Articles: News

Demonstration – Place des Nations – 1 May 2025

Broadcast of the ILO Staff Union:

UN staff are not a commodity – UN staff stand for humanity

Come support your colleagues – and the United Nations!

Demonstration – Place des Nations – 1 May 2025 @ 12h30 (leaving the ILO @ 12 noon)

 Dear colleagues,

Since its inception in Chicago in 1886, May Day has been a time for celebration, commemoration, and mobilization of working people around the world. It is a time when workers come together in a common cause, to campaign around issues of concern, and engage in the broader struggle for democracy and social progress. These workers’ struggles have frequently coincided with our own efforts as public servants and United Nations officials to support economic and social development across the globe. Today, with the serious challenges being faced by the international civil service and multilateralism, we call on you to join us in this struggle. We call on you to show your solidarity and support for colleagues who have been impacted by cuts. We call on you to stand up for the critical work we all do, each and every day, across the United Nations system; work we do as dedicated public servants; work we do for humanity!

Exceptionally, this year, the ILO Staff Union will not join the usual 1st of May celebration together with the CGAS (Communauté Genevoise d’Action Syndicale) but we will be demonstrating together with sister agencies at the Place des Nations.

Because there are no words strong enough to describe the realities of our colleagues in the ILO and beyond who are being affected by the abrupt end of US-funded projects, there is no better time than May Day, Labour Day, to unite with them and with colleagues from sister UN agencies also severely impacted.

We invite all of you wishing to attend and join (family and children welcome) behind our ILO Staff Union flag.

Meeting point:

12h00  ILO Staff depart from the ILO (meet at the security gates at the entrance on R2 north)

12h30  Meeting at the Place des Nations with our sister UN unions and associations, and supported by Public Services International (PSI)

If there is a time for solidarity and unity, a time to stand as ONE UN workers, this time is now.

Please share this call with other UN colleagues and join us on Thursday, 1st of May!

30 September 2024, AAFI-AFICS organised a seminar at the CICG entitled “Anticipating the future”

On September 30, 2024, AAFI-AFICS organized a seminar at the CICG entitled “Planning for the future”. Jocelyne Déruaz and Christian David have prepared this seminar.

Link to the report, program and related documents

Exhibition of the ILO Circle of Arts and Decoration (30 September to 11 October 2024)

After a 5-year absence, the last exhibition having been held in 2019, the year of the Centenary, the Circle was able to return to its traditional exhibition venue, the Hall of the Colonnades. Although one side of the aisle is now occupied by the flags of ILO Member States, the exhibition, grouped together on one side, was held in good conditions. Our request to organize an exhibition was supported by the Human Resources Department, which obtained Cabinet approval this spring. Fifteen artists responded and steps were taken with various services including INTSERV and DCOMM to initiate the project achievement. Three new artists participated in the exhibition.

The vernissage took place on Tuesday 1 October, in conjunction with a cocktail reception hosted by the Former Officials’ Section, which was organising an intergenerational round table to mark the International Day of Older Persons. Mr. François Kientzler, President of the Circle, took the floor to thank the ILO Management for allowing this exhibition and presented the artists. Ms. Danielle Guiho, Director of Human Resources Department, welcomed the holding of this exhibition which for 2 weeks brightened up the Hall of Colonnades and allowed officials to appreciate the artists’ creations: paintings, drawings, sculptures and jewelry.

The ILO Circle of Arts and Decoration is supported by the Former Officials’ Section. Initiatives will be taken to open up the Circle to new artists. The Circle is a member of the ILO Sports and Leisure Association. A video and a photo album are available here on the Former Officials’ Section website.

Photos Album

Presentation of exhibitors

The video

INTERGENERATIONAL DAY “WORKING AT ILO: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

On October 1, 2024, to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Older Persons, the Section of Former ILO Officials had decided to create an event a little out of the ordinary: instead of celebrating this day among “old people”, the idea was to try building communication’s bridges between the different generations of ILO staff.

