2004

1. The time-money squeeze: ILO study shows the difficulties of workers with family responsibilities

   21 September 2004

2. Combating bonded labour in rural Pakistan

   14 September 2004

   Debt-bondage and slavery-like conditions await many workers in the world who fall prey to coercive recruitment practices in rural areas, especially those in agricultural plantations or domestic work. But there are also successful efforts to combat bonded labour in countries like India, Nepal and Pakistan. ILO officials Patrick Daru and Caroline O'Reilly report from a successful ILO programme in Hyderabad, Pakistan.

3. Economic insecurity is a global crisis

   07 September 2004

   GENEVA - Only 8 per cent of people in the world - fewer than one in ten - live in countries providing favourable economic security, says a new study by the International Labour Office (ILO). The just published report, "Economic Security for a Better World", includes estimates for countries representing more than 85 per cent of the world's population, and says that economic security promotes happiness, and is beneficial for growth and social stability. ILO online spoke with Guy Standing, co-author of the report and director of the ILO's Programme on Socioeconomic Security.

4. The new seafarers ID: questions and answers

   26 August 2004

   On the high seas and in the world's ports 1.2 million maritime workers handle 90 per cent of the world's trade. Before the end of this year some of them could bring along with their personal luggage a new Seafarers Identity Document (SID). The SID uses a biometric verification system created in the framework of a new Convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Convention has now received enough ratifications to come into force.

5. A high road to management and human resources development: High Performance Teams

   06 August 2004

   ILO official Peter van Rooij worked 14 months in a factory as part of an exchange of staff between the International Labour Office (ILO) and the French company Michelin. His challenge? To help them move from a "Taylorist" management style to High Performance Team Management.

6. AIDS in India: "Work is more than medicine to us"

   23 July 2004

   Among the issues highlighted at the recent XVth International AIDS Conference in Bangkok was the fact that the ability to continue working provides a vital lifeline for people living with HIV/AIDS. But maintaining a regular job is not always so easy. A new ILO study shows that in India, people living with HIV/AIDS and their families suffer drastic income cuts. Amid rising household expenditures, families compromise on education and face mounting debts. Recognizing the challenge, the ILO is working on bold initiatives to tackle the epidemic directly at the workplace.

7. Delivering treatment for HIV/AIDS in the workplace: the ILO role An interview with Franklyn Lisk, Director, ILO/AIDS

   13 July 2004

   At the XVth International AIDS Conference (Bangkok 11-16 July), the AIDS programme of the International Labour Office (ILO) is launching a new report on "HIV/AIDS and work: global estimates, impact and response". Franklyn Lisk, Director of the ILO Global Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work talks about the ILO report and the expanded response of the ILO to AIDS in the workplace.

8. Read the interview of Philippe Seguin upon his election as Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body - June 2004

   07 July 2004

   Following the 92nd session of the International Labour Conference, the former French minister of social affairs, Philippe Séguin, was elected chairman of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office. Mr. Séguin, government delegate of France to the ILO since 2002, was elected by the 56 members of the Governing Body representing governments and employers' and workers' organizations.

9. Cooperatives and trade unions from the North and the South join to promote decent work

   05 July 2004

   They range from small-scale to multi-million dollar businesses across the globe, employ some 100 million women and men and have more than 800 million individual members. Cooperatives play an important role in integrating unprotected workers in the informal economy into mainstream economic life. On this International Day of Cooperatives, cooperative enterprises worldwide make fair globalization a reality. Here are some examples of recent ILO activities aimed at creating decent jobs and reducing poverty around the globe.

10. Danger at sea - Working in the fishing sector

    02 July 2004

    As fish and shellfish become increasingly important as a source of protein, the fishing industry has grown considerably. This growth, however, hasn't come without a cost - in terms of working conditions and occupational safety - to the estimated 35 million full and part-time workers in the fishing sector. To address this, delegates to this year's 92nd International Labour Conference took the first steps toward adopting new international labour standards for what is one of the world's most dangerous professions. Here, in question and answer format, are basic facts about the fishing sector and what the ILO can do to improve conditions there.