By the late 1970s, indigenous peoples’ representatives began appearing before United Nations and other human rights bodies in increasing numbers and with increasing frequency, grounding their concerns on generally applicable human rights principles. Since that time, a steady stream of important developments and responses to the concerns of indigenous peoples has issued from the international human rights system. Indigenous peoples prompted the International Labour Organization (ILO) to discard Convention No. 107’s assimilationist bias, which reflected the 1950s era in which it was passed. The resulting new multilateral treaty—ILO Convention No. 169 of 1989—has been ratified and is now binding on several states in the Americas and elsewhere. The establishment of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982 and the Working Group’s promulgation of the Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is presently under review by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, have focused even greater international attention on the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights.

New international standards concerning the rights of indigenous peoples have significantly influenced the work of several international human rights bodies and other international institutions. The U.N. Human Rights Committee and the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination now regularly apply the prevailing understandings of indigenous peoples’ rights reflected in the newly articulated standards. They draw heavily on these understandings when they monitor human rights situations involving indigenous groups. Even beyond the formal human rights process, the discourse of indigenous human rights now affects the lending processes of the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, and the domestic legislation and policies and judge-made law of

The minimum age depends on internal laws of a country and also on the kind of employment. There are though few exceptions to the child labour laws. If a child is working in a household, in a school or family shop, than he doesn’t come under the ambit of such laws. In fact, it is considered wrong and exploitive if an under-age child is recruited for a work, save in already mentioned exceptions. There are several child labour articles written on the subject. Each tried to make clear the blurred topic. Basically an employer has to make sure that his employee is not under certain age. Minimum Age Convention of the International Labour Organization, in 1973, ratified the minimum age varying from 14 to 16, except for the agriculture sector where a child not less than 12 years is allowed to work, but only in his non school hours.

The percentage of child labour has drastically reduced from 25 to 10 percent in period from 1970 to 2005, according to the UNICEF. Yet it is common in many countries. Various child labour articles have suggested many fields where child labour is involved, like mining, agriculture, factory work, prostitution etc. There is a big percentage of children working in these businesses, but the actual number is even worse as there are many more times the children who can’t be counted by the Child Labour Inspectors because of various problems, these sectors include selling goods on the streets, polishing shoes, working on a loom etc,. There is a blotted number of 250 million children aged from 5 to 14 years in child labour world wild, according to UNICEF.

However, the child labour articles have also shown the why people recruit their children in these jobs. These people have objected to many forms of child labour restrictions, as they base their premise on the point that it is the issue of life and death for them and for this reason they have to depend on it. They are of the view that boycott of the products produced by the children will even turn them to more dangerous professions, like prostitution.

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This is what canada has been doing in the effort to overcome child labour.

• ·         Canada is a founding member of the International Labour Organization.
• ·        
• One of their goals is to eliminate child labour.
• ·         Since 1996, the government had contributed to the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).
• ·         They have a goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
• ·         The ones that they are taking about are all forms of slavery or practice, child prostitution and any work environment that could be harmful to the worker. 

– The world’s largest economies could suffer ‘huge deficit of jobs “at the end of next year if governments do not change their political strategy, said the International Labour Organization (ILO) in a study released Monday.

The report, prepared by the OECD for the meeting of ministers of the G-20 held in Paris on Monday, the ILO said that the group of developed and developing countries had lost 20 million jobs since the financial crisis 2008.

At the current rate, it would be impossible to recover in the short term and there is a risk that the number will double by the end of next year, he said.

“We must act to stem the slowdown in employment growth and offset the jobs lost,” said ILO director general Juan Somavia said in a statement.

“Job creation must become a top priority macroeconomic,” he said.

The number of people employed in the G-20 has risen 1 percent since 2010, but it needs an annual growth of 1.3 percent to return to employment levels prior to the crisis in 2015, the ILO said.

“However, employment growth below 1 percent can not be excluded given the slowing global economy and anemic growth expected in several countries of the G-20,” the report said.

“If employment is growing at a rate of 0.8 percent until late 2012, now a distinct possibility, then the job deficit would increase by about 20 million to a total of 40 million in the G-20 “he said.

India and China, the world’s most populous countries, have lagged behind with an annual growth of total employment of less than 1 percent, the report said, so an additional boost for employment could have a major impact on the G-20

However, the report was based on figures from both countries that are not updated.

If you do not take into account data from India, China and Saudi Arabia, also data of 2009, employment growth in the other 17 countries of the G-20 was 1.5 percent, according to Reuters calculations based on Figures from the report of the ILO.

The latest figures for the other G-20 show that four of them, Italy, France, South Africa and the U.S., had growth rates below 1 percent, while two – Japan and Spain – saw a decline in the total employment last year.

