Global Unions Condemn Child Labor
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The global union movement is calling for governments, employers and workers to take action to halt the exploitation of child labor around the world, and especially in Uzbekistan.
During the month of June, global unions and governments are focusing on the issue of child labor. June 12 was World Day Against Child Labor, but events are ongoing around the world all month.
At a recent conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO), workers and employers reported that millions of children were forced to leave school to do hazardous work in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.
Unions estimate that in the 2010 harvest alone in Uzbekistan, up to 2 million children between 10 and 16 years old were forced to work in hazardous conditions, with heavy lifting, exposure to pesticides and incidences of rashes and respiratory diseases and cases of meningitis and hepatitis.
ILO Praises Egypt’s First Steps on Workers’ Rights
For decades under former President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt was one of the countries often cited by the International Labor Organization (ILO) as restricting or denying workers’ freedom to join a union. This week, the ILO praised the new Egyptian leaders for taking the first steps towards recognizing that basic human right.
ILO Director General Juan Somavia said:
The recognition of the rights of all trade unions to be registered and conduct freely their legitimate activities opens the door for a new era where the right to freedom of association will be fully respected in law and in practice.
The right of all workers and employers in Egypt to form and join organizations that are independent and genuinely representative is a major step in the revolutionary changes taking place in Egypt.
ILO Report: Global Wages Stagnating
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Wages around the world have stagnated during the recession and any recovery must start by putting more money in workers’ pockets to fuel consumption, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said today in its annual Global Wage Report.
The report reinforces what unions around the world have been saying about the economic crisis and the policy responses that governments need to put in place, says Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
ILO Director-General Juan Somavia says the study “shows another face of the lingering employment crisis.”
The recession has not only been dramatic for the millions who lost their jobs but has also affected those who remained in employment by severely reducing their purchasing power and their general well-being.
Report: Unions Can Win Battle Against Forced Labor
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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) last week released a new report showcasing the most successful union strategies in campaigns to eliminate forced labor, child labor and human trafficking. “How to Combat Forced Labor and Trafficking” highlights lobbying, advocacy, raising awareness, offering services and assistance and organizing domestic workers into trade unions.
On any given day, as many as 12 million men, women and children around the world are working as forced laborers, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). Between 40 percent to 50 percent of the victims are children. Last year, the ILO estimated that one out of every five forced laborers in the world is the victim of organized human trafficking. The cost of forced labor to the workers in lost wages is nearly $21 billion each year, the ILO says. For more information, check out ITUC’s website on forced labor: www.ituc-csi.org/forcedlabour.
Up to 50 Million More Jobs Threatened by Global Crisis
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| The ILO predicts worldwide poverty will rise as the global economic crisis worsens. |
The global economic crisis could throw as many as 50 million more workers out of jobs worldwide in the next year and lead to a dramatic increase in the number of working poor, according to a new report by the International Labor Organization (ILO).
In its annual Global Employment Trends report, the ILO, an arm of the United Nations, says global unemployment between 2007 and 2009 could rise by 18 million to 30 million workers-and possibly by more than 50 million if the world economy continues to deteriorate. As a result, some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty. Click here to download the report.
