Full Coverage: Labour

28.09.2006 A toll-free telephone helpline for children in distress is now available in 72 cities.
Supported by the Women and Child Development Ministry, "Childline" number 1098 is available round-the-clock and it could be accessed either by a child or an adult.

27.09.2006 An Indian activist has alleged that Indian enforcement agencies are not being able to stem the disappearances of millions of children all over the country. He fears that missing children are being pushed into begging or forced work.

27.09.2006 The forest industry giant UPM, based in Finland, plans to get rid of its remaining 300 forestry workers. The Wood and Allied Workers' Union warns that UPMÂ’s real aim is to utilise low-pay labour from near-by countries, such as Estonia and Poland.

15.09.2006 Ministry of labour has opened a multilingual site that provides information for employers hiring foreigners and foreigners coming to work in Finland or already living in Finland. The material explains the rules of working life, permits needed to work in Finland and the Finnish working culture.

15.09.2006 In the near future thousand welders and fitters will travel from Finland and other European countries to Uruguay to work at the construction site of BotniaÂ’s pulp mill. The supply of Uruguayan labour needed for the high quality welding and fitting work demanded by a pulp process, is far too small, Marko Janhonen, the projectÂ’s communication and PR vice president, argues.

14.09.2006

Child carrying a slate

In low-income countries like Tanzania where half of the population lives in extreme poverty, child labor is considered as a means of survival for many families and not necessarily abuse.

11.09.2006 The State Government has done little to demonstrate its commitment in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) for the benefit of the unemployed poor in rural areas of five districts.

11.09.2006 An Indian government study finds that almost one in six ship workers at AsiaÂ’s largest shipbreaking yard, Alang in Gujarat, suffers from asbestos poisoning that could lead to lung cancer. At 2 per 1,000, the fatal accident rate among AlangÂ’s ship workers is several times higher than the 0.34 per 1,000 in the mining industry, considered IndiaÂ’s most unsafe profession.

05.09.2006 OneWorld South Asia is holding a consultation - Ban on Child Labour - Is This Enough? - on September 26, 2006 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the India International Centre (IIC), Lodhi Road, New Delhi.