Since early 2008, Spain, South Africa and the United States experienced the largest declines in employment among the G-20.

Spain and the United States also suffered the highest increases in unemployment rates, followed by Britain.

(European)

The number of Britons applying for unemployment benefit as much as in more than two years last July, and slowed down employment, which places additional pressure on the government to support the economy. 
  
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people applying for unemployment benefit rose by 37 thousand and 100 people last month, while economists had forecast an increase of 20 thousand. 
  
The jump recorded in July was the highest since May / May 2009. 
  
The labor market showed surprising strength in the midst of financial crisis, where employment increased despite the weakness of economic recovery. 
  
But the polls predict that companies reduce staffing plans, raising doubts about the ability of private companies to compensate for lost jobs and public sector spending cuts by the government. 
  
It is likely that the soaring unemployment already shaky consumer confidence due to high inflation and low wage increases, and riots in major British cities in recent times. 
  
According to the International Labour Organization has increased the number of unemployed in Britain fell 38 thousand in the second quarter of this year to reach 2.494 million unemployed, while the unemployment rate rose to 7.9%, while expectations were to settle unchanged at 7.7%. 
  
The number of 25 thousand new jobs only in the second quarter, the slowest pace since the fourth quarter of last year, while the number of vacancies to the lowest level in two years. 
  
And increased weekly income for families in the second quarter by 2.6%, leaving less than inflation, which hit more than 4%. 

  
Source: Reuters 

Prepared by:

Md. Rezaul Karim, Assistant Professor, Southern University Bangladesh

The demands made by Ready made Garments factory workers’ leaders regarding payment of the workers’ wages for August (in full, festival allowance and other dues,) were to be made-  a week before Eid-ul-Fitr, indeed deserve immediate attention on the part of the authorities concerned. According to the news reports, the leaders also demanded introduction of low-price shops for Ready made Garments factory workers, hike in their minimum wages, and an end to elimination of workers ‘without satisfactory reasons’. Besides, they have threatened to launch movement if their demands are not met in time.

As experts have commented on these issues many times that Ready made Garments factory sector tops all the industrial sectors of the country in terms of employment generation and export earning. As many as 4,500 readymade garment factories and their linkage industries and trading enterprises across the country involve millions of people, while this sector alone accounts for over 76 per cent of the country’s total export earning every year. Hence, a congenial atmosphere is a must for the sustenance of this crucial sector. Nonetheless, such an atmosphere requires good industrial relations between the employers and the workers of the sector. Regrettably, workers’ unrests that turn at times violent are a perennial problem in the Ready made Garments factory sector as the workers thereof are generally low-paid and deprived of trade union rights, albeit endorsed by the country’s constitution and the relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization. Allegations have it that a good number of Ready made Garments factory owners have predilections to keeping the workers’ wages as dues for months using tenuous excuses and resorting to repressive measures in order to quell the aggrieved workers’ protests. Worse still, successive governments, regardless of their political inclination, remain more often than not biased towards those errant owners.

Meanwhile, the situation aggravates during two Eids, i.e. Eid-ul-fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, as a section of the Ready made Garments factory owners apparently try to make grounds to not pay festival bonuses to workers. Unfortunately, on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr this year as well, they appear to highlight their alleged ‘bad business’ in the backdrop of ‘fresh global recession’ and delay in getting incentives from the government to legitimize their probable failure to fulfill the workers’ demands. Be that as it may, the inability, if not unwillingness, of the readymade garment factory owners to respond positively to the workers’ demands, let alone pay their wage for August in full alongside festival allowance, is in no counts acceptable, as apprehensions are there that it could lead to workers’ unrests, deepening further the crisis of this sector.   The government needs to realize that as the manager of the state it is responsible to ensure workers’ rights on the one hand and good industrial environment on the other. Thus, it immediately needs to take effective steps to make the Ready made Garments factory owners compliant with the workers’ demands in time.

Child labour refers to a employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries. Child labour was employed to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the advent of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during the industrial revolution, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers’ and children’s rights.

In many developed countries, it is considered inappropriate or exploitative if a child below a certain age works (excluding household chores, in a family shop, or school-related work). An employer is usually not permitted to hire a child below a certain minimum age. This minimum age depends on the country and the type of work involved. States ratifying the Minimum Age Convention adopted by the International Labor Organization in 1973, have adopted minimum ages varying from 14 to 16. Child labor laws in the United States set the minimum age to work in an establishment without restrictions and without parents’ consent at age 16, except for the agricultural industry where children as young as 12 years of age can work in the fields for an unlimited number of non-school hours. See Children’s Act for Responsible Employment .

                                                              In Present days.

