Press releases

March 1999

  1. Press release

    ILO Governing Body to examine response to Asia crisis

    16 March 1999

    GENEVA (ILO News) - The plight of Asian workers and enterprises and the ILO's response to the region's economic woes, which have caused massive business failures and upwards of 24 million lost jobs in East Asia alone, will be examined by the Organization's Governing Body in a special two-day Symposium, which gets underway on Friday, 19 March at ILO headquarters in Geneva.

  2. Press release

    New Director-General pledges stronger push by ILO on gender issues

    08 March 1999

    GENEVA (ILO News) - Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the International Labour Office, today pledged to step up the commitment to gender issues of the ILO, both within its own walls as well as through its global activities. Mr. Somavia made the statement in a speech this morning to ILO staff and members of the Governing Body marking International Women's Day.

  3. Press release

    ILO's millennium priorities to be aired at budget hearings

    04 March 1999

    GENEVA (ILO News) - Plans to sharpen the strategic focus of ILO activities will be at the heart of a programme and budget proposal of US$ 481,050,000 for the 2000-2001 biennium, which will be presented by the incoming Director-General of the ILO, Mr. Juan Somavia, to the Office's Governing Body members, whose 274 th Session gets underway at ILO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, 4 March.

  4. Press release

    New Director-General begins tenure at ILO

    04 March 1999

    GENEVA (ILO News) - The new Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), Mr. Juan Somavia of Chile, takes office today, marking the first time a representative of the Southern hemisphere has headed this organization. Mr. Somavia is the ninth Director-General of the ILO since its founding in 1919 and was elected by the ILO Governing Body on 23 March 1998.

February 1999

  1. Press release

    Chemical Industry Opts for Voluntary Initiatives on Health, Safety and Environment

    22 February 1999

    GENEVA (ILO News) - Although the chemical industry is in the forefront of corporate efforts to adopt industry-wide codes of practice on health, safety and environmental issues, the credibility of such initiatives remains hampered by public scepticism and generally low levels of workforce involvement, according to an ILO study prepared for a tripartite meeting of industry experts from 23 countries 2 which gets under way in Geneva today.

January 1999

  1. Press release

    New ILO Convention on Child Labour Could Boost Efforts to Stop Internet Child Pornography

    18 January 1999

    PARIS (ILO News) - A new draft Convention against the worst forms of child labour under consideration by the International Labour Organization (ILO) could boost international efforts to halt child pornography and other forms of child labour on the Internet, the Director-General of the ILO, Mr. Michel Hansenne, said today.

December 1998

  1. Press release

    Asian Labour Market Woes Deepening

    02 December 1998

    HONG KONG (ILO News) - The social fallout from the sudden unravelling of economic fortunes in East- and South-East Asia is exceeding initial forecasts and risks dramatically worsening, according to a new report, published by the International Labour Office (ILO) today.

November 1998

  1. Press release

    Freedom of Association remains elusive in much of East and South-East Asia

    24 November 1998

    BANGKOK (ILO News) - Although some progress has been achieved in recent months, freedom of association - the right of workers and of employers to associate freely, without prior authorization - remains elusive in much of East and South-East Asia, according to the Geneva-based International Labour Office (ILO).

  2. Press release

    Governing Body Establishes Follow-up to ILO Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights: First Reports to Appear in 1999

    20 November 1998

    GENEVA (ILO News) - In a move designed to strengthen the oversight of fundamental labour standards in the ILO's 174 member States, the ILO Governing Body adopted a programme of action to establish the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was adopted by the International Labour Conference in June of this year.

  3. Press release

    New encyclopedia lists main threats to worker health worldwide

    16 November 1998

    WASHINGTON D.C. (ILO News ) - The International Labour Office (ILO) has published the latest edition of its Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety, which shows that workers today face many of the same dangers that existed in 1930 when the First Edition was published. The traditional threats range from factory fires to catching tuberculosis in hospitals. New workplace concerns include eye and hand strain from working on computers, jet lag in business travel, and radiation leaks at nuclear power plants.