For the small team at the Bureau, the project was ambitious, and the amount of work had naturally been underestimated. After many meetings with all the parties involved, plans, counter-orders and last-minute unforeseen events, the event went off without a hitch, with many members of the Section making the trip and a good number of active ILO officials taking part in our various activities. The Section was able to count on the unfailing support of the Union, as usual. The partnership with the Human Resources Department was very rewarding, and of course nothing could have been achieved without the invaluable support of essential departments such as DCOMM, INTSERV, RELMEETINGS and PRODOC.

The recreational stands set up in front of the cafeteria at R2 were a great success:

• Many tried their luck at the ILO QUIZZ and left delighted with their prize under their arm. The questions weren’t easy, but we really do have champions of all ages in the Organization.

• Others came to find out more about the Section (proudly presenting its new brochure) and promised, spit and swear, to become members!

• The “World Café” stands and their discussion topics, though less well attended, nevertheless enabled various colleagues, old and new, to get together and philosophize about the good old days spent within the walls.

At around 1pm, everyone headed for the brand-new cinema to attend the Round Table, the highlight of the event.

After a few words of welcome from the Section’s Executive Secretary,
F. Kientzler, and a short film recounting the history of the ILO and its main current challenges, three speakers, each representing a different generation of ILO officials (a young worker, J. P. Sauvageau, a more experienced one, C. Frassier, and a retired civil servant, C. Cornwell) were able to engage in a lively debate under the aegis of Guebray Berhane from DCOMM, a seasoned moderator. were able to engage in cordial debate under the aegis of DCOMM’s Guebray Berhane, a seasoned debate moderator. Their different experiences, their frankness and their motivation, which seems to have remained constant over the generations, suggest that the Organization still has a bright future ahead of it, thanks to a staff as enthusiastic as ever. Finally, a number of ideas were put forward to encourage greater synergy between these different generations of staff, all of course in the best interests of an even more efficient ILO. The task now is to turn this into a reality, in . The ball is in the camp of the Human Resources Department and the Section is ready to get involved, having been an active initiator of this intergenerational dialogue.

A cocktail party at the Gobelins then brought together all the speakers and participants, followed by the Vernissage of the Cercle d’Arts du BIT exhibition in the colonnades, where various artistic creations were on display.

CCT. 2.10.2024

Watch the video of the panel:

Read also:

• A report by one of our members, Ita Marguet

1 October 2024 – International Day of Older Persons – The Section of Former Officials of the ILO holds event

Save the date !

1 October 2024 : International Day of Older Persons

The Section of ILO’s Former Officials invites you to an intergenerational event:

Working at the ILO: yesterday, today and tomorrow

11.30 a.m. – 2.30 p.m.

Films, quiz, world cafés, round-table discussion, cocktail party and art exhibition

With the support of the ILO Staff Union and HRD

Stay tuned, we’ll tell you more…

UPDATE ON THE CONDITIONS OF ACCESS FOR RETIREES TO ILO BUILDINGS

Extract from the letter received on March 12, 2024, following our letter to Mr. Hao Bin, Deputy Director in charge of Internal Services and the meeting with Ms. Danielle Guiho, Director of Human Resources on February 20 of a delegation from the Bureau of the Section.

Please take good note of it and kindly comply with these instructions.

“With regard to the policy for managing access to the ILO’s Geneva headquarters and field offices for the persons mentioned above, please take note of the following provisions:

1. Retired ILO colleagues with badges may enter the building without further formalities. Those who do not have a badge must go to the Accreditation Office to obtain a << courtesy retired badge >> in accordance with the usual procedure.
2. Retired colleagues from other International Agencies and Organisations who are in possession of an access badge with a photo of their Organisation will be granted access on a reciprocal basis, as was the case before the pandemic.
3. Recognised dependants of ILO pensioners will also be granted access to the building on presentation of their CAPS card and an identity document at the R2 North reception desk, and will then receive a visitor’s badge for the duration of their visit.
4. If you would like to drop off CAPS documents, please note that there is a letterbox in the PI car park for this purpose. Although pensioners and recognised dependants have access to the building, we recommend that you make an appointment in advance for any consultations with CAPS colleagues.
5. Dependents of retirees from other International Agencies or Organizations will only be granted access to the building upon invitation by an ILO staff member in accordance with visitor access procedures. All requests for visitor access must be sent at least 24 hours in advance by an ILO Geneva staff member to ilo-hqaccess@ilo.org. For visits involving more than five people and/or more than five days, a request for a meeting badge must be sent to ACCREDITATIONS@ilo.org at least five working days in advance.
6. We would be grateful if you could advise your members, for their comfort and in order to give priority to our constituents, to avoid visits to the building during busy periods such as the Governing Body, the International Labour Conference and sectoral meetings.
7. As regards access to ILO field offices, access procedures defined in advance by UNDSS for each country and adapted to the level of risk are often applied, particularly if the ILO shares offices with other UN agencies. Retired colleagues can always contact the relevant ILO field office to obtain an access badge if this is the case in the country, or to find out about the access procedure in force”.

