Mr. Dan Cunniah

GENEVA- On the fringes of the 102nd Session of the International Labour Conference, worker delegates to the Conference paid tribute to Dan Cunniah, who is stepping down from his position as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV).

President of the Workers’ Group Luc Cortebeeck lauded Dan Cunniah’s “successful and militant” trade union career in his own country of Mauritius, before joining ILO in 2004. “Your path before joining ILO was successful and militant. You began your trade union career in your home country Mauritius, as Secretary of the Tea Development Authority Staff and Employees’ Union, a post that you held for 10 years. You were then elected General Secretary of the Mauritius Labour Congress (MLC). In 1991, after 12 years at the head of your central trade union, you left your country to join the former International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in Brussels and became Assistant Director for Africa,” said Mr Cortebeeck.

On behalf of his colleagues, he thanked Dan Cunniah for his efforts for social justice for workers. “On my own behalf, on behalf of the Secretariat of the Workers’ Group and of the Workers’ Group as a whole, I wish to extend my warm and fraternal thanks for all those years spent fighting alongside us for better social justice,” said Mr Cortebeeck, speaking in plenary at a meeting of worker delegates attending the International Labour Conference.

Other worker delegates including the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Ms Sharan Burrow and the Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya) (COTU-K), Francis Atwoli, also paid tribute to Dan Cunniah.

At the 318th session of the Governing Body that followed the Conference, several worker delegates praised Dan Cunniah’s commitment to social justice and the realisation of decent work for all. Hadja Kaddous (Algeria), Yves Veyrier (France) Mikhail Shimakov (Russian Federation), Cinzia Del Rio (Italia), Takaaki Sakurada (Japan), Owei Lakemfa (OATUU), Modeste Amédée Ndongala N’sibu (Democratic Republic of Congo), Eulogia Familia (Dominican Republic) all praised Mr. Cunniah’s commitment to the workers’ cause.

Dan Cunniah will take up his new position as Chief Advisor to Mr. Gilbert Houngbo, Deputy Director-General of ILO for Field Operations and Partnerships on 15 July 2013.