“The world needs a new social contract”, the ILO’s new Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, has told members of the ILO’s Governing Body at the opening session of their last meeting of 2022.
In his first address to the Governing Body since taking up office, the Director-General said, “the founding values of the ILO in 1919 remain relevant,” adding “I pledge to do my utmost to defend these founding values of the ILO – our common values of peace, social justice, equitable economic growth and solidarity, while respecting and protecting the environment.”
Houngbo called for a “Global Coalition for Social Justice” to face the challenges currently disrupting the world of work. The Coalition will entail the participation of a wide range of stakeholders and will work to “facilitate and strengthen collaboration and collective action … [and] serve as a framework for policy coherence on social justice at the wider multilateral level and beyond,” he told delegates.
During its meeting the Governing Body will also discuss issues arising from the 110th Session (2022) of the International Labour Conference concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy and the inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work. In addition, it will look at ensuring decent work in supply chains and promoting productivity systems for decent work, among many other items on its 47-point agenda.
The Governing Body is the executive council of the ILO. It meets three times a year in Geneva to take decisions on ILO policy and establish the programme and budget. The 346th session runs from 31 October to 10 November 2022.