All ILO Newsroom content
June 2008
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Video
The Dignity of Decent Work
06 June 2008
Daniel Funes de Rioja, Executive Vice-President of the International Organization of Employers, discusses the Decent Work agenda, informality in the Latin American economy and the relevance of the International Labour Organization to today's world.
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News
ILO and FAO launch a new joint website on "Food, Agriculture and Decent Work"
06 June 2008
The International Labour Office (ILO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today launched a new website designed to highlight the many areas in which they already work together and others in which they are contemplating joint activities.
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News
Flexicurity for decent work: A labour market policy approach
05 June 2008
The search for a better combination of flexibility and security regarding employment, income and social protection is a major challenge within the European Union. Denmark has been a pioneer in implementing a system of “flexicurity” in its labour market. Today, the country has the second lowest unemployment rate among OECD countries, with high levels of competitiveness, job mobility as well as of workforce training. However, the Danish experience shows that the right balance regarding decent work is not to be found by companies or the public sector alone, but through social dialogue. While the ILO International labour Conference is underway, a panel discussion will address the issue of "Flexicurity for Decent Work: a labour market policy approach" with the participation of ILO experts and tripartite delegates from Denmark. Anne Mette Skipper met with one of them, the Danish Minister for Employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen. Download the interview (in english)
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Statement
Message by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office on the occasion of World Environment Day
04 June 2008
Tackling climate change and protecting the environment are workplace issues, says ILO Director-General Juan Somavia in a statement for World Environment Day. The statement says green growth can become a strong driver for sustainable development if green jobs are also decent jobs and there is a just transition for enterprises and workers. The ILO is ready to put its Decent Work Agenda at the service of low carbon goals.
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Video
ILC coverage: The social dimension of public procurement
04 June 2008
The Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) and Recommendation (No. 84) have been largely misunderstood, almost from the moment of their adoption. Mr. Hugh Williamson of the Financial Times moderates a discussion of these two instruments in light of modern public procurement policies posing the question, among many others, of how to avoid a race to the bottom and how to achieve "best value" vs a " lowest price culture." Speakers at the discussion included Mr. Jan Andersson, President, Employment and Social Committee, European Parliament, Ms. Sonia Regenbogen Luciw, Heenan Blaikie LLP and Ms. Fiona Murie, Building and Wood Workers International (BWI).
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Video
Japanese journalist wins first ITC-ILO Journalistic Prize
04 June 2008
Misako Hida, a journalist based in New York, accepted a prize today for her news article: "The Land of Karoshi". The prize was awarded by the International Training Center and the International Labour Organization to recognize the best story on labour rights. "Karoshi" is a Japanese term meaning "death from overwork". In Japan an estimated 5,000 suicides per year are the result of depression caused by overwork. Zohreh Tabatabai, Director of Communication at the ILO, and François Eyraud, Executive Director of the International Training Centre, presented Misako Hido with the prize.
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News
Labour Organization Journalistic Prize awarded to Misako Hida for her article on "death from overwork"
04 June 2008
Dying from overwork in ‘the Land of Karoshi’: The article that won the first International Labour Organization Journalistic Prize.
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Video
ILC coverage: Decent work a basic requirement of development says Slovenian President
02 June 2008
The President of the Republic of Slovenia today expressed support for the decent work agenda of the International Labour Organization and called for its worldwide implementation. In an address to the annual International Labour Conference of the ILO, H.E. President Danilo Türk, the first sitting president of the EU to address the ILC, said the decent work agenda for creation of employment opportunities, implementation of basic labour standards, social protection and social dialogue are "objectives of global importance."
May 2008
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Video
ILC coverage: Opening of the ILO's 97th International Labour Conference
28 May 2008
More than 3,000 government, worker and employer leaders are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 28 May to 13 June for the annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Conference opened today electing as its President Mr. Edwin Salamín Jaén, Minister of Labour and Social Development of Panama.
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Video
Promoting rural jobs to reduce poverty - an interview with Michael Henriques
28 May 2008
With three quarters of the world's poor living in rural areas, strategies to promote rural jobs are key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty and hunger by 50 per cent before the year 2015. "Rural labour markets have changed," says Michael Henriques, Director of the ILO's Job Creation and Enterprise Development Department in an interview with ILO TV. "Globalization has had a major impact on the conditions of rural areas. The benefits of globalization are not spread equally." Delegates at the 97th International Labour Conference will discuss the promotion of rural employment for poverty reduction and produce a plan of action for the ILO to implement.