ILO Director-General visits the Philippines

The Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Mr Guy Ryder, will visit the Philippines from 16 to 17 December. This will be Mr Ryder’s first visit to the Philippines since he was elected on 1 October 2012.

Press release | Manila, Philippines | 14 December 2012
The Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Mr Guy Ryder, will visit the Philippines from Sunday, 16 December to Monday, 17 December. This will be Mr Ryder’s first visit to the Philippines since he was elected as the 10th ILO Director-General on 1 October 2012. The last visit of an ILO Director-General to the Philippines was in February 1995.

During his visit, Mr Ryder will hold talks with President Benigno S. Aquino III to further support the Philippines in achieving inclusive growth through decent work. Earlier this week, President Aquino in his message at the anniversary of the Department of Labor and Employment said “In the creation of jobs, we will ensure these are decent, safe, and capable of improving the quality of life of workers and their families.” President Aquino further said that the basic principle of the administration is to form a consensus, know the benefits of the majority, and reach an acceptable solution.

Mr Ryder is an active practitioner and believer of tripartism – governments, employers and workers having an equal voice and working together for a common goal. Upon his arrival, he will meet with Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and representatives of employers and workers organizations. Mr Ryder will also meet with Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank.

Mr Ryder sees the ILO as absolutely central to the questions of the day: jobs, social protection, the fight against poverty, and equality. Mr Ryder has started a process of internal reform to strengthen the ILO's technical capacity and improve its policy analysis.

“I am absolutely determined that the ILO cannot be satisfied with being a moral commentator on the state of the world. We haven’t got to be a social conscience. We have got to be a determined and effective actor so we can better the lives of the many millions of women and men who need the ILO and whom we are here to serve,” said Mr Ryder in a previous statement on the ILO.

Mr Ryder has some thirty years of experience in the world of work, most of it at the international level. Prior to his election as Director-General, Mr Ryder held the post as Executive Director of the ILO responsible for International Labour Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, overseeing key work in the supervision of the Application of ILO Conventions and Recommendations.

For further information please contact:

Ms Minette Rimando
ILO Country Office for the Philippines
Tel: +63 2 580 9905 / 580 9900
Email

Ms Sophy Fisher
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Tel: +662 (0) 2288 2482
Email