Happy memories / Hans Hammar

Happy memories / Hans Hammar

100 years is an impressive age for an international organisation, and there are many reasons why the ILO has reached it: an important objective (social justice), a good structure (tripartism) and competent delegates and staff.

This is the moment to recall two great personalities in the ILO, who both had it all – competence, wit, charm and humour – namely Gullmar Bergenström and Francis Blanchard.

Gullmar, an impresssive 2 meter tall Swede with monocle and moustache, was the Employers` Vice Chairman of the Governing Body from 1969 to 1980.  He led the unruly Employers with a firm hand through the difficult years of the cold war, and worked well, but independently,  with three great Directors-General – Morse, Jenks and Blanchard. He convinced Jenks and then Blanchard to create a new employers’ program, combining relations and technical cooperation, and of course a corresponding, and  bigger, program for the workers. Jenks defended the proposal, as a logical consequence of tripartism – against the communist countries, but with the support of the (then) ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, social democratic). Blanchard took the organisational decisions and obtained the budgetary resources.

These were the difficult years of the debate on the “Structure of the ILO”. The debate tried to satisfy the communist countries in general and their “employers” in particular; the latter wanted to have guaranteed seats in the Employers’ Group of the Governing Body. In a GB election in the 1970ies, the communist employers only received around 30 votes, but you needed around 100 to be elected. The Soviet employers’ delegate, the charming Mr. Polyakov, asked for the floor and said angrily: “Mr. Bergenström, we the socialist employers have a democratic right to be elected to the Governing Body!” Gullmar took off his monocle and replied calmly: “Mr. Polyakov, let me inform you – with my somewhat longer experience of democracy than you have – that you have a democratic right to STAND for elections, not to be elected!”  Mr. Polyakov was not convinced…

The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 changed it all: now the Russian and other East European employers – as well as Chinese! – are elected democratically to the Governing Body. And the staff of their new organisations are trained by ACTEMP (Bureau for Employers’ Activities)…

It was a pleasure to work under Francis Blanchard, competent, extrovert, charming – and witty! In 1982 he accompanied the Pope John Paul II during the Conference to visit the three Groups, separately. Three catholic secretaries of ACTEMP had asked to be allowed to attend. When the Pope came to them, he turned to Mr. Blanchard, and asked:     “M. le Directeur Général, ces charmantes jeunes dames, est-ce qu’elles sont vraiment des employeurs?”  Mr. Blanchard replied, without hesitation: “Oui, Votre Saintété, des employeurs clandestins!”  The Pope smiled, and blessed the ladies…

Those were the days…