As the International Labour Organization Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work comes into force on 25 June 2021, global unions are launching a toolkit to support the Convention 190 (C190) and its Recommendation 206 (R206). The manual will provide thousands of unions around the world with critical tools for the fight to eradicate violence and harassment in the world of work.
Affecting millions of workers globally, physical assault, bullying, sexual harassment, online abuse, economic violence and abusive work practices are the most widespread forms of violence in the world of work.
COVID-19 outbreak reports show that all types of violence against women and girls have intensified in the past year, making women workers especially vulnerable. A lack of policies and employers’ support to respond to and prevent this violence have led many women to develop anxiety and mental illness or resulted in decreased job performance and impacted women’s revenue.
The toolkit aims to provide unions with tools to develop workplace solutions that tackle violence and harassment, with a special focus on gender-based violence and harassment, and ensure that violence is no longer considered as “part of the job”.
Domestic violence, while taking place outside the workplace, can also have significant physiological and physical implications on abused workers. Moreover, intersecting discrimination creates another layer of inequality that increases the risk of violence and harassment.
The toolkit supports trade union staff and representatives, as well as worker educators and facilitators, to develop training programmes and is a useful tool for trade unions mounting national campaigns for the ratification of C190 in their countries.
Thanks to intensive lobbying by trade unions and women groups across the world, Convention 190 and Recommendation 206, provide a foundation for trade unions and other stakeholders to address violence and harassment in the world of work.
The Convention and the Recommendation extend to all sectors – public and private – as well as the informal economy, and are the first international instruments of this kind. With the adoption of these standards, everyone now has the right to live in a world free from violence and harassment.
Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union General Secretary, said:
“Unions fought relentlessly to win this Convention. Now that it has come into force, we must make sure more countries ratify it and that it is properly implemented. There is still a long road ahead and this toolkit is another step for unions to gain the necessary knowhow that will enable them to put the ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 into practice so that workers live in a world free from violence and harassment.”
The toolkit is comprised of a facilitators’ guide and an activities workbook. Its aim is to:
– Encourage discussion about violence and harassment and gender-based violence in the world of work ;
– Raise awareness about Convention 190, its accompanying Recommendation R206 and its significance for workers – particularly women workers ;
– Encourage unions across the world to campaign for the ratification of Convention 190 and its effective implementation in line with Recommendation 206;
– Encourage unions to use these instruments to integrate Convention 190 into the union bargaining agenda;
– Build stronger unions to enable workers to assert their rights to a world of work free from violence and harassment.
The Toolkit will be officially launched during a webinar on 25 June at 2 pm (CEST).
Please register: HERE
The global unions comprise the International Trade Union Confederation,Building and Wood Workers’ International, Education International, IndustriALL Global Union, the International Domestic Workers Federation, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Transport Workers Federation, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tourism, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), Public Services International, and UNI Global Union.
Download the Toolkit in FR-SP-ENG: https://ws.onehub.com/files/sg7fkyzn
Download the Activity Workbook in FR-SP-ENG: https://ws.onehub.com/files/pqb4adi4
