November 2004

1. Global economic security in crisis: New ILO report finds "world full of anxiety and anger"

   01 November 2004

   A new ILO report ( Note 1) says that economic security promotes personal well-being, happiness and tolerance, while benefiting growth and social stability. Yet it finds the overwhelming majority of people in a state of economic insecurity, and raises doubts over rich countries' ability to turn wealth into happiness.

June 2004

1. China Employment Forum: Focus on decent work for all

   01 June 2004

   At a recent employment forum, China and the ILO adopted a "common understanding" aimed at forging greater cooperation to create more and better jobs as the key to continued development in the world's most populous country. The statement also called on international organizations to actively support putting employment at the centre of their strategies and policies for reducing poverty, and it resolved to extend cooperation between China and the ILO around the Decent Work Agenda on a range of labour market and workplace issues.

2. World Day Against Child Labour: New report highlights plight of children working as domestic labourers

   01 June 2004

   Millions of children - there is no fixed number - work night and day outside of their family homes, toiling as domestic child labourers - fetching water, minding infants, cleaning the house or tending the garden. Nearly all are exploited, exposed to hazardous work and subject to abuse. All, without exception, are at risk because of the very nature of child domestic labour. This year's World Day Against Child Labour sheds new light on these children and what can be done to help them.

3. Globalization: The quest for a level playing field ILO considers action for fair globalization

   01 June 2004

   The report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, "A fair globalization: Creating opportunities for all" ( Note 1), called for an "urgent rethink" in the way globalization is governed. At the recent 289th Session of the ILO Governing Body, members held a lively discussion on the report, providing further indicators of the road forward - a subject at the forefront of this year's International Labour Conference.

4. The new postal sector: Why "snail mail" still matters

   01 June 2004

   How did this copy of World of Work reach you? If it's a printed copy, the answer is likely to be simple - through the postal services. Despite today's high-speed electronic mail, so-called "snail mail" still reaches an enormous number of people and provides some five million jobs worldwide. This article explains why the post still matters.

5. From cockle pickers to computer programmers: New approaches for migrant workers

   01 June 2004

   In February 2004, 20 Chinese citizens were drowned on the coast of northwest England while picking cockles (a speciality shellfish). The workers were irregular migrants, employed by an organized gang. Their fate highlighted the precariousness of many migrants' existence, their exposure to exploitation, and the need for action to regulate migration around the world. While some migrants are able to secure employment in hi-tech or similarly skilled professions, many must accept exploitation with no legal protection, in order to survive. This year's International Labour Conference is to discuss the issue and what the ILO and its member States can do about it.

6. "Do no harm": How social dialogue benefits patients, too

   01 June 2004

   Today's under-resourced health services are putting both workers and patients at risk. But with "quick-fix" solutions unfeasible, how to address this global problem? ILO expert Susan Maybud explains how increased cooperation between workers, employers and governments will not only benefit those working in the health services, but their patients as well.

7. Second Global Report on freedom of association and collective bargaining

   01 June 2004

   Freedom of association and collective bargaining are called fundamental rights in the workplace for good reason. These are the rights which make it possible for both workers and employers to join together to promote their interests and to defend other rights. The ILO Constitution upholds these rights, and they are set out in core Conventions. But what is their status in the world today? The second ILO Global Report on freedom of association and collective bargaining, Organizing for Social Justice, delivers a message of cautious optimism.

March 2004

1. 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.

2. 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.