 August 2009
Members of influential Parliamentary Committees have pledged to do all they can to ensure the full rights of people with disabilities in Zambia. They aim to achieve this through awareness raising at all levels, and by pressing for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
July 2009
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ILO welcomes new support for the Global Jobs Pact from the UN Economic and Social Council
27 July 2009
The International Labour Office welcomed the adoption of a resolution on the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact sponsored by more than 170 countries attending the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting in Geneva.
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Technical Seminar: Labour Market Information to Monitor Progress on Decent Work in Africa and African Preview: ILO Guide to the New Millennium Development Goals Employment Indicators
23 July 2009
The ILO seminar running from 20 July to 24 July 2009 is a follow-up to the endorsement of the four new employment indicators under the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDG) Target 1b (Achieve full productive employment and decent work for all) by the Secretary General of the UN and the President of the General Assembly at a UN High Level Meeting on the 25th September 2008.
June 2009
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ILO adopts “Global Jobs Pact” aimed at creating jobs, protecting workers and stimulating economic recovery
19 June 2009
Faced with the prospect of a prolonged global increase in unemployment, poverty and inequality and the continuing collapse of enterprises, the International Labour Organization adopted a Global Jobs Pact designed to guide national and international policies aimed at stimulating economic recovery, generating jobs and providing protection to working people and their families.