April 2006

1. Publication

   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.

2. Publication

   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.

3. Publication

   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.

4. Publication

   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.

5. Publication

   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.

6. Publication

   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.

February 2006

1. 

   Article

   Maritime Session of the International Labour Conference (7-23 February 2006): A new standard for the global shipping industry

   02 February 2006

   Nearly 1.2 million seafarers work for the world's shipping industry. The ILO now heads for a new Maritime Labour Convention reflecting the needs of a globalized shipping industry. If adopted, the standard will consolidate and update more than 65 international labour standards adopted over the last 80 years. ILO Online spoke with Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the ILO's International Labour Standards Department, about the new Convention.

2. Publication

   How biometrics helps the seafarer and world trade

   01 February 2006

   This article first appeared in the February 2006 issue of ISO Focus - the Magazine of the International Organization for Standardization, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2006 and is reproduced here with the permission of the ISO Central Secretariat.

January 2006

1. Article

   Environmentally sustainable development: the WILL is there

   30 January 2006

   NAIROBI (ILO Online) - The Workers Initiative for a Lasting Legacy (WILL 2006), organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the ILO, SustainLabour and the UN Global Compact, held here the first ever trade union assembly on labour and the environment last week. ILO Online spoke with Lene Olsen from the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities who participated in the assembly.

2. Article

   Maritime Session of the International Labour Conference (7-23 February 2006): The global seafarer: mixed fortunes mirror global trends

   29 January 2006

   Nearly 1.2 million seafarers work for the world's shipping industry. Aboard the world's cruise ships, crews often represent 20 nationalities or more. While the current shipbuilding boom has created strong demand for officers worldwide, the trend towards increasingly automated vessels also reduces the need for ratings. The ILO now heads for a new Maritime Labour Convention reflecting the needs of a globalized shipping industry. If adopted, the standard will consolidate and update more than 65 international labour standards adopted since the 1920s. Journalist Ian Gill reports from the Philippines.