Press releases

May 2008 

• 97th International Labour Conference to address wide range of issues, including reducing rural poverty, enhancing skills and labour rights - Conference will have high-level discussion on food crisis
  27 May 2008 - More than 3,000 government, worker and employer leaders are to meet here from 28 May to 13 June for the annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to discuss a wide range of issues including rural poverty reduction, the latest developments in labour rights and enhancing skills development.
• New ILO report on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories
  22 May 2008 - The annual report of the International Labour Office on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories depicts a much degraded employment and labour situation showing that the plight of the Palestinian people has deteriorated alarmingly in a number of respects.
• Media advisory: 97th International Labour Conference, 28 May – 13 June 2008
  21 May 2008 - The 97th International Labour Conference (ILC) will take place from 28 May to 13 June 2008 in the Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, Geneva, Switzerland. The Conference is the annual tripartite meeting of the International Labour Organization’s 181 Member States.
• ILO launches process aimed at adopting new international labour standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of work
  14 May 2008 - Noting that 169 of its 181 Member States have adopted a national policy or strategy concerning HIV/AIDS, the International Labour Office (ILO) is launching a process to adopt a new international labour standard aimed at bolstering the role of the workplace in the global response to the pandemic.

April 2008 

• 28 April 2008: World Day for Safety and Health at Work ─ Worldwide events to mobilize workers, employers and governments on managing risks at work
  23 April 2008 - The world of work is to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work this year on 28 April, amid a new call by the International Labour Office (ILO) for managing risks in the work environment to reduce both the human and the economic burdens of work-related accidents and ill health.
• ILO sees a significant improvement in Workplace attitudes to HIV/AIDS
  14 April 2008 - New report says some 1 million workers in 24 countries are now benefiting from the HIV/AIDS strategic responses in Enterprises (SHARE) project.
• ILO Director-General calls for new multilateral consensus to head off global slowdown and recession
  09 April 2008 - Citing threats to stability and progress in the world of work due to instability in the world of finance, International Labour Office Director-General Juan Somavia has called for a new multilateral “consensus” to head off a global slowdown and recession.

March 2008 

• ILO Governing Body concludes 301st session - Considers labour situation in Myanmar, Colombia and other countries, welcomes growing links with World Bank
  20 March 2008 - The Governing Body of the International Labour Office concluded its 301st session following wide-ranging discussions on basic labour rights in Myanmar, Colombia, Belarus and other countries, as well as strengthening cooperation with the World Bank to forge an inclusive and sustainable globalization.
• World Bank President cites growing ties with ILO on globalization and decent work agenda, welcomes “partnership through dialogue”
  17 March 2008 - World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick cited increasing ties with the International Labour Organization in pursuit of “an inclusive and sustainable globalization” and a broad range of other issues of joint concern including job creation and other elements of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda.
• Global Employment Trends for Women 2008: More women enter the workforce, but more than half of all working women are in vulnerable jobs
  06 March 2008 - More women are working than ever before, but they are also more likely than men to get low-productivity, low-paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights nor voice at work according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO) issued for International Women’s Day.
• ILO Governing Body opens 301st session: Labour situation in Myanmar will be discussed, along with migration, discrimination and freedom of association
  06 March 2008 - The Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) will address a range of issues at its 301st session beginning here today, including basic labour rights in a number of countries, public-private partnerships, as well as ILO action on migrant workers and discrimination in employment and occupation.

February 2008 

• International Women's Day 2008: New report on Global Employment Trends for Women and panel discussion on investing in women's decent work by ILO
  29 February 2008 - The International Labour Office (ILO) will mark International Women’s Day with a new report on labour market trends for women in the world of work and a panel discussion by eminent women bankers and trade unionists on how to invest to create jobs and improve the work lives of women worldwide.
• Bahamas ratifies major new ILO Maritime Labour Convention
  12 February 2008 - The Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas today handed over its instrument of ratification of the historic Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
• ILO experts to highlight critical aspects of human trafficking at Vienna Forum
  11 February 2008 - Leading experts representing the International Labour Organization (ILO), including senior employers and trade unionists, are to focus new attention on critical aspects of human trafficking such as forced labour, and the role of employers and workers in combating trafficking within supply chains, at the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking on 13-15 February.

January 2008 

• ILO projects global economic turbulence could generate five million more unemployed in 2008
  23 January 2008 - Economic turbulence largely due to credit market turmoil and rising oil prices could spur an increase in global unemployment by an estimated 5 million persons in 2008, according to the ILO's annual Global Employment Trends report (GET). ...
• ILO to launch annual report on Global Employment Trends 2008
  16 January 2008 - The ILO is to issue its annual Global Employment Trends report (GET) providing a comprehensive analysis of current global employment, unemployment and labour market trends. ...

December 2007 

• ILO Director-General deplores death of ILO staff member
  13 December 2007 - Deeply regretting the loss of life of at least nine UN staff members following the attack on the UN premises in Algiers on 11 December 2007, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Juan Somavia announced the death of an ILO staff member, Mr. Abderrahim Hanniche, as a result of the bomb blast.
• ILO and Gates foundation join forces to develop range of insurance products in developing countries
  06 December 2007 - The International Labour Organization announced a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to develop new kinds of insurance and improve existing products to promote decent work for tens of millions of low-income people in the developing world.
• ILO calls for new efforts to support people with disabilities in the world of work
  03 December 2007 - Despite significant progress in recent years in improving their livelihoods, new efforts are needed to break down barriers that still prevent millions of people with disabilities from working and contributing to the economic growth of their societies, according to a new ILO report released for the International Day of Disabled Persons.
• Activists, including an academy-award winning actress, call for decent work and more rights for people with disabilities
  03 December 2007 - Academy-award winning actress Marlee Matlin delivered a message for the International Day of Disabled Persons calling for equal opportunity, equal treatment and decent work for persons with disabilities.