GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS LEADERS GATHER TO TACKLE GLOBAL JOBS CRISIS – UN

GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS LEADERS GATHER TO TACKLE GLOBAL JOBS CRISIS – UN
New York, Jun 3 2009 10:00AM
A United Nations International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm">ILO) meeting, drawing Heads of Governments and industry, kicked off today, seeking to find ways to address the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on employment and social protection.

This year's ILO annual <"http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_106614/index.htm">Conference, to be held from 3-19 June, will discuss how to protect workers, families and enterprises from the turmoil and how to promote speedy economic and employment recovery.

According to the agency, during the 2007-2009 period, between 210 million and 239 million persons would be unemployed, representing global unemployment rates of 6.5 and 7.4 per cent respectively, or increases of between 39 and 59 million unemployed people since 2007.

"We are seeing an unprecedented increase in unemployment and the number of workers at risk of falling into poverty around the world this year," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said last month.

"This is cause for grave concern. To avoid a global social recession we need a global jobs pact to address this crisis, and mitigate its effects on people. The choice is ours and the time to act is now."

ILO projections indicate that 200 million workers are at risk of joining the ranks of people living on less than $2 per day between 2007 and 2009.

Further, the number of unemployed youth is expected to increase by between 11 and 17 million from 2008-2009, with the youth unemployment rate projected to increase from around 12 per cent in 2008 to up to 15 per cent in 2009.

VICTIMS OF FORCED LABOUR LOSE OVER $20 BILLION PER YEAR IN EARNINGS, FINDS UN STUDY

VICTIMS OF FORCED LABOUR LOSE OVER $20 BILLION PER YEAR IN EARNINGS, FINDS UN STUDY
New York, May 12 2009 1:00PM
Victims of forced labour lose an estimated $20 billion ever year in unpaid earnings, according to a new report by the United Nations labour agency, which calls for increased action to eradicate the scourge.

The report by the International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_106219/index.htm">ILO), entitled "The Cost of Coercion," also details the growing number of unethical, fraudulent and criminal practices that can lead people into situations of forced labour, and charts progress in tackling the crime.

"Forced labour is the antithesis of decent work," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "It causes untold human suffering and steals from its victims. Modern forced labour can be eradicated, providing there is a sustained commitment by the international community, working together with government, employers, workers and civil society."

The report estimates that the "opportunity cost" of coercion to the workers affected by these abusive practices, in terms of lost earnings, now reaches over $20 billion. "This presents a powerful economic argument, as well as a moral imperative, as to why governments must now accord higher priority to these concerns," the agency stated in a news release.

Based on a 2005 ILO study, at least 12.3 million people worldwide were in some form of forced labour or bondage, of which 8.1 million were exploited by private agents, outside the sex industry.

"Our main concern is with the human cost of coercion, both to the victims and their families in terms of the untold misery they endure through forced labour, and to society at large," said Roger Plant, head of ILO's Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour.

"In the midst of a global economic and financial crisis, in which there is a real risk that the poorest and most vulnerable will bear most of the cost, we want to draw public attention to a less publicized but equally serious crisis on labour markets," he stated.

The current report shows a mixed picture of global efforts to combat forced labour. While most countries have introduced legislation that deals with forced labour as a criminal offence and the issue itself is no longer hidden or taboo, others are finding it difficult to identify cases of abuse, let alone define the adequate policy responses.

"We must never forget that forced labour is a serious criminal offence that requires criminal punishment" said Mr. Plant.

"But we must also remember that forced labour is often poorly defined in national legislation, making it difficult to address the multiple subtle ways in which workers can be denied their freedom. The challenge is to address these problems in an integrated way, through prevention and law enforcement, using both labour and criminal justice."
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UN LABOUR CHIEF CAUTIONS AGAINST LOWERED STANDARDS ON WORLD SAFETY DAY

Marking this year's World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the head of the United Nation's labour arm warned against a relaxation of standards due to the global economic crisis.

"Unsafe work is a human tragedy," Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said in a statement issued to mark the Day, observed annually on 28 April.

"We must be particularly vigilant to ensure that strategies for adjustment and economic recovery do not follow a low road which devalues human life and safety in the workplace," he added.

