104TH SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE IN GENEVA

 From left to right: Ambassador Modest J. Mero (Governments) from Tanzania, Ms Ronnie Goldberg (Employers) from the United States, Guy Ryder (ILO Director-General), Ms Ieva Jaunzeme (President of the Conference) from Latvia, and Mr Bernard Thibault (Workers) from France.

GENEVA  – Ieva Jaunzeme has been elected President for the 104th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), which takes place from 1-13 June.

Ms Ieva Jaunzeme has twenty-five years of experience in senior positions in public service and in social partners’ organizations. Since February 2012 she is State Secretary of the Ministry of Welfare of Latvia.

The Conference elected as Vice-presidents Ambassador Modest J. Mero (Governments) from Tanzania, Ms Ronnie Goldberg (Employers) from the United States and Mr Bernard Thibault (Workers) from France.

The ILC sets the broad policies of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and meets once a year in Geneva, Switzerland. The annual Conference brings together some 4,000 government, worker and employer delegates from the ILO’s 185 member States.

Often called the world parliament of labour, the Conference establishes and adopts international labour standards and is a forum for discussion of key social and labour questions. It also adopts the Organization’s budget and elects its Governing Body.

During the two-week conference, delegates will discuss a broad range of issues, including the transition from the informal to the formal economy, small and medium-sized enterprises and decent and productive employment creation, social protection (labour protection), the application of international labour standards, and programme and budget proposals for 2016-17.