Sabbatical in Geneva - Work at the ILO

The International Labor Organization is one of several large branches of the United Nations that is on par with the other branches such as the World Health Organization, UNESCO for education. World Hunger, etc. As they are fond of saying at the ILO however, no one has heard of them. Their purpose is to work with countries, employers, and labor organizations to improve the plight of workers worldwide. Apparently much of the United Nations works toward providing guidelines or standards that often becomes the basis of national laws and the ILO does just that related to labor.

Within the ILO is a branch for disability advocacy and that is where I am attached for my sabbatical. A goal of the ILO is for decent work for all citizens and our unit focuses on that goal for the disabled. For example, the disability section has a project in Cambodia for informal training where a skilled person apprentices a person with a disability to learn the trainer’s trade and the ILO arranges some payment from the Cambodian government for that training service. The disability unit has two full time senior disability specialists, some secretarial help, and a budget of only $65,000/year. They therefore have to ironically rely on free or cheap labor. They do hire interns who tend to work for them for 3 months to a year and receive a stipend of 1,500 CHF (about the same as dollars) a month. They are the only part of the U.N. who has paid internships because they are a labor organization and currently have two, Jayhe, a young South Korean women who will return to California at the conclusion of her work here to complete her Ph.D. dissertation, I think in policy development, and, Abdul who is from Sierra Leone but has lived in Denmark, England, San Francisco, and worked on his law degree at Moorehouse College in Atlanta – he is a lawyer. He apparently is the only intern they’ve had with a disability, as Abdul is blind. The disability unit has a goal of having a quota of all interns within the U.N. with a disability.

 Because of the shortage in resources, the unit I’m with spends a great deal of time in disability advocacy with the other branches of the ILO and broader U.N. For example, this past week, we met with the head of the International Crisis Management team of the U.N. who was making his forth trip to Haiti. Our role was to encourage him to find out what is being done for disabled Haitians since the earthquake so that we might mobilize some assistance for them. In the meeting, the contact Antonio was requesting we either put together a proposal for some of the assistance funds that has been pledged and/or try to get someone with construction and disability knowledge on site to see what can be done. The only catch is the person has to be fluent in French since that is the national language. The group knew of one man who is working on another project and we brainstormed other individuals that might could work there. I was volunteered but thought my only knowing 12 French words might be a barrier. I do think Debra Perry, my contact and a senior disability specialist, might be spending some time there in the near future.

The major project from this unit currently is the formation of a business and disability network composed of multinational companies, labor, and disability advocacy groups. There are 27 companies signed on at present and a number of advocacy and labor organizations. We are planning three inaugural planning meetings to determine what this Network will become; one this fall in Europe I think Paris, one in November in New York City, and one later in Asia, possibly Bangkok. Debra will attend all three and I expect I will make it to the European meeting. These will be one-day affairs with probably only a dozen or so people in attendance. I spent my first week assisting in the design and sending of a survey relating to the purpose of this organization and what should transpire at the initial meetings. Those were sent out via Survey Monkey last Friday and we’ll do the analysis next week.

On a personal note, I am here as a guest of the ILO and they have given me a great office with opening windows that overlooks a horse farm and the ILO reflecting pool on the 8^th floor– great view. The building itself is a massive concrete structure full of windows all around with a center work area between offices for common work. In other words, everyone has a window office. The picture I’m including shows the ILO building and the corner of the World Health Organization building. The United Nations plaza and building are in the next block. The weather has been perfect for open windows with a cool breeze all day through the office. They have obtained for me a security badge so I can get through the turnstiles at security and a Card de Legitimate that gives me privileges to stay in the country longer than the 90 days a passport provides. I have my own computer and a guest login id that allows me to receive email and phone calls, if I understood how to use the phone. The computer uses a French keyboard that has some letters transposed from what I’m used to and makes typing interesting. I’m apparently going to get several survey chances with Survey Monkey and it appears I’m definitely going to Oman for a week in October. Apparently they want some technical help in setting up a countrywide rehab program or vocational evaluation program. They originally wanted me for 16 days but Debra headed that off as too long since she has projects in mind. She has given me a great deal of material to review and we are going to design a disability awareness program that can be taken on-line, on a CD, or have it stored in notebooks since different countries have different requirements. The head of their on-line training lives in Turin, Italy and we’ll be going to visit him (about a 4 hour drive) to see his operation and get his help in producing our project. The people in the office are great, friendly and from all over the world. They have made me feel welcome and we’ve had three “tea parties” to send off completing interns, welcome folks such as me, and in one case following a German tradition, Michael held a Friday afternoon social in which he hosted us all with wine, beer, and cakes to celebrate his starting at the ILO. He was very sweet in making a speech and going around the room to say something nice to and about everyone there – a wonderful tradition. More later.