Luc Triangle, ITUC Acting General Secretary
With the annual ILO Conference producing some notable results for working people, the months of July and August will see follow-up action by the ITUC to bring those outcomes to reality, as well as some key preparatory steps towards the Extraordinary World Congress arising from decisions of the ITUC General Council on 11 June.
The formal invitation to Congress will be sent to affiliates in the first half of the month, along with the official opening of nominations for candidates for election to the position of ITUC General Secretary, the result of which will be announced at the Extraordinary Congress on 12 October. The Congress Credentials Committee is expected to start its work in late August, overseeing the elections process.
The ITUC will be represented at the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, 10 – 19 July, where we will be pushing the workers’ agenda on the five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will be reviewed this year, supported by our #timefor8 campaign.
The 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (6 August) and Nagasaki (9 August) will provide a stark reminder of the devastation of nuclear weapons, at a time when geopolitical tensions are extremely high, in particular due to Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine. ITUC President Akiko Gono will join JTUC-RENGO leadership in commemorative events in both cities.
The ITUC Youth Committee is preparing a statement for 12 August, International Youth Day, when the UN will focus on intergenerational solidarity for the realisation of the SDGs. While the newly-adopted ILO Recommendation on Quality Apprenticeships is a big step forward in fulfilling the ILO Centenary Declaration pledge on lifelong learning. Advances need to be made on other key issues facing young workers, including job creation and ending precarious and exploitative employment, which particularly affects younger people.
In solidarity,
Luc Triangle
ITUC Acting General Secretary
