Baker & McKenzie Employment Partners to Participate in UN International Labour Conference
Firm News
June 12, 2009
Global, June 12, 2009 – Three partners in Baker & McKenzie’s Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits Practice Group have been appointed delegates of their respective countries to the 98th Session of the United Nations International Labour Conference (“ILC”) on June 3 - 19 in Geneva, Switzerland. The partners are Kevin Coon (Canada), Jorge De Regil (Mexico) and John Raudabaugh (U.S.). A fourth partner Tatiana Garces (Colombia) will be joining the employer’s delegation at the Conference.
The purpose of the annual Conference is to discuss international labor standards and application, and to pass resolutions that provide guidelines for ILO’s (International Labour Organization, a tripartite United Nations agency) general policy and future activities.
At the event, Kevin Coon, head of the Firm’s Toronto labor and employment practice, will participate in the Committee developing an international labour standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of work. Labor and employment partner Jorge de Regil from Mexico City has been a delegate to ILO for several years. This year, he will participate in the discussions on Social Protection and Social Security, which have a direct financial impact on governments and enterprises. He has also been on the ILO Governing Body since 1986.
Labor & employment partner John Raudabaugh will participate in a new committee that will address the impact of the global economic crisis on employment. He has addressed the plenary committee on forced child labor citing the Firm’s year-long pro bono engagement with the UN Development Program. Tatiana Garces, a labor law partner in Baker & McKenzie’s Bogota office, successfully defended Colombia from the employer perspective at the Applications of Standards Committee.
Founded in 1919, the ILO became the first specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946. The ILO is devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. It aims to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues. Today the ILO helps advance the creation of decent jobs and the kinds of economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.