ILO STAFF MOBILIZE TO SAVE THEIR JOBS

ILO STAFF MOBILIZE TO SAVE THEIR JOBS

As the ILC 2025 ended, a session of the Organization’s Governing Body followed on Saturday June 14. This session was an opportunity for ILO staff to mobilize in large numbers to lend their support to the President of the Staff Union, who had been invited to address the members of the Governing Body to comment on document GB.354/INS/5. No fewer than 250 staff members, dressed all in black, and a small delegation from the ILO’s Section of Former Officials, formed a silent hedge of protest at the entrance to the Governing Body Room, raising slogans such as “UN staff are not a commodity”, “ILO staff want to be part of the solution” and “We believe in social dialogue”. There were also 300 colleagues online.

At the start of the session, Séverine Deboos, President of the ILO Staff Union, addressed the members of the Governing Body to make the staff’s voice heard, to demand that any decisions affecting them be taken within the framework of the organization’s collective bargaining agreement.

Then Guy Ryder, former Director-General of the ILO and now, ironically, Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations, came to defend the UN80 initiative, announced in March 2025 by Secretary-General António Guterres, designed to respond to the financial crisis and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations.

https://ilostaffunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Leaflet-Part-of-the-Solution-ang.pdf title : ILO staff are part of the soution

https://ilostaffunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Leaflet-Protecting-ang-5.pdf : title Protecting the ILO’s Identity and Staff Conditions in Times of Reform