Extract from the letter received from the Director of Human Resources on 12 March 2024.

MEETING BETWEEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SECTION AND MS. GUIHO, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

A delegation from Our Section met with Ms Guiho, Director of Human Resources, ILO, at her office at headquarters on Tuesday 20 February at 4pm.

The delegation consisted of the following members: François Kientzler, Executive Secretary; Catherine Comte-Tiberghien, Deputy Executive Secretary; Abdoulaye Diallo, Deputy Executive Secretary; Simar Proust, Secretary; Peter Wichmand, Treasurer.

At the begining of the meeting, the members of the delegation quickly introduced themselves individually. François Kientzler then presented the Section and its activities, highlighting the following aspects:

– The Section was set up some forty years ago, and is part of the ILO Staff Union under Annex IV of the Union’s Statutes.

– The Section provides a social link between former and working staff and its mission is to strengthen these links, to inform, to communicate and to respond to the specific requests of former staff by various means, such as e-mail, post and many others.

– Every year, the Section publishes a magazine called “Message”, which is sent by post to all retirees, whether or not they are members of the Section.

– A website, hosted outside the ILO, strengthens the Section’s communication, disseminates information of interest to members (800 retirees) and ensures a lively link with the ILO.

The Section organises one meeting a year on issues of interest to both working and retired members. For example, the most recent meeting dealt with two key subjects: the health fund and the latest developments in this area, and the digital certificate to facilitate pensioner access to pensions.

The meeting planned for this year could take place around Senior Citizens’ Day on 1 October, and activities are being considered to highlight the importance of intergenerational links.

With regard to the annual retirees’ reception organised by the Administration, the Section expressed the strong wish that it be held on a date that would allow the Director General to be present among the retirees.

François also highlighted the work of the Section with other associations of retirees from the UN system, such as AAFI-AFICS, whose Board has representatives at FAFICS, the only association entitled to have a seat in New York.

The Section also runs an Arts Circle, which organises exhibitions in the Colonnades area of the head office.

As for the Section’s areas of interest, François mentions health and welfare issues, the CAPS, whose Management Committee has a balance between active and retired members. He also mentioned the UN Pension Fund, on whose Secretariat the Section have  an observer status.

François then raised a number of specific points for discussion with the Director:

– Access to the ILO and access to ILO buildings for retirees in the field. He expressed the wish that a badge be given to each ILO retiree.

– He also expressed the wish that the organisation of the pre-retirement seminar be revisited in order to reach a wider audience.

– Finally, François expressed the Section’s willingness to work with the Administration to ensure that the culture and history of the ILO are maintained and passed on.

After this presentation, Ms Guiho welcomed the members of the Section and expressed her interest in the activities carried out by the Section and the importance of the links between active and former members.

In response to the request concerning badges, Ms Guiho promised to look into the matter in all its aspects.

With regard to the pre-retirement seminar, she pointed out that the seminar documents were placed jointly (UNOG/ILO) on the website for consultation, three weeks before the seminar took place, and considered that this organisational model remained valid.

She suggested that a brochure on the Alumni Section be prepared and distributed with the documents to future retirees.

She also said that she was very interested in the idea of retirees being prepared to work together to maintain the culture and history of the ILO among working people, particularly young working people.

She found the idea of an intergenerational workshop/exchange very interesting and promised to look into the matter with her team with a view to organising an event along these lines.

After this rich and promising exchange, the meeting came to an end and the representatives of the Alumni Section left the office of the Director of Human Resources, with a view to keeping in touch to follow up on issues of interest.