Statements and speeches by the ILO's Director-General
December 2019
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14th African Regional Meeting
A human-centred future of work needed in Africa
03 December 2019
ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, outlined the world of work challenges and opportunities facing Africa at the opening of the ILO’s 14th African Regional Meeting in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
November 2019
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Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights 2019
Create the right environment for responsible business
26 November 2019
States have a role to play in promoting responsible business, said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, at the Business and Human Rights Forum 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
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© H. Abdulsalam / UNAMID 2022
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
End violence and harassment in the world of work
25 November 2019
"Violence and harassment constitutes one of the greatest threats to decent work. No more excuses. Let’s work together and make the promise of Convention No. 190 a reality for all," says ILO Director-General.
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“1+6” Roundtable, Beijing
A human-centred approach to global economic governance
21 November 2019
Reducing inequality and ensuring sustainable development requires greater cooperation and policy coherence within the multilateral system, Guy Ryder has told leaders at a meeting in Beijing held to discuss the development of the world economy.
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Maternity protection
A Century of maternity protection - An unfinished transformation
08 November 2019
One of the ILO’s very first Conventions covered maternity protection, but while there is plenty of evidence that maternity protection is good for individuals, societies and economies, there is still a long way to go to ensure that this universal right is a reality.
October 2019
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Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF
Statement by Mr Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, to the World Bank Development Committee - Washington D.C., 19 October 2019
19 October 2019
Growing concerns about global economic and employment prospects must be met with robust policies to promote employment, social dialogue and labour standards and institutions, the Director-General, Guy Ryder has told the World Bank
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Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF
Statement by Mr Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, to the International Monetary Fund's Financial Committee - Washington D.C., 19 October 2019
19 October 2019
Pro-active, effective measures, with a particular focus on small economic units, are needed to ensure that the response to a slowing global economy can prevent global unemployment rising and growth weakening.
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Future of work
ILO Director-General warns of new brutalism in politics
08 October 2019
In a speech to German trade union IG Metall in Nuremberg, Guy Ryder warns of challenge to the basic values of social justice, tolerance, solidarity and humanity. Calls for sincere process of social dialogue between trade unions and employers to ensure a human-centred future of work.
September 2019
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Future of work
We need an innovation shock
23 September 2019
ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, tells participants at a Ford Foundation and ILO event in New York that the world of work needs to innovate to meet the challenges of the future of work.
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ILO 100
Social justice, tripartite cooperation are the keys to social progress
20 September 2019
Speaking in Norway, Director-General Guy Ryder has praised the strength of the ideas, convictions and values that the Nordic countries demonstrated, and their positive impact on the work of the ILO.
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DBEI ILO NUI Conference
The ILO’s mandate maps a path to a better future
17 September 2019
Core ILO principles such as labour standards and tripartite social dialogue are increasingly recognized as part of the solution to current issues disrupting the world of work, including growing inequality, threats to social justice, and loss of trust in institutions and leaders, the ILO’s Director-General has told a conference in Dublin. The meeting was convened to mark the ILO’s Centenary and reflect on the legacy of the Declaration of Philadelphia.
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Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting
Debate on regulating digital labour platforms is crucial
02 September 2019
The ILO Director-General highlighted the need for policies to deal with the challenges of web-based labour platforms. Some form of regulation is needed, Guy Ryder said at the meeting of G20 Labour and Employment Ministers in Matsuyama, Japan.
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Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting
"Tackling the large gender gap in unpaid work is possible"
02 September 2019
Women spend far more time than men on household chores and other unpaid work, which means they have less time to devote on paid employment, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said. Speaking at a meeting of G20 Labour and Employment Ministers in Japan, he outlined steps that can address this gender gap.
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Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting
Living longer needs more work-life choices
01 September 2019
Demographic changes will lead to a ‘multi-stage work life’ said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, at the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers meeting in Matsuyama, Japan. He was speaking at a session on “Demographic Change: Employment of older workers and longer working life.”
August 2019
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Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7)
Guy Ryder: A human-centred approach can create decent jobs for youth in Africa
29 August 2019
Speaking at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), ILO Director-General Guy Ryder outlined how a human-centred agenda can help boost productivity and create decent jobs for youth in Africa.
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Global Youth Employment Forum
The disturbing reality of youth employment
01 August 2019
In a speech at the opening of the ILO Global Youth Employment Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, said much more needs to be done to improve the employment prospects of young people.
July 2019
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Pacific high-level forum on climate change and decent work
"We have to work for a process of productive transformation that protects our blue ocean and gives us all a future"
26 July 2019
Guy Ryder addressed the Pacific high-level forum on climate change and decent work during the first visit of an ILO Director-General to a Pacific Island State.
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8th World Congress of Education International
Education must safeguard democracy, promote the common good
23 July 2019
In a speech to the 8th World Congress of Education International in Bangkok, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder highlights the critical role of trade unions and teachers in shaping a just, human-centred future of work.
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© Claude Truong-Ngoc 2022
École Nationale d'Administration
No time for complacency
08 July 2019
The ILO needs to stand as a bulwark against the ‘new brutalism’ in the world, said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in a speech on the future of work to the École nationale d’administration in Strasbourg.
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International Day of Cooperatives
Message from ILO's Director-General Guy Ryder for International Cooperative Day 2019
05 July 2019
The 2019 International Day of Cooperatives will be celebrated on Saturday 6 July. This year, in commemoration of the ILO’s centenary, the theme is "cooperatives for decent work" which is closely linked to SDG8. On this occasion ILO Director-General Guy Ryder has issued a video message.