Two of the five candidates for the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO), including the former French Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud, in turn spend their big interview on Friday.
Muriel Pénicaud, former Minister of Labor will speak last, after the Australian Greg Vines, in the hope of succeeding on October 1 to the former British trade unionist Guy Ryder, in office for 10 years and who has reached the limit of two terms. The other three candidates – a Togolese, a South Korean and a South African – took over the helm on Thursday.
The election of the next CEO by the organization’s Board of Directors is scheduled for March 25.
The ILO, an organization more than a century old, has never had at its head a woman or a representative from Africa or Asia. It has been led since 2012 by its former director of international labor standards, Mr. Ryder, who was elected by beating his main opponent, the former French minister Gilles de Robien.
This is the first time that the candidates for the election have had a large public oral. It is being streamed online from ILO headquarters in Geneva due to the pandemic.
The candidates have the difficult task of having to convince all the members of the organization, namely the representatives of governments, employers and trade unions.
The ILO is indeed the only United Nations agency whose 187 Member States are represented by governments and social partners.
Minister criticized by the unions
Minister of Labor from May 2017 to July 2020, Muriel Pénicaud, 66, notably initiated major social reforms under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, such as those of the labor code or unemployment insurance, strongly criticized by the unions. . At the head of her ministry, she also reformed vocational training, promoting apprenticeships which were then underdeveloped in France, and worked to ensure that companies better respect gender equality.
Australian Greg Vines, the ILO’s Deputy Director General for Management and Reform, has a long career as a senior manager in Australia and internationally. He has represented his country at the ILO and has also held leadership positions in Australian trade unions.
South Korean Kang Kyung-wha, her country’s first female foreign minister from 2017 to 2021, has held various positions at the UN, including adviser to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, under-secretary-general for humanitarian worker and Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Africa has nominated its candidate in the person of former Togolese Prime Minister (2008-2012) Gilbert Houngbo, who was also Deputy Director at the ILO (2013-2017). South African entrepreneur Mthunzi Mdwaba maintained his candidacy, although his country withdrew its support.
100 years after its birth, in 2019 the ILO approved the first international treaty on violence and harassment in the world of work, showing its willingness to keep up with the times.