Tribune. The French government is currently waging a quiet campaign for the election of Mme Pénicaud at the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Created in the aftermath of the First World War by the Treaty of Versailles, the ILO’s mission is to promote social justice and peace in the world and to “Support the efforts of nations wishing to improve the lot of workers in their own countries”.
France, co-founder of the ILO, has always played a leading role there, through eminent personalities who directed it (Albert Thomas from 1919 to 1933 and Francis Blanchard from 1974 to 1989) or who chaired its board of directors (such as Philippe Séguin or Gilles de Robien). With diverse political sensibilities, these personalities were known and appreciated around the world for their lofty outlook and their commitment to social justice.
A new director of the ILO is due to be elected in 2022. His responsibilities will be particularly great, in an international context marked by the crisis of multilateralism, the increase in inequalities and the awareness of the social and ecological dead ends to which more have led us. forty years of neoliberal globalization.
Mme Does Pénicaud meet the conditions for this position?
Leading the ILO obviously requires scrupulous respect for international labor standards and a proven commitment to social justice, both within nations and in their relations. The ILO’s mission is to ensure that, everywhere in the world, the economy and finance are organized in such a way. “To promote and not to hinder” the right of all human beings to live with dignity from their work, especially in poor countries, which concentrate the highest proportion of young people.
In addition to these qualities and this international experience, the leadership of the ILO requires a sense of social and environmental responsibility, which companies cannot seriously exercise without being less subject to finance and more open to the representation and experience of those. who work there. The question therefore arises whether Mme Pénicaud fulfills these conditions of suitability for a job, the holder of which will represent the world of work in major international arenas.
Here are some facts that will allow everyone to judge. Mme Pénicaud served as labor minister for a short period of time, but his ministry was marked by reforms, all aimed at weakening workers’ individual and collective rights and freedoms.
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