Africa: Economic crisis opens up potential for discrimination at work, says ILO

In the new Global Report on Equality at Work 2011, the International Labour Office (ILO) notes that in spite of continuous positive advances in anti-discrimination legislation, the global economic and social crisis has led to a higher risk of discrimination against certain groups such as migrant labour. 'Economically adverse times are a breeding ground for discrimination at work and in society more broadly. We see this with the rise of populist solutions,' said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, adding that 'this threatens painstaking achievements of several decades'.