Dear colleagues,
For once … and we would like this to happen more often … the Administration and the Staff Union have simultaneous end-of-year messages of recognition and goodwill for our colleagues.
Indeed, here we are, at the end of a year which has been governed once again by a pandemic, alternating for all staff between optimistic periods of return to the office and other periods, more difficult to bear and less encouraging, of a return to confinement.
The ILO Staff Union is well aware that this enduring situation for all is not an easy one.
We think of all the newly recruited staff who, due to a lack of normal socialization, may have had difficulty in fully appreciating the welcoming organizational culture common in all duty stations.
We think of the colleagues who, for health reasons, have not been able to set foot in their offices for almost two years and whose house, room or flat has become their new professional environment.
We think of all those colleagues who, because of random border closures, have not been able to join their family or friends as they would have wished, to recharge their batteries.
We also think of all those who have faded into anonymity, without any festive celebration apart from a laconic bulletin announcing their departure, for a well-deserved retirement, sometimes after decades of loyal service.
We think, of course, of all those who have suffered the full brunt of the virus and who sometimes did not survive.
All these colleagues are nevertheless part of the ILO family, and the Staff Union also knows that all its members and the staff have a strong capacity to overcome the gloominess and to keep on going, no matter what.
A brief review of the year’s activities shows that, as usual, YOU HAVE DONE WELL! The ILO has not collapsed, and in fact has even grown. The Staff Union will never tire of telling you this: you have been great! This is our contribution to your annual performance review, in case your manager, fixated only on it and the targets to be reached, has simply forgotten to mention it.
So, a word of advice: please take advantage of the upcoming break to rest, to recharge your batteries with your loved ones and, contrary to some messages received lately from the Administration, we are not going to urge you not to do something or other because we know that you are responsible individuals who now know how to measure health risks at their true value.
Rest assured that the Staff Union will always be there to support you, to accompany you in the collective or individual trials that you are going through. It is a new team that has just been elected, but it will of course continue to support you and represent you when necessary. The Staff Union is us, but it is first and foremost you…
So, we would like to wish you and your loved ones an excellent holiday season and ask you to please mark in your diary already the date of Thursday, 20 January, from 1.15 p.m., the date of the presentation of the Staff Union’s wishes – so that we can start 2022 together and full of energy, since it promises to be a year full of important events for our Organization.