ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa standing in a room full of decorations

ILO Director-General meets Zimbabwean President, tripartite constituents, on first official visit to Zimbabwe

On his first visit to Zimbabwe since taking office as ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo highlighted the need for greater social justice as well as the challenges of creating more decent work opportunities.

6 December 2024

ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa © ILO

HARARE (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, held meetings with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as well as the ILO’s tripartite constituents, during an official visit this month that followed an invitation from the Government of Zimbabwe.

The President of Zimbabwe noted the long-standing relationship between Zimbabwe and the ILO, lauding what he called the ”legacy programmes“ the ILO has implemented over the years.

During his visit the Director-General held additional meetings with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) and other business member organizations. He also met workers’ representatives from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions.

Discussions included addressing the challenges of creating decent work and facilitating formalization, making migration mutually beneficial (including through transfer of social security benefits since Zimbabwe is both a migrant destination and a transit country), the inclusion of academia in social dialogue under the Tripartite Negotiating Forum on labour and social issues, just transitions, the impact of artificial intelligence on job markets, and capacity building for labour administration systems.

The ILO Director-General’s visit comes at a strategic and crucial time when Zimbabwe is the Chair of the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) and the Employment and Labour Sector (ELS). The country is also the presumptive President of the forthcoming 113th Session of the International Labour ,Conference (ILC) 2025 – often called the global parliament of labour – which meets every June in Geneva for two weeks. Zimbabwe is currently the Deputy President of the ILC.

In addition, the Director-General gave a public lecture where he presented the Global Coalition for Social Justice to more than 150 attendees, including government ministers, academia and the media. He also discussed global inequalities during which he highlighted the contrast between countries where some live on less than a dollar a day while others spend millions on luxuries and recreational activities. Houngbo also made fervent calls for the promotion and prioritization of social justice and equality through national and global policies.

He concluded his visit by meeting staff from the ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe and Namibia, under the directorship of Philile Masuku.

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