Governing Body

The World of Work: The challenges ahead for ILO

In this interview, President of the Workers’ Group, Luc Cortebeeck, reflects on the results of the 328th Session of the Governing Body of ILO, which took place in November. He explains the big challenges ahead for ILO in the light of the re-election of its Director-General, Guy Ryder. Mr Cortebeeck also talks about the perspective of the Workers’ Group on the protection of workers’ rights in Qatar, Venezuela, Chili, Guatemala and Myanmar as well as on the fight against child labour across the world.

News | 24 November 2016
Luc Cortebeeck, President of the Workers'Group
ACTRAV INFO: The 328th Session of the Governing Body of ILO has just finished. How do you interpret the results of the session from the point of view of the Workers’ Group?

Luc Cortebeeck:
It’s always an adventure, and we are preparing for it for weeks in advance, with the secretary of the Working Group Raquel Gonzalez and her colleague Esther Busser. As usual, this session began with the meeting of the Freedom of Association Committee, which did excellent work in protecting workers’ rights. Preparations for the Governing Body were also made by the Bureau of the Governing Body – President Seidenberger, the Director-General, my employer colleague Jørgen Rønnest, and myself. The day before the Governing Body convened, we met with the spokespersons of our group. On the first day of the Session, Monday 30 October, the Workers’ Group met to refine its position on the various issues on the agenda. We also had to make contact with governments and with the Employers’ Group. Without any doubt, it is a complex process. In this most recent Session, the debates were difficult but open and the three groups (governments, employers and workers) eventually decided to reach consensus – which cannot always be taken for granted. The documents provided by the International Labour Office were of high quality, which is a great help in facilitating the work of the Governing Body. I returned home to Belgium, tired like all my colleagues but feeling reasonably satisfied, and with hope that our work will help to ensure the protection of workers across the globe. That is our main objective at every one of our Governing Body meetings.

I will finish by paying tribute to all the comrades who we have lost recently. I’m thinking of Helen Kelly from New Zealand, who was a member of our Workers’ Group, a friend who left us on 14 October 2016: she fought at our side until the end, to serve the workers in general and ILO in particular. We think too of James Denis Akumu, who died in August; Mr Akumu participated in several sessions of the Governing Body with the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU). I would also like to pay tribute too to Naïr Goular, of Força Sindical in Brazil, a former member of the Governing Body. Our thoughts are with their families, their national organizations and the whole trade union movement across the world.

ACTRAV INFO: Some complaints about observance of workers’ rights were discussed at this session. What is your assessment of the decisions taken regarding Qatar, Venezuela, Chili, Guatemala and Myanmar?

All the governments mentioned are risking becoming the subject of a Commission of Inquiry, and in any event are being put under pressure to comply with the ILO Conventions.

In Qatar, the Government needs to reform the kafala system, which is in fact a system of slavery in which workers are entirely dependent and under the control of the employer and the Government. We are talking about 1 800 000 migrant workers. The legislation was reformed in December 2016 but this will not be enough to eradicate kafala. In the meantime, our ‘Global Union Federation - Building and Woodworkers’ is in negotiations with certain companies to establish workers’ committees. We are awaiting impatiently the Qatari Government’s agreement for the establishment of these committees. I spoke in the Governing Body and personally with the Minister for Employment to support this process. In any case, the evaluation of the legislative side will be carried out by the Governing Body in March 2017.

Under pressure from us, protections for trade unionists in Guatemala have been improved, as well as labour inspection of labour. So far as freedom of association is concerned, the Government of Guatemala has introduced a draft law to Parliament but unfortunately it does not include all the recommendations that were made by the ILO experts. The current legislation contains many barriers to freedom of association.

Moreover, the assassination, over the course of recent years, of 75 trade unionists is deplorable. We can see that the inquiries are not progressing, and the legislation is not adequately evolving; we have therefore been contending with a lack of political will for some years. The Governing Body will assess the situation next March.

The Government of Venezuela is facing a complaint brought by the employers about freedom of association, and another on behalf of trade unions, concerning the situation of the workers. There is a currently a peace initiative being constructed with the assistance of the Vatican and of some political leaders from outside the country who are worried about the situation in Venezuela. We expect to involve the employers’ organizations and the trade unions for the economic and social aspects. We hope that this process will succeed and we will be able to make an initial judgment in March 2017.

Regarding Chile, this is a complaint that was brought not by a Chilean worker but by a Peruvian, at the International Labour Conference last June. This complaint revolves, according to the complainant, around non-compliance with several ILO Conventions in Chile. We are expecting to hear the comments of the Government at the Governing Body in March 2017 and, for our part, we will contact the trade unionists of Chile to find out their views.

For Myanmar, it is no longer a question of a complaint but of monitoring the action plan on the eradication of forced labour and for freedom of association. Even after the 2015 elections the army still has a lot of power, and in some regions the military are continuing with their practices of forced labour. There are also problems with violations of freedom of association. The Government has agreed to stricter monitoring by ILO.

ACTRAV INFO: The organization of the 4th Global Conference on Child Labour in November 2017 was tackled at this session. How are the trade unions preparing for that conference to combat child labour around the world?


A great deal of progress has been made: from 280 million children at work a little over 10 years ago, we’re down to 168 million. That result is remarkable but at the same time a great deal remains to be done. And we can’t forget the 85 million children involved in the worst forms of labour, as child soldiers for example. The Global Conference which is scheduled to take place in Argentina in November 2017 will give a new impetus to the eradication of child labour which, in some cases, is akin to forced labour. With the Bolsa Familia, President Lula of Brazil gave a child benefit to families on the condition that the children received the necessary vaccines and that they go to school. This demonstrates the link between decent work and social protection. The Workers’ Group will be involved in the preparations for the Conference, and above all the participation of the trade unions in the countries most affected by this scourge will be critical!

ACTRAV INFO: This session saw the re-election of the Director-General of ILO for a new term of 5 years. From the point of view of the Workers’ Group, what are your expectations of Guy Ryder’s second term in office as head of ILO?

What must be emphasized is that Guy Ryder has the support of the three groups – the workers, the governments and the employers – with a tally of 54 votes out of 56, with two abstentions. It is very important the Director-General is respected by all three groups. That is vital in order for ILO to function properly, but also means that the Director-General has demonstrated the objectivity and balance needed, on the basis of the objective of the organization. For our part, we are proud that Guy Ryder draws his origins from the world of the workers.

The challenges are major and are many. In a world that is suffering as a result of wars and terrorist attacks and is characterized by the success of populism as demonstrated by referendums and elections in all regions of the world, an organization like ILO is of even greater importance than before. The analysis tells us that there is tremendous frustration among the workers, who no longer have confidence in either politics nor in institutions. Globalization is not developing in the same way for everybody, and a large percentage of the population feels cast aside, ignored, inadequately protected, and is suffering from growing inequality, from work that is becoming increasingly precarious. The middle class is shrinking and is afraid for the future. Without adequate social and environmental regulation, the free market is leading to incidents and accidents. Non-regulated digitalization and the end of the salaried work in favour of contracts of employment with “false freelance” workers are prospects for the future of the world of work that do not inspire faith in the economy or assuage the fears of our societies.

It is for this reason that we have to take the situation in hand. Technological developments for example can be very positive, in the right context. ILO and its three constituents cannot miss this opportunity. Under the leadership of the Director-General, they have the task of finding the appropriate application, adapted for our times, of the objective that is at the origin of ILO: “a universal and lasting peace can only be built on the foundations of social justice”.