Full Coverage: Labour

22.06.2011 Jun 21 (New America Media) - Sitting in the majestic paneled courtroom in the U.S. Supreme Court three months ago, it did not take long to get that dreaded sense that Betty Dukes and 1.5 million other current and former women employees at Wal-Mart were not likely to prevail in their epic 10-year battle against the nation's largest private employer.

14.06.2011 The GAVI Alliance and the International Labour Organization have both been in action this week with major conferences. I couldn't help thinking of that killer scatter diagram on the opening page of UK DFID's multilateral aid review published in March. Purporting to assess value for money delivered by its client organisations, DFID positioned GAVI at the top right whilst ILO languished close to the bottom left. End result: ILO lost its UK funding whilst GAVI lapped it up in London this week. Donors just love immunization programmes. But I reckon the ILO event has been scoring the points with its emphasis on the systemic failure of the global economy to create jobs for young people. Having been ostracized for its hard-to-measure "Decent Work Agenda", the ILO should take heart from DFID's U-turn in the emergency "Arab Partnership" announced at the G8 summit last month. The extra £110 million will "tackle the problems which leave so many millions of young people across the region out of a job."

13.06.2011 As global youth unemployment hits record levels, adolescents are increasingly presented with a choice between undertaking hazardous work or no work at all.

14.04.2011 Why does no one speak up for the International Labour Organization following its blacklisting as "poor value for money" by the UK Multilateral Aid Review. Now the ILO has published a detailed response. It says that the UK government is measuring value simply by counting outcomes such as the number of vaccinations etc. I agree with the ILO defence which says that development is more complicated than that. The organization has taken responsibility for coordinating a global response to child labour and has been successful in pushing the concept of "decent work" up the MDGs agenda.

04.12.2010 Emerging economies that supply the world with manufactured goods and natural resources have the worst record of underage workers, says a new study - which also warns that climate change will push more children into work.

03.03.2010 UK taxpayers' money could be used to fund child labour or slavery under new government proposals, warn campaign groups.

02.03.2010 Disconnect tracks the shifting relationships between three Indian call centre workers as they try to call in the debts of a US credit card company.

28.01.2010 The seizure of large commercial farms -- almost all white-owned -- has continued despite the formation of a unity government in Zimbabwe. The country's farm workers say they are the biggest losers.
+ Zimbabwe's Book Cafe comes to London
+ Mugabe and the White African

18.01.2010 British taxpayers money could be used to fund child labour or slavery under new government proposals, warn campaign groups.

16.09.2009 The fluctuating fortunes of rural labourers migrating to China's cities. BBC News

26.05.2009 A new report, Still in the Fields, exposes the continued use of state-sponsored forced child labour in cotton production in Uzbekistan and highlights major role played by leading brands in ending the abuse.

05.03.2009 The pay gap between men and women worldwide may be as high as 22 per cent, rather than the 16.5 per cent figure taken from official government figures, according to a new report.

06.05.2008 India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has increased the bargaining power of the poor, felt participants at a recent consultation by Indian anti-poverty network WNTA in the capital. They also called for increased investment by the government for effective monitoring of the scheme.

01.05.2008 As May 1st commemorates the late 19th century workersÂ’ protests for rights, it becomes vital to take a look at occupational safety and health of workers today, vital to the dignity of work. More than 2 million people die every year from work-related accidents, deaths or diseases globally, says the latest ILO report.

30.04.2008 BANGKOK, Apr 29 (IPS) - As if the burdens they shoulder are not enough, Asia's women are being compelled to bear the additional weight of rising food prices, say women's rights activists from across the region.

29.04.2008 Women are the worst hit by the ongoing food crisis in Asia. According to Committee for Asian Women (CAW), female workers are compelled to take additional jobs in the informal sector, where there are no steady wages or social benefits.

22.04.2008 Centre for Science and Environment releases a two year study on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as it becomes pan-Indian from April 1. NREGA can regenerate the village economy through productive assets on water conservation and afforestation and just wages for the people, says CSE.

22.04.2008 WomenÂ’s contribution to the economy and society remains largely unrecognised, underpaid and unpaid in most cases. The need for women to secure land and property is even more critical now, writes Dr Vibhuti Patel of SNDT WomenÂ’s University, Mumbai, India.

21.04.2008 The ILO conference that opens today in Niigata, Japan, will focus on environmental impact on jobs and sustainable economies. Green jobs are activities that de-carbonize economies and protect ecosystems while saving energy. These new patterns of work will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation efforts to climate changes, says ILO.

15.04.2008 A new International Labour Organization report says the workplace is helping tackle HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination through greater tolerance and improved attitude towards affected co-workers. The report, which covers 650 workplaces in 24 countries, also notes an increased acceptance of condom use.