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	UN labour agency calls for work, social initiatives to offset global crisis by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia International Labour Office   28 January 2009   To prevent a worst-case scenario of some 200 million workers pushed into extreme poverty, mostly in developing countries, the United Nations labour agency today called on Governments to prioritize productive investment, decent work and social protection in their responses to the global financial crisis.   “The Decent Work Agenda is an appropriate policy framework to confront the crisis,” said Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), upon the release of the agency’s annual Global Employment Trends (GET) report.   ILO’s prioritization of employment in economic planning in its Decent Work Agenda was key, Mr. Somavia said. “We find many elements of this Agenda in current measures to promote job creation, deepening and expanding social protection and more use of social dialogue,” he added.   He called on the G-20 group of large economies, in their upcoming 2 April meeting in London, to urgently agree on priority measures on employment and social protections for workers and to include labour considerations in their planning alongside financial issues.   “There is a powerful message that tripartite dialogue with employers and workers organizations should play a central role in addressing the economic crisis and in developing policy responses,” Mr. Somavia said.   Based on new developments in the labour market and depending on the timeliness and effectiveness of recovery efforts, the GET report says global unemployment in 2009 could increase over 2007 by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million – representing a 7.1 global rate – if the situation continues to deteriorate.   In that last scenario some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty, the report says.   The number of working poor – people who gain under two dollars per person per day – could rise to 1.4 billion, or 45 per cent of all the world’s employed, it warns.   “The ILO message is realistic, not alarmist. We are now facing a global jobs crisis. Many governments are aware and acting, but more decisive and coordinated international action is needed to avert a global social recession,” Director-General Somavia said.   A number of policy measures recommended by ILO were being applied by many Governments, the report notes, including wider coverage of unemployment benefits and insurance schemes, re-training of redundant workers and pension protections.   Public investment in infrastructure, housing and green jobs and support to small and medium enterprises were among other ILO recommendations being applied, the report says.   An ILO press release on the report maintains that the effects of the downturn could be minimized if a large number of countries put in place such policies, and other worker-oriented initiatives, using their own accumulated reserves, emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and stronger aid mechanisms.   In a related development, the IMF today revised its global growth forecast steeply downward, to its lowest level since the Second World War, because financial markets remain under stress and are pulling down the rest of the economy.   The Fund now expects the global economy to come to a virtual standstill in 2009, growing by just one half of one per cent. In November, it had predicted growth of slightly more than two per cent.   According to its latest projections, advanced economies will experience sharp contractions, with declines of 1.5 per cent in the United States, two per cent in the Euro area, and 2.5 per cent in Japan.   Emerging and developing economies are expected to fare better, but will still see significant slowdowns in growth, the Fund says. Visit the related web page
	Financial crisis in Iceland by Icelandic Red Cross   January 2009   The Icelandic Red Cross goes into emergency response mode as an entire country becomes a casualty of the global financial crisis.   Unemployment does not sit easily with people in Iceland, one of the world’s richest countries, which has been hit hard by the global financial crisis.   “We are preparing to serve new groups of beneficiaries who have never sought help from the Red Cross before,” says Helga G. Halldorsdottir, director of Icelandic Red Cross domestic programmes. “We are also looking towards recruiting new volunteers — to respond to the arising need but also as a way for people to continue contributing to society although they find themselves out of work.”   After years of full employment, growth and wealth, unemployment rates in the North Atlantic country of just 320,000 people soared 500 per cent in four months. One in ten is expected to be jobless by the end of 2009. Companies reduced working hours and many employees suffered severe salary cuts.   The value of the Icelandic krona fell drastically. Inflation stood at an unheard-of 20 per cent at the start of 2009. This was expected to be disastrous for many people with foreign currency mortgages on their homes.   Iceland, a nation that was one of the most affluent in the world, reeled from the financial crisis in early 2009, sparking demonstrations. It was a nation in crisis.. Visit the related web page
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