The second deputy prime minister of the Government and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, will try to become tomorrow Monday the first woman and the first Spaniard to take charge of the International Labour Organization (ILO). She will do so in a vote in which she will be measured against the current Director-General of the body, the Togolese Gilbert F. Houngbo, who is seeking re-election, after the other candidate, the former Peruvian minister Javier González-Olaechea, withdrew his candidacy on 4 November of last year.
The Spanish representative proposes to promote a Global Charter of Labour Rights that guarantees a "universal floor" of protection for workers and allows the organization to regain leadership through social dialogue.
The ILO, created in 1919 as the first specialized agency of the United Nations, brings together governments, employers’ organizations and trade unions from its 187 member states. Thanks to its tripartite structure, it has been consolidated as the main international forum for setting labour standards, promoting employment, strengthening social protection and fostering social dialogue.
Díaz formally registered her candidacy last August, accompanied by a strategic programme titled "Recuperar el liderazgo de la OIT: El diálogo social como faro de la justicia social en un mundo en transformación". In that document she argues that the organization is at a "critical crossroads" and warns that the extension of its financial and programme-related crisis could imply an "existential risk" to the fulfillment of its mandate and its international weight.
The core of her proposal is the elaboration of a "Global Charter of Labour Rights" with the rank of an international convention, which sets out the principles developed by the ILO throughout its history and incorporates the current challenges of work in the 21st century. The minister maintains that this instrument should establish a universal reference point for safeguarding labour rights in a globalized economy.
To address the institution’s underfunding, Díaz is betting on mobilizing voluntary contributions from donor governments, development agencies, regional banks, and public-private cooperation projects. These contributions would have a multi-year and non-conditional nature, and would be directed to strategic common funds. Along with this, she proposes internal adjustments to the organization’s accounts, always in dialogue with the union and respecting the current collective agreements.
The program sets the future action of the ILO around social dialogue and five priorities: the digital and climate transitions; promoting sustainable enterprises and fair competition; decent work and social protection; fighting inequalities and gender equality, and the ILO’s own Global Charter of Labour Rights. Among the measures she proposes are promoting a tripartite strategy to regulate artificial intelligence and technology at the 2027 International Labour Conference, extending universal social protection systems, and moving forward on policies for decent wages and collective bargaining.
The candidate also calls for deepening the internal democratization of the ILO and strengthening the voice of the Global South, workers, and employers on an equal footing with governments. In her program, she highlights the experience she has accumulated while serving as head of the Ministry of Labour, where she emphasizes the signing of dozens of agreements through social dialogue, and concludes with the assertion that “the time has come to trust the leadership of a woman.”
From Moncloa, they stress that Díaz has promoted some of the most relevant labour and social reforms of recent years, such as the labour reform agreed with unions and employers’ associations, the law on digital platforms, and the largest increase in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) of the democracy. The Executive also recalls that Spain has ratified 141 ILO conventions, the highest number among all member countries.
The secret ballot is scheduled for tomorrow Monday, 16 November, at 10:00 a.m., in the ILO board of directors. To be elected, each candidacy will have to secure the support of more than half of the members entitled to vote. The term of the new Director-General will be five years and will begin on 1 October 2027.
She faces the current Director-General
As Díaz’s rival, the current Director-General of the ILO, the Togolese Gilbert F. Houngbo, presents himself, who aims to renew his mandate after taking office in 2022.
Houngbo has developed part of his professional career within the organization itself as a senior official and has also held various responsibilities in the Peruvian Administration, including heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to having worked as an adviser to the former United Nations Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar.