September 2006

1. Article

   The "Future Store Initiatives": technological and structural change in the retail industry

   15 September 2006

   The introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology replacing bar codes on products will be one of the driving factors contributing to productivity gains in the retail sector but also affect the levels and quality of employment, says a new ILO report. It was prepared for discussion at a forthcoming ILO meeting in Geneva that will examine the role of new retail technologies in shaping the employment landscape in commerce.

2. News

   International Labour Review: special issue on migration

   11 September 2006

   As world leaders gather in New York to discuss global migration, the ILO has just published a new series of in-depth articles about global migration for work.

3. Article

   Social security for all: combating poverty through basic welfare schemes

   06 September 2006

   A number of developing countries have in recent years introduced basic pensions or child benefit schemes financed from the general exchequer which are proving to be a powerful means of combating poverty. Strong evidence of positive experience comes from countries as diverse as Brazil, Mauritius, Namibia, Nepal and South Africa. ILO Online reports from Namibia where a private/public partnership helps to pay pensions and other social security benefits in the whole country.

4. 

   Publication

   The roots of an enduring principle

   01 September 2006

5. 

   Publication

   Coming clean: Drug and alcohol testing in the workplace

   01 September 2006

   Workplace drug testing is an inherently controversial subject, one that questions where the line should be drawn between the right to privacy and the right to professionalism. Planet Work takes stock of the issue and explores how new legislation, studies and prevention programmes are evolving..

6. Publication

   An honest day's work? Considering the nebulous notion of today's work-life balance

   01 September 2006

   Atypical and unpredictable work schedules are on the rise worldwide, thanks to an ever-increasingly connected, responsive and demanding global economy. Consequently, work-life balance in industrialized countries is becoming a thing of the past. A new ILO publication, Decent working time: New trends, new issues, is a collection of papers from some of the leading international scholars in the field and considers the profound changes in the nature of working time - and indeed the nature of employment itself. US writer Jennifer Monroe reports.

7. Publication

   Picking education, not tea: Voices of change in Uganda

   01 September 2006

   The new ILO report The end of child labour: Within reach paints a mixed picture of child labour worldwide. While the global total of child labourers is on the decline, there remain some 50 million working children in sub-Saharan Africa. But the unprecedented international movement to end child labour, including an innovative awareness-raising campaign using local radio shows, is opening a window of opportunity for Africa's fight against the practice. The ILO's Kevin Cassidy reports from a tea plantation in Uganda.

8. Publication

   Dispelling the migrant myth

   01 September 2006

   Recent media buzz has sparked the latest global debate on migrant workers. Poverty and the decent work deficit are the two main reasons these workers cross borders in search of better lives, and most often they will take any job they can find, no matter how dirty or dangerous. But the crux of the debate lies in the extent of their contributions - and as a result the level of responsibility to be undertaken by the host countries for their labour rights. ILO specialist on workers' activities Luc Demaret and senior migration specialist Patrick Taran weigh in on the current state of play for migrant workers, and in doing so separate fact from fiction in the latest chapter of the migrant debate.

9. Publication

   Decent Work for All UN moves to strengthen global efforts to promote Decent Work for poverty reduction and sustainable development

   01 September 2006

   The High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), meeting in early July, adopted a wide-ranging Ministerial Declaration on full and productive employment and decent work, saying it would help strengthen efforts by the UN and the multilateral system to create jobs, cut poverty and provide new hope for the world's 1.4 billion working poor during the next decade. The Declaration provides further support for the ILO's Decent Work agenda and reinforces efforts to make decent work for all a global goal and a national reality.

10. Publication

    Business with a conscience: Why best practice is good practice

    01 September 2006

    As global business continues to diversify and grow, social dialogue plays a crucial role in encouraging the adoption and implementation of corporate social responsibility policies.