The ILO Programme on Safety and Health at Work (SafeWork) estimates that nearly 1 million workers suffer a workplace accident and more than 5,500 workers die each day due to accidents or disease encountered at their place of employment.

In their latest reports, SafeWork officials have expressed concern that the current economic crisis could have a significant impact on safety and health at work.

"It is expected that the number of workplace accidents and diseases and ill health due to unemployment will rise in light of the present economic crisis," Sameera Al-Tuwaijri, Director of the SafeWork Programme, said.

Dr. Al-Tuwaijri surmised that a decrease in public spending could compromise the capacities of labour inspectorates and other occupational safety and health services. In that case, he said, dangerous working conditions will increase, adding to the risk of accidents and ill-health.

To raise awareness of such issues, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is to be marked in scores of countries and hundreds of localities on all continents this year, ILO said, with events ranging from memorial ceremonies for fallen workers to the declaration of national days of occupational safety.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, the ILO has addressed safety and health at work since its founding in 1919, and standards for occupational safety and health were among the first it adopted, the Organization said.

In his statement today, Mr. Somavia said, "then, as today, the call to protect workers against sickness, disease and injury arising out of employment has been at the heart of the ILO's agenda, a major focus of standard-setting and other means of action."
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LEADERS MUST FOCUS STIMULUS EFFORTS ON JOB CREATION – UN LABOUR CHIEF

The head of the United Nations labour agency has urged governments to aim their economic rescue packages at forestalling a "prolonged and severe" jobs crisis that would lead to a massive increase in unemployment.

UN International Labour Office (ILO) Director-General Juan Somavia issued the call ahead of the meeting of so-called Group of 20 (G-20) summit to be held in London next week, where world leaders will discuss a common response to the current global economic crisis.

Mr. Somavia characterized international coordination to tackle the current global economic crisis so far as weak, adding that "the financial, trade, economic, employment and social roots of the global crisis are interlinked and so must be the policy responses."

An ILO International Institute for Labour Studies report, entitled The Financial and Economic Crisis: A Decent Work Response noted that 90 million new jobs will have to be created during 2009-2010 to absorb new entrants to the labour market and avoid a protracted period of unemployment.

"We need to implement a coherent and coordinated job-oriented recovery strategy, based on sustainable enterprises, as soon as possible," said the ILO head, warning that a delay in stimulus efforts would extend and deepen the jobs crisis, with employment only starting to recover from 2011.

Highlighting a need for global solutions to the crisis, he said that a lack of coordination diminishes the overall effect of stimulus measures, making each individual country reluctant to move faster than its trading partners and intensify the recession.

The ILO report also warned that trade protectionism would further depress world demand and that wage deflation or weaker workers' rights would not only aggravate the crisis, but be perceived as unfair and aggravate social problems.
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NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN TO SOAR AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS, WARNS UN AGENCY

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN TO SOAR AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS, WARNS UN AGENCY
New York, Mar 5 2009 6:00PM

The global economic crisis will plunge a further 22 million women into unemployment and make decent work for women increasingly more difficult to find in 2009, predicted a new United Nations report issued today.

The International Labour Office (ILO) launched its annual Global Employment Trends for Women (GET) report in advance of International Women's Day on 8 March, calling for "creative solutions" to close the gender gap.

"Gender inequality in the world of work has long been with us, but it is likely that it will be exacerbated by the crisis," warned the agency's Director-General Juan Somavia.

"In times of economic upheaval, women often experience the negative consequences more rapidly and are slower to enjoy the benefits of recovery," he said, adding that "before the crisis, the majority of working women were in the informal economy with lower earnings and less social protection."

The GET report noted that of the 3 billion employed people across the world, slightly over a 40 per cent are women, and that the global unemployment rate for women could reach 7.4 per cent in 2009, compared to 7 per cent for men.

The biggest difference in unemployment rates between men and women due to the economic meltdown will be felt by women in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the ILO report.

The new publication also projected that the ratio of women pushed into insecure jobs this year would be greater than men, with the global vulnerability employment rate ranging from 50.5 to 54.7 per cent for women and 47.2 to 51.8 per cent for men.

"Women's lower employment rates, weaker control over property and resources, concentration in informal and vulnerable forms of employment with lower earnings, and less social protection, all place women in a weaker position than men to weather the crises," said Jane Hodges, ILO Bureau for Gender Equality Director.
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