A life’s work destroyed – Palestinian counts cost of Gaza war
Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip Reuters Mohammed Al Safi said his business making bedding and mattresses in the Gaza Strip provided a decent living and employed 10 people until it was destroyed during an Israeli raid. Today, he depends on aid to survive – if he can find any. Safi, 51, said the fruits of […]
Essay: 10 years after the Rana Plaza factory collapse, we are no closer to fixing modern slavery
MUHAMMAD AZIZUL ISLAM, of the University of Aberdeen, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation – at what progress has been made since the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013…
Modern slavery on the rise as crises fuel poverty – UN report
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The number of people forced to work or in a marriage against their will has surged in recent years to around 50 million on any given day, the UN’s International Labour Organization said on Monday upon releasing its modern slavery report. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts and climate change […]
Stranded seafarers escape Ukraine, others trapped – ILO, sources
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Some of the estimated 1,000 seafarers trapped in Ukraine have escaped, the International Labour Organization and industry officials told Reuters, while voicing concern for those remaining trapped onboard ships or unaccounted for. Several foreign cargo ships have been struck by crossfire in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on 24th February and […]
China’s labour policies in Xinjiang are discriminatory, ILO body says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters An International Labour Organization committee has expressed “deep concern” about China’s policies in its far western region of Xinjiang, calling them discriminatory and asking Beijing to bring its employment practices into line with global standards. The report on the region, home to China’s minority Muslim Uyghurs, risks stoking geopolitical tensions between China […]
“Children should be playing”: Pope pleads for fight against child labour
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Wednesday urged governments to combat child labour, saying it was terrible that children who should be playing are instead working as adults or scavenging in garbage dumps for something to sell. Speaking at his weekly general audience Francis also lamented that in many countries people were being exploited in the […]
Africa’s children need to get back to school to avoid “lost generation”
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaThomson Reuters Foundation From free school meals to decent work for adults, African officials are working to bring child labourers who dropped out of school due to COVID-19 back into the classroom to avoid a lost generation and meet a pledge to end child labour by 2025. With school closures, income losses, deepening […]
UN forced labour drive hits target with backing of 50 nations
Thomson Reuters Foundation The world has reached a “major milestone” in the drive to combat modern slavery after Sudan became the fiftieth country to back a United Nations treaty against forced labour, the UN International Labour Organization said on Wednesday. The legally binding 2014 pact – a protocol to the 1930 ILO Forced Labour Convention […]
Workers’ rights under threat as online work surges five-fold – UN
Berlin, GermanyThomson Reuters Foundation Digital platforms have soared five-fold over the past decade, offering opportunities to some but also eroding workers’ rights, the International Labour Organization said on Tuesday. From ride-sharing apps like Uber and online marketplaces like UpWork linking freelancers and clients, to software that allows employers to oversee workers, digital platforms have transformed […]
World urged to act swiftly to end child labour as COVID-19 threatens gains
Thomson Reuters Foundation The world must urgently swap promises for action in the drive to end child labour as the coronavirus pandemic threatens decades of progress in combating the practice, United Nations agencies and a Nobel peace laureate said on Thursday. Several organisations and activists spoke at an event to mark the International Year for […]