All ILO Newsroom content

September 2006

  1. Publication

    The roots of an enduring principle

    01 September 2006

  2. Publication

    Coming clean: Drug and alcohol testing in the workplace

    01 September 2006

    Workplace drug testing is an inherently controversial subject, one that questions where the line should be drawn between the right to privacy and the right to professionalism. Planet Work takes stock of the issue and explores how new legislation, studies and prevention programmes are evolving..

  3. Publication

    An honest day's work? Considering the nebulous notion of today's work-life balance

    01 September 2006

    Atypical and unpredictable work schedules are on the rise worldwide, thanks to an ever-increasingly connected, responsive and demanding global economy. Consequently, work-life balance in industrialized countries is becoming a thing of the past. A new ILO publication, Decent working time: New trends, new issues, is a collection of papers from some of the leading international scholars in the field and considers the profound changes in the nature of working time - and indeed the nature of employment itself. US writer Jennifer Monroe reports.

  4. Publication

    Picking education, not tea: Voices of change in Uganda

    01 September 2006

    The new ILO report The end of child labour: Within reach paints a mixed picture of child labour worldwide. While the global total of child labourers is on the decline, there remain some 50 million working children in sub-Saharan Africa. But the unprecedented international movement to end child labour, including an innovative awareness-raising campaign using local radio shows, is opening a window of opportunity for Africa's fight against the practice. The ILO's Kevin Cassidy reports from a tea plantation in Uganda.

  5. Publication

    Dispelling the migrant myth

    01 September 2006

    Recent media buzz has sparked the latest global debate on migrant workers. Poverty and the decent work deficit are the two main reasons these workers cross borders in search of better lives, and most often they will take any job they can find, no matter how dirty or dangerous. But the crux of the debate lies in the extent of their contributions - and as a result the level of responsibility to be undertaken by the host countries for their labour rights. ILO specialist on workers' activities Luc Demaret and senior migration specialist Patrick Taran weigh in on the current state of play for migrant workers, and in doing so separate fact from fiction in the latest chapter of the migrant debate.

  6. Publication

    Decent Work for All UN moves to strengthen global efforts to promote Decent Work for poverty reduction and sustainable development

    01 September 2006

    The High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), meeting in early July, adopted a wide-ranging Ministerial Declaration on full and productive employment and decent work, saying it would help strengthen efforts by the UN and the multilateral system to create jobs, cut poverty and provide new hope for the world's 1.4 billion working poor during the next decade. The Declaration provides further support for the ILO's Decent Work agenda and reinforces efforts to make decent work for all a global goal and a national reality.

  7. Publication

    Business with a conscience: Why best practice is good practice

    01 September 2006

    As global business continues to diversify and grow, social dialogue plays a crucial role in encouraging the adoption and implementation of corporate social responsibility policies.

August 2006

  1. Article

    14th Asian Regional Meeting, Busan, Republic of Korea (29 August - 1 September) Making progress in combating child labour in Asia

    28 August 2006

    Despite declines both in the child population and in the number of economically active children, the ILO estimates that Asia has the largest number of child workers in the 5-14 age group - some 122 million. Here are some FAQs on child labour compiled by ILO Online.

  2. News

    IFC and ILO team up to improve working conditions in global supply chains

    25 August 2006

    The International Finance Corporation, the private arm of the World Bank, and the International Labour Organization agreed on Monday, August 21, 2006, to collaborate in developing a global programme for better labour standards in global supply chains.

  3. Article

    14th Asian Regional Meeting, Busan, Republic of Korea (29 August - 1 September) Improved working conditions create a win-win story in Asia's factories

    24 August 2006

    Asia's ability to sustain its impressive economic growth and competitive edge will depend greatly on the ability of governments and companies to ensure the benefits are shared by employers, the workforce and the wider population. This is the conclusion of a new report ( Note 1) on the region's economic and social trends, prepared for the Asian Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization. ILO Online reports on one new approach which, by linking productivity with improved working conditions, is ensuring that the benefits of globalization are felt from the shop floor to the boardroom.