Guinea / Abdoulaye Lélouma Diallo

Guinea / Abdoulaye Lélouma Diallo

My participation in the ILO’s activities over the years has allowed me to recall many events that remain forever etched in my memory. They have strengthened my conviction to continue participating in the activities of our tripartite Organization whose fundamental mission is, and will remain, the promotion of decent work and workers, the promotion of peace, solidarity and social justice through dialogue and negotiation in a globalized world. I would like to draw your attention to some of these events below.

“My country, the Republic of Guinea, joined the ILO on 21 January 1959 and has so far ratified 62 Conventions, including eight fundamental ones.

The National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG), of which I have been a member and now an honorary member, has always participated as a Delegate for Workers at the sessions of the International Labour Conference since Guinea’s accession to the ILO.

Since 1977, I have been fortunate to participate in all International Labour Conferences, either as a Delegate of the OATUU (Organization of African Trade Union Unity) or as Senior Specialist for Africa at ILO-ACTRAV (Bureau Activities for Workers).

Since 2004, I have attended all sessions of the ILO Governing Body as Permanent Representative of OATUU to the ILO and the United Nations Office in Geneva.

I am lucky to have met four Directors General of the ILO: Messrs. Francis Blanchard, Michel Hansenne, Juan Somavia and Guy Ryder.

I was elected President of the Staff Union in 1996. I took my pension in November 2001 and the Director General at that time, Mr. Juan Somavia, attended the reception organized in my honour by ACTRAV on the 6th November 2001. The event looms large among my unforgettable memories.

My participation in conferences and other ILO activities has strengthened my conviction and commitment to continue the trade union struggle to promote the well-being of workers, the unity of trade union action, solidarity and cooperation at the regional, continental and international levels.

I welcome the positive contribution of the ILO to the struggle of the African Workers and their trade union organizations against apartheid in South Africa and for the respect of freedom of association and the right to strike in Africa.

I would like to mention the following events that, among others, will remain etched in my memory forever:

1) The personal participation of the Vice-President of the African National Congress (ANC), the unforgettable hero Nelson Mandela, at the 77th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 1990, to express his gratitude to the tripartite constituents for their solidarity and the support given to the South African people in their struggle against apartheid.

2) The signing of the collective agreement protocol between the Staff Union and the Director General, Mr Juan Somavia, in 2000.

3) The election in 2008 to the vice-presidency of the Conference of Mrs. Rabiatou Sérah DIALLO Secretary General of the National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG), titular member of the Governing Body of the ILO.

4) The meetings between the African Workers’ Delegates under the leadership of the OATUU with the Director General, Mr. Guy Ryder, and his visit to the headquarters of the OUSA in Accra.

(5) The hearing granted to the Bureau of the Section of Former ILO Officials, of which I am a member, by the Director-General, Mr. Guy Ryder, and the annual receptions for ILO retirees.

As a Guinean, I would like to congratulate the Director-General, Mr. Guy Ryder, for the solidarity shown to Guinea during the EBOLA haemorrhagic fever that afflicted my country in 2014-2015.

In conclusion, I would like to recall that, when the ILO was created in 1919, Africa was represented by only three countries (Ethiopia, Liberia and South Africa) and today 54 countries of our continent are members of this historic Organization, the only tripartite one in the United Nations system. Thanks to the participation of African tripartite constituents in the activities of the ILO and the ratification of the fundamental Conventions by several States, today the recognition of freedom of association and the right to strike appears in the majority of the Constitutions of African countries.

As a member of the Bureau of the Section of Former ILO Officials, I would like to strengthen relations with current ILO staff and promote cooperation with the tripartite constituents of the 187 member states of our Organization to ensure the celebrations of the ILO Centenary are a historic success. I wish every success to the Centenary celebrations of the Organization that values​WORK!.”