Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, and as climate change exacerbates weather-related disasters around the globe, the ILO is working with local communities in the Philippines to make them more resilient to future storms. At the forthcoming Paris Climate Conference (COP 21), the ILO will advocate that the climate change and decent work agendas are mutually supportive.
In November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan tore through parts of the Philippines, killing thousands of people. It was one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded. The people in the islands of Cebu, Coron, Leyte, Samar and Panay suffered serious economic losses in addition to the devastating loss of life. At least 14.2 million were affected, including 5.9 million workers whose livelihoods were destroyed or severely disrupted by the country’s worst-ever natural disaster.
As early as December 2013, the ILO had begun to work with the Philippine Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) to put emergency employment programmes in place in the areas hit hardest. These programmes created temporary jobs for victims of the superstorm, providing much-needed immediate income and guaranteed minimum wage, as well as securing social protection and safety and health coverage to the thousands of workers affected. They also ensured better long term opportunities and enhanced resilient to future storms.
To read more, please click here.
Source & Copyright: ILO