GENEVA: Spain has nominated Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz to head the United Nations labor agency, potentially making her the first woman to lead the organization, as it faces a financial crisis over US non-payments.
The Spanish government said Diaz’s candidacy for the top job at the International Labour Organization reflected her record of labor reforms, including measures that have helped reduce temporary employment and contributed to record levels of employment in Spain.
“Yolanda Díaz has driven some of the most significant labor and social reforms of recent years, all of them achieved through social dialogue and resulting in 30 agreements,” it said in a statement. Diaz, who founded the multi-party left-wing coalition Sumar in 2023, is credited with substantially raising the minimum wage, although her relations with Spain’s business lobby have progressively soured. She has also yet to deliver on a promise to shorten the working week.
Diaz is expected to challenge incumbent Director-General Gilbert Houngbo of Togo for the top job at the Geneva-based agency, which sets international labor standards and promotes workers’ rights across its 187 member states.
Houngbo’s term ends in 2027, and an election is scheduled for November this year.
