Kari Tapiola has been with the ILO since 1996. The Finnish labour expert and former unionist served as Deputy Director-General and Executive Director from 1996 to 2010. Since October 2010 he has been Special Adviser to the Director-General of the ILO.

Kari Tapiola worked in Finland as a journalist (1966-1972) and as the Political Secretary of the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1972. He was International Secretary of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) in 1972. Before joining the Office, Mr. Tapiola was a member of the ILO’s Governing Body, representing the Nordic Workers, for five years. He attended his first International Labour Conference as a Workers' delegate of Finland in 1974. In the Conferences 1991-1996 he was Workers' Vice-President of the Resolutions Committee.

In this 6th part, we talk about the ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), which aim is to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by providing educational opportunities and to encourage economic development through : trade and investment, liberalisation, reduced costs of cross-border trade to assist businesses, and technical cooperation.

To listen to the 7th part, please click here.

Photo of child from Myanmar courtesy of the ILO. Almost one in ten of Myanmar’s 12 million children between the age of 5 and 17 were engaged in child labour in 2018.