All ILO Newsroom content

May 2004

  1. News

    Note for the media: 92nd International Labour Conference, 1-17 June 2004

    26 May 2004

    The 92nd International Labour Conference (ILC) will take place from 1-17 June 2004 in the Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, Geneva, Switzerland.

  2. Video

    H&M IN CAMBODIA

    17 May 2004

    In Cambodia, a company supplying garments for big name brands such as H&M has shown that improving working conditions can increase productivity. Globalisation means that factories have to respond fast to the demands of the fashion business, but as ILO TV reports, in labour relations, Archid garments is setting the trend.

  3. News

    Note to correspondents: ILO Conference to discuss challenges of globalization and EU accession

    13 May 2004

    High-level representatives of workers, employers and governments from the Nordic and Baltic States and Poland are to meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 14 May to discuss regional aspects of globalization and EU accession issues

April 2004

  1. Video

    BANGLADESH GARMENT WORKERS: A CUT ABOVE THE REST

    22 April 2004

    Millions of women in developing countries work in the garment industry, sewing clothes which are exported the world over. But the better paid jobs are often the preserve of men. The International Labour Organization promotes rights in the workplace and an end to sex discrimination. ILO TV now reports from a factory in Bangladesh where women are proving they, too, can be a cut above the rest.

  2. Video

    NEW FORMULAS FOR CHEMICAL SAFETY

    08 April 2004

    This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Bhopal chemicals plant disaster, following which some 20,000 people died. The International Labour Organization estimates that of the two million work-related fatalities each year, nearly a quarter (439,999) are caused by chemicals. Today, World Day for Safety and Health at Work (April 28), ILO TV reports on how the Bhopal disaster has led to measures to promote safety in the workplace.

March 2004

  1. Article

    New study: Balancing flexibility and security in Central and Eastern Europe

    04 March 2004

    A new study published by the ILO says that for many workers in the new Europe, post-Communist era reforms have meant more work and less job security. " Labour markets in transition: Balancing flexibility and security in Central and Eastern Europe" says that while labour market flexibility is increasing in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, workers also often face a sharp increase in open unemployment. As a result, these transition economies need to find a way to balance between more open labour markets and job and income security.

  2. Publication

    International Women's Day 2004

    01 March 2004

    Before women had many rights, they at least had their day. The first recorded National Women's Day occurred in the United States in 1909. A year later, the Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Woman's Day "to honor the movement for women's rights and to assist in achieving universal suffrage" ( Note 1). The following year, 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was celebrated for the first time across Europe, demanding the right to work, vocational training and an end to discrimination.

  3. Publication

    World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization: Globalization can and must change

    01 March 2004

    Can globalization change so its benefits are shared more equitably by people and countries? It not only can change, it must, says a new, groundbreaking report, presented to the ILO by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. The Commission's report says building a fair and inclusive globalization must become a worldwide priority.

  4. Publication

    Strangers in a foreign land - Migration's hidden risk: Increased child trafficking

    01 March 2004

    In many parts of the world, migration is adding a new dimension to the child labour problem, exposing many children to potential exploitation by traffickers. This article explains how migrants can fall into the trafficking trap and how the ILO is working to stop this worst form of child labour.

  5. Publication

    Global Employment Trends 2004: Record joblessness, but relief may be on the way

    01 March 2004

    Despite a second-half economic recovery in 2003, global unemployment continued its relentless climb, hitting a new record of 185.9 million for men and women, rising especially sharply for young people. Meanwhile, the number of "working poor" remained at an all-time high of 550 million. A hopeless scenario? Not quite, says a new ILO report.