The Government bets on Yolanda Díaz to preside over the International Labor Organization

The race to lead the International Labour Organization (ILO) already has a Spanish candidate. The Government has chosen the second vice-president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, to run for the General Directorate of the organization, a designation that, if successful, would make her the first woman and the first Spaniard to hold the position.

The candidacy was announced this Thursday by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who has publicly expressed his support for the minister through his 'X' profile. "It is an honor to announce the candidacy of Yolanda Díaz to lead the ILO. For the first time, a woman and our country would be at the head of this fundamental institution for the defense of decent work and social justice," he wrote. 

Sánchez has defended that Díaz's trajectory at the head of the Ministry of Labor supports her candidacy and has highlighted her role in labor rights and social dialogue. "She has demonstrated with policies and results her commitment to labor rights, social dialogue and the prosperity of Spain. Her experience, her trajectory and her vocation for consensus make her an excellent candidate to lead the ILO," added the head of the Executive.

Es un honor anunciar la candidatura de Yolanda Díaz para dirigir la OIT. Por primera vez, una mujer y nuestro país estarían al frente de esta institución fundamental para la defensa del trabajo digno y la justicia social.

Yolanda ha demostrado con políticas y resultados su…

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 23, 2026

From Moncloa, they also maintain that the candidacy aims to strengthen Spain's role in an institution considered key to addressing the challenges of the labor market in a context of economic, technological, and environmental transformation. The Executive also recalls that Spain is the country that has signed the most conventions with the International Labor Organization, with a total of 141, as a sign of its commitment to the organization.

According to the Government, Yolanda Díaz's trajectory at the head of the Ministry of Labor includes the promotion of several of the main labor reforms in recent years through social dialogue, among them the labor reform agreed with unions and employers, the digital platforms law, and successive increases in the interprofessional minimum wage.