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2 May, 2012
ILO Deputy Director General and long-time trade unionist Guy Ryder is receiving full support from the ICEM and its affiliates to be elected as the 10th Director-General of the ILO on 28 May.
The 56 titular members of the ILO Governing Body are eligible to vote in the election; half are from governments, and a quarter each from employers and workers’ groups. ICEM affiliates are lobbying their home governments. Write to your government today. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialized countries. The remaining seats are filled on a rotating basis, for three-year terms. The employers and workers elect their own representatives.
The Governing Body met on 30-31 March for hearings of candidates and the election will be held on 28 May. The outgoing Director-General, Juan Somavia will leave the post on 30 September 2012. The Director-General is elected for a five-year term.
Ryder is running on a platform of strengthening the ILO in order to fulfill its mandate of promoting social justice and beating the global jobs crisis, with particular emphasis on youth who are becoming increasingly excluded from society.
Ryder seeks to concretise the fundamental principle of tripartism throughout the work operations of the ILO and beyond, and to unite the ILO’s constituents to deliver on the decent work agenda. Ryder argues that only through consistent technical excellence can the organisation consolidate its authority in the world of work.
Another important priority of Ryder’s candidacy is to seek to reverse the increasing global trend of growth in the informal economy.
Guy Ryder’s vast experience and knowledge of the mechanisms and work of the ILO, of leadership of complex organisations in transition as General Secretary of the ICFTU and ITUC, and of all issues in the world of work combine to make him clearly the deserved candidate to succeed Somavia as Director-General.
The candidature of Guy Ryder is formally submitted by ITUC President Michael Sommer and Luc Cortebeeck, trade union members of the ILO Governing Body.
See Ryder’s CV and Vision Statement for the candidature here.