By TAKEHIKO SAWAJI/ Senior Staff Writer
March 22, 2023 at 08:00 JST
Akiko Gono (Photo by Takehiko Sawaji)
Akiko Gono is seeking to convey workers’ voices from around the world as she is the first Japanese to serve as president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
She was selected to the position in November last year on behalf of the federations of labor unions from about 160 countries and regions.
“I will be devoting myself to heightening workers’ social standings via global solidarity, as it is difficult for labor unions in some nations to fulfill their core role of creating better working conditions,” said Gono, 68.
Previously, Gono studied mathematics at Tokyo University of Science and began working at an automaker as a computer programmer.
While it was rare at the time for women to continue working, Gono wanted to build a lifetime carrier by polishing her skills.
Gono took an English course at a language school. A teacher there advised her to become a staff member of the international affairs bureau of Zensen Domei, the predecessor of UA Zensen, which represented trade unions in the textile and distribution industries.
Her simple desire to “take advantage of my English skills” provided Gono with the opportunity to join labor movements.
Among tasks she handled at Zensen Domei, Gono said her experience of extending support for founding labor unions in various Asian nations helped her to create “the person I am now.”
Gono, for example, held talks with an employer in a country where trade unions’ rights were not appropriately secured.
“I was on duty in a tense situation,” she said. “There, I came across many people who motivated me.”
After Gono achieved a senior post at the International Labor Organization in 2017, she was recommended by Rengo (the Japanese Trade Union Confederation) for the ITUC’s presidential position given her accomplishments in the past.
Gono, who was born in Yokohama and has been sticking to her junior and senior high school’s motto of living “for others,” believes her latest job at the ITUC will be the last mission in her career.
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