Child labour is still common in some parts of the world, it can be factory work, mining, prostitution, quarrying, agriculture, helping in the parents’ business, having one’s own small business (for example selling food), or doing odd jobs. Some children work as guides for tourists, sometimes combined with bringing in business for shops and restaurants (where they may also work as waiters). Other children are forced to do tedious and repetitive jobs such as: assembling boxes, polishing shoes, stocking a store’s products, or cleaning. However, rather than in factories and sweatshops, most child labour occurs in the informal sector, “selling many things on the streets, at work in agriculture or hidden away in houses—far from the reach of official labour inspectors and from media scrutiny.” And all the work that they did was done in all types of weather; and was also done for minimal pay. As long as there is family poverty there will be child labour.

In the 1990s every country in the world except for Somalia and the United States became a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC. Somalia eventually signed the convention in 2002; the delay of the signing was believed to been due to Somalia not having a government.

A boy repairing a tire in Gambia

Child labour accounts for 22% of the workforce in Asia, 32% in Africa, 17% in Latin America, 1% in US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations.[21] The proportion of child labourers varies a lot among countries and even regions inside those countries.

Recent child labour incidents

1. Meatpacking.

2. Firestone.

Image by author.

Jobs are disappearing daily all over the world. The news media is reporting hundreds of job cuts and giving gloomy forecasts. The International Labour Organization (ILO) predicts that 20 million jobs, mostly in construction, real estate, financial services, and the automobile sector, will disappear by the end of 2009.

Are there any industries, where jobs will be stable throughout the current financial crisis?

If we compare the current recession to earlier ones like in 1981-1982, 1990-1991 and 2001 in the USA, we would see how some sectors did not lose jobs and the number of jobs even grew in some.

Recession Proof Industries

• Security – No matter how bad the financial crisis gets, the need for security shall not decrease. Jobs like firemen, police, law enforcement officers, customs and security services, forensics, and shop security personnel may even need more skilled personnel during the recession.
• Healthcare – The need for skilled nurses, doctors, psychologists and psychotherapists, analysts, caregivers, medical assistants, physical therapists, home health aides, medical records staff and health information technicians will hardly decrease and may even grow during the recession.
• Education – The need for trained teachers and some other skilled people in the core processes of the education industry in highly populated growth areas remain constant during recessions and will probably remain so now.
• Personal Care – Barbers, hairdressers, beauticians and cosmetologists also could keep their jobs. Businesses in the upmarket range might lose customers but those who cater to downmarket needs will probably survive.
• Legal Professions – Skilled professionals in the claims and compensation sectors, or those dealing with bankruptcies, and contractual disputes usually see more work during recessions.
• Food Industry – People can’t give up eating even during a recession. Cheaper take-aways and eateries would need more staff ready to work at lower pay to function than luxury restaurants, which may not have enough customers.
• House and Car Repairs – Skilled house repair servicemen like plumbers or electricians in densely populated areas didn’t lose their jobs during previous recessions. Though not many new houses are being built, emergency repairs are vital. We might drive older cars, but they need to be serviced and repaired. Cleaners will still be needed.
• Environmental Sector – The demand for skilled professionals in environmental health and protection has been constant and is not likely to diminish during the recession.
• Sales and Marketing – Business need to market more aggressively in hard times. Skilled marketing and salespeople working on commission pay basis would keep their jobs even during the recession days.
• IT and Accounting Services – IT services need to function always. Skilled people working to provide accounting and IT-related services in core business functions would still be in high demand throughout the recession and more during the next upswing.

Image by author.

Recession Prioritizes Spending Habits

However, there might be a redistribution of jobs. Some of these jobs will likely move from scarcely populated areas to high growth coastal areas. During recessions people usually prioritize their spending. This has often meant growth for the cosmetics industry. In tough times, people buy small cosmetic products to feel good quickly rather than more expensive products like TVs or cars.

Overall, business which depend on discretionary spending like entertainment, health supplements like vitamins, voluntary financial services or new houses will lose more jobs than businesses depending on compulsory spending like healthcare, food, childcare, primary education and security etc.

What Skills Employers Look For in Employees During a Recession

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Employers look for certain qualities or personal attributes in addition to the skills that you must have for a particular job. On the job skill sets and attributes are broadly:

1.     Personal skill sets and attributes

2.     Professional skill sets and attributes

3.     Social skill sets and attributes

read more in this article…

Some things have changed permanently. There is no going back in markets struggling to come out of the global recession. The skills you need to improve your marketability and recession-proof your job prospects or get a new job are very different from what many people think. Highly valued skills now are:

• Compatibility with the Job

• Organisational Cultural Malleability
• Motivation and Purpose
• Problem-Solving Ability
• Dependability
• Positive Personality

Read more about them here …

Good luck with your job!