Impact and people
2006
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Taming the beast: A look at the many forms and guises of workplace violence
01 April 2006
When it comes to violence in the workplace, such as sexual harassment, bullying and threats, abuse of power and even murder, people are asking why it happens, and who can stop it. But violence is a ubiquitous shape shifter, lurking in formal and informal workplaces alike, and it is often hard to pinpoint its occurrence and its instigators. Today, workplace violence is receiving more exposure, and organizations like the ILO are taking a steadfast stance against it by developing standards, codes of practice and community awareness. Based on the ILO's newly released Violence at work ( Note 1), in its third edition, Alicia Priest explores who's at risk, what's at stake and what's being done to stop it.
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A personal stake: Why employee-owned businesses return more than a profit
01 April 2006
Employee-owned businesses remain an oft-overlooked option for companies as a means toward ramping up productivity, profit and morale. But a new study shows that the overwhelming success of companies like UK-based John Lewis is due to innovative mechanisms to encourage employee participation and cultivate a culture of ownership. Andrew Bibby explores how this company model of a fully or majority employee-owned business is not only self-sustaining and successful, but is in fact widely applicable.
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Real-time response The ILO's role in helping Pakistan rebuild and get back to work
01 April 2006
The ILO continues to play an important role in the earthquake recovery efforts in Pakistan. From establishing emergency employment centres and cash-for-work programmes to easing trauma through decent work, the ILO's multi-pronged approach capitalized on an existing infrastructure for technical cooperation to distribute resources quickly and efficiently.
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Full steam ahead! ILO adopts "super Convention" for the maritime sector
01 April 2006
Over 1.2 million seafarers represent the world's most global and globalized workforce, and it is they and the shipowners for whom they work who move the bulk of world trade as well as serving on passenger ships. The importance of this sector - and the need to update and revitalize ILO standards, some of which were nearly as old as the Organization - came together at the recent International Labour Conference on maritime matters. As a result, the Conference adopted what has been called a "super Convention" for the world's maritime sector, providing a comprehensive charter for seafarers and shipowners alike. Here - in question and answer format - World of Work discusses the new Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and why it's so important.
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The Decent Work Deficit: A new ILO report outlines the latest global employment trends
01 April 2006
The ILO's 2006 Global Employment Trends Brief paints a sombre picture not only of growing unemployment and poverty but of a significant lack of decent job opportunities, especially for young people. Despite the robust world economic growth of 2005, the global economy failed to deliver enough new jobs. But the ILO's stance is a strong one, involving a global strategy of communication, education, sound policy enforcement and the promotion of entrepreneurship to encourage the creation of more and better jobs.
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Disabled people in Ethiopia: Making public services work for poor people
01 April 2006
Most of Addis Ababa's estimated 3 million population lives in slums and informal settlements. In June 2005 the President of Ethiopia officially opened the first of 30 modern public shower and toilet facilities run by a cooperative of disabled persons in Addis Ababa with the support of the ILO. This innovative proposal by the Ethiopian Federation of Persons with Disabilities (EFPD) to renovate existing sanitary facilities and unlock the economic potential of unemployed people with disabilities won a World Bank Development Marketplace Competition prize in 2003.
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Questions for a global economy: protecting workers against factory fires
30 March 2006
Fires in the workplace are among the most feared industrial events, and have left their mark on history. From the 1911 factory fire in New York City that killed 146 textile workers, to more recent industrial accidents or incidents around the world that have left hundreds of dead and injured, such events often lead to the adoption of labour laws to protect factory workers. A spate of recent industrial fires have again underlined the need for vigilance, planning and preparation for dealing with the unexpected - especially in the form of a viable evacuation plan. ILO occupational safety and health expert David Gold spoke with ILO Online about fire protection and emergency management.
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Offshoring and job losses:Is the rising international integration of products and services good for labour markets in the developed world?
27 March 2006
We live in a world where more and more products and services are composed of parts sourced from all over the globe. This could symbolize that labour markets all over the world profit from globalization. However, job losses and the degradation of working conditions in the industrialized world have been blamed on globalization, internationalization and offshoring of work, but is this true? A new ILO publication analyzes trends and patterns in the internationalization of employment, and argues that while winners might outnumber losers over the long term, policies for losers are of utmost importance for a fair globalization to progress. ILO Online spoke with ILO employment analyst Peter Auer.
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"Looking for greener pastures": Nurses and doctors on the move
16 March 2006
The global health care profession employs an estimated 100 million people, but is not attracting enough new recruits in both developed and developing countries alike. So fierce is the competition to secure scarce health care professionals, that private recruitment agencies stage promotional events and aggressive recruitment campaigns in supplying countries. A recent ILO study examines these shortages of health care professionals and the role played by private recruitment agencies in the flows of international migration.
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Labour migration in the twenty-first century: E Pluribus, Unum?
10 March 2006
The world's 90 million migrant workers constitute 3 per cent of the global workforce, and migrant experiences range from red carpet welcomes for some computer programmers to detention and deportation for some apprehended unauthorized workers. What can be done to ensure that international labour migration is a force for global betterment? A recent study, co-authored by two ILO experts presents a comprehensive analysis of the causes and effects of labour migration.