Last June 21, 2019, a landmark international agreement banning violence and harassment in the workplace has been applauded by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, after it was adopted on Friday at the International Labor Organization’s Centenary Conference in Geneva.
Mr. Guterres congratulated Member States for “building upon a legacy of achievement, guided by that age-old vision of social justice through social dialogue and international cooperation.” The Convention passed with 439 votes in favor, with seven against and 30 abstentions, after a