Five candidates are running in this election to succeed former British trade unionist Guy Ryder, in office for 10 years, and who has reached the two-term limit.
Will the next head of the International Labor Organization be an African or a woman? Either way, it would be a first. A few hours before the election on Friday, the game is still very open. Five candidates are in the running for this election – behind closed doors and by secret ballot – to succeed former British trade unionist Guy Ryder, in office for 10 years and who has reached the two-term limit.
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For many, the final battle should pit the former Prime Minister of Togo Gilbert Houngbo, supported by the vast majority of Africa and the workers’ representatives, against the former French Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud, supported by Paris and the European block. Also in the running are former South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha, South African entrepreneur Mthunzi Mdwaba and Australian Greg Vines, the ILO’s deputy director-general for management and reform.
Beyond the election, the stakes are high: the next boss of the ILO will have the heavy task of adapting the standards of this centenary organization to a labor market in full mutation under the effect of new technologies. . Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has given a boost to teleworking technologies which make it possible to abolish geographical barriers and work as a team remotely. For some even, the metaverse already exists on a daily basis, beyond gamers and technology enthusiasts, creating a new world of work whose rules are yet to be shaped. Even if it is true that this parallel universe, accessible through augmented or virtual reality glasses (AR or VR), is still science fiction for the overwhelming majority of humanity.
Major social reforms
Born after the Great War in 1919, the ILO has never been led by a woman, nor by a representative from Africa or Asia. On the other hand, it counts among its former bosses two Frenchmen, including the first, Albert Thomas (1919-1932). The five candidates must convince the representatives of the governments, but also those of the employers and the trade unions, the 187 Member States of the ILO being represented by the three branches.
Only the 56 full members of the Governing Body, namely 28 government members, 14 employer members and 14 worker members, can vote. Ten of the titular government seats are permanently reserved for countries of greatest industrial importance (Germany, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States).
The African Union supports the Togolese Gilbert Houngbo, but the International Organization of Employers (IOE) has chosen the South African candidate, who has held the vice-presidency of the Governing Body of the ILO. If Mthunzi Mdwaba were to be elected – a hypothesis deemed unlikely – he would be the first employers’ representative to head the ILO.
Gilbert Houngbo, current President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, served as Deputy Director (2013-2017) of the ILO, in charge of Field Operations. Former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), he was also a member of the strategic team and administrative and financial director of the organization.
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Facing him, Muriel Pénicaud, Minister of Labor from May 2017 to July 2020 in France, initiated the major social reforms of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, 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.
South Korean Kang Kyung-wha has held high-profile positions at the UN, including as adviser to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, but her critics point to her “lack of knowledge” of the world of work.
As for Greg Vines, he has held leadership positions in Australian unions, and could be a continuation after Guy Ryder, a weakness for some.