Labour

Ending Modern Slavery Starts in the Boardroom

By Farangis Abdurazokzoda
Modern-day slavery can be eradicated from multinational supply chains, but only if global businesses contribute to greater transparency and collaboration, according to new recommendations by Sedex Global and Verite.

CEOs at Big U.S. Companies Paid 331 Times Average Worker

By Jim Lobe
In new data certain to fuel the growing public debate over economic inequality, a survey released Tuesday by the biggest U.S. trade-union federation found that the CEOs of top U.S. corporations were paid 331 times more money than the average U.S. worker in 2013.

Is Puerto Rico Going the Way of Greece and Detroit?

By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero
Puerto Rican society has been shaken to its foundations by the announcement in February by Standard & Poor's and Moody's credit rating agencies that they had downgraded the island's creditworthiness to junk status.

Conflict Fuels Child Labour in India

By Stella Paul
Early in the morning, 14-year-old Sumari Varda puts on her blue school uniform but heads for the village pond to fetch water. “I miss school. I wish I could go back,” she whispers, scared of being heard by her employer.

Brazil’s FIFA World Cup Preparations Claim Lives

By Fabiola Ortiz
The pressure to complete 12 football stadiums in Brazil in time for the FIFA World Cup in June has meant long, exhausting workdays of up to 18 hours, which has increased the risk of accidents and deaths.

Tajikistan’s Government Distances Itself from Labour Migrants

By an EurasiaNet correspondent
Labour migrants make up Tajikistan’s economic lifeline, but that’s a fact the Central Asian country’s leadership doesn’t seem eager to acknowledge.

World Bank, IMF Urged to Act on New Inequality Focus

By Farangis Abdurazokzoda
Global income inequality threatens economic and social viability, according to a World Bank report released Thursday, reiterating a new but increasingly forceful narrative from both the bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Obama Says Gender Pay Gap Is No Myth, It’s Math

By Farangis Abdurazokzoda
Since his re-election in 2012, President Barack Obama has stepped up his rhetoric around gender equality issues in the United States, but he has yet to get a partisan U.S. Congress to go along with a series of legislative proposals he put forward.

U.S.-Colombia Labour Rights Plan Falls Short

By Jim Lobe
Three years after Colombia agreed to U.S. demands to better protect labour rights and activists, a “Labour Plan of Action” (LPA) drawn up by the two nations is showing mixed results at best, according to U.S. officials and union and rights activists from both countries.

Colombia’s Breadbasket Feels the Pinch of Free Trade

By Helda Martínez
“Things are getting worse and worse,” Enrique Muñoz, a 67-year-old farmer from the municipality of Cajamarca in the central Colombian department of Tolima, once known as the country’s breadbasket, said sadly.

Youth Around the World See Meagre Opportunities

By Bryant Harris
Although half the world’s population is under 25 years old, young people in more than two dozen countries feel that their opportunities for educational, economic and societal advancement are limited, according to new research released here Thursday.

Rural Costa Rican Women Plant Trees to Fight Climate Change

By Diego Arguedas Ortiz
Olga Vargas, a breast cancer survivor, is back in the countryside, working in a forestry programme in the north of Costa Rica aimed at empowering women while at the same time mitigating the effects of climate change.

U.S. Joins Global Transparency Tide in Extractives Sector

By Carey L. Biron
An unusual combination of industry, government, investors and civil society here is celebrating the United States’ initial acceptance into a prominent global initiative aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in the extractives industry.

Women Seek Stand-Alone Goal for Gender in Post-2015 Agenda

By Thalif Deen
The 45-member U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded its annual 10-day session Saturday with several key pronouncements, including on reproductive health, women's rights, sexual violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and the role of women in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

OP-ED: While Women Progress, Men Fall Behind

By Joseph Chamie
-- International Women’s Day and the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) are overlooking a critical trend: while girls and women are making notable gains, boys and men are falling behind.
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