All Director-General statements

Social and solidarity economy

Social enterprises play a key role in a decent future of work

Innovative solutions are needed to combat the challenges facing the future of work said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder at the Social Economy National Consultation Conference in Durban, South Africa.

Social Justice

World Day of Social Justice

In a statement marking World Day of Social Justice, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder says decent work is key to achieving sustainable development and social justice, itself a foundation of lasting peace.

Seventh World Government Summit

Work for a Brighter Future

In a speech to the seventh World Government Summit, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder stressed the need for people to design the future of work they want. He identified three areas for investment: people and their capabilities; institutions; and jobs...

Conference “100 Years ILO”

A Future of Work with Social Justice: The ILO in its second Century

Brazil dam collapse

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, has issued a statement following the collapse of a dam in the town of Brumadinho, Brazil. Around 300 people are missing, with the chances of finding survivors reported to be very low.

ILO100

A Centenary of endeavour and achievement

In a speech to open a year of Centenary celebrations, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, described the organization as a locomotive of social progress and a harbinger of peace. He also outlined the challenges ahead.

PAGE Ministerial Conference

We cannot tolerate the cost of inaction on climate change

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder outlined three key climate change challenges and put forward a number of proposals, in an address to the Ministerial Conference of the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), in South Africa.

LO-Norway Conference for ILO100

The future depends on the conscious choices we make

In a speech to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, stresses the importance of international cooperation to meeting the multiple challenges of the future of work.

Labour migration

Rights of labour migrants need protecting

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, stressed the ILO’s support for the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, in a speech at the Intergovernmental Conference in Marrakech, Morocco.

ITUC 4th World Congress

Organized labour the best defence against intolerance

In a speech to the 4th World Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation in Copenhagen, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, stresses the importance of the international trade union movement for a future of work that benefits all.

G20 Leaders’ Summit

We can both create jobs and protect the environment

Job opportunity and economic growth can happen without costing the planet, said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, at a G20 discussion on “Embracing the Opportunities (Infrastructure; Energy transitions; A sustainable food future)”.

G20 Leaders’ Summit

The right policies will create a future of work we want

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, outlined critical future of work issues in a session at the G20 Leaders’ Summit on “Putting People First - Discussion Topics: Global economy; the future of work; women’s empowerment.”

World AIDS Day 2018

Timely HIV testing is key to workers’ health

Do you know your HIV status? In around 50 countries HIV infections are still rising and everywhere death rates are still too high.

G20 informal Employment Working Group

G20 countries are leaders in shaping the future of work

In remarks at a meeting of the G20 Informal Employment Working Group at ILO headquarters in Geneva, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, outlined the key issues facing a rapidly changing world of work.

ILO Global Business Network for Social Protection Floors

Invest in social protection

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, calls on businesses to help make universal social protection a reality, in a speech at the fourth annual meeting of the ILO Global Business Network for Social Protection Floors, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Global Business and Disability Network

Disability inclusion benefits business

Discussions about diversity, business and human rights need to include persons with disabilities, says ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, at the opening of the annual meeting of the ILO’s Global Business and Disability Network, in Geneva, Switzerland.

20th Session of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians

ILO Director-General closes historic labour statistics Conference

Conference offers the world new statistical tools which will provide policy makers with much needed information on emerging and less visible forms of employment.

Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF

Statement by Mr Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, to the International Monetary and Financial Committee

Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF

The future of work must be more equal

In a statement to the Development Committee delivered during the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, highlighted the “warning signs” facing the global economy.

Les Entretiens France-BIT 2018

The future of work: More voice creates better decisions in enterprises

On the occasion of the 2018 France-ILO meetings, organized by the ILO and the French Ministry of Labour in Paris, the Director-General of the ILO, Guy Ryder, addressed the importance of social dialogue in effectively managing changes in the world of...