Speaker

Guy RYDER

Director-General - ILO

Twitter Account:  @guyryder

Elected as ILO Director-General in 2012.  In pursuit of his pledge to position the Organization as a determined actor translating principle into action and capable of making a major difference to the working lives of people on all continents, Guy Ryder has launched a major reform process geared to assuring the ILO’s authority on world of work issues.

Guy Ryder first joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities. From 1999 to 2002 he was Director of the Office of the Director-General. During this time the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda was launched and won support from the international community. He returned to the ILO in 2010 as Executive Director, International Labour Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Guy Ryder has held posts at the International Department of the Trades Union Congress in London and in the international trade union movement.  In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), leading the process of unifying the democratic international trade union movement. He was elected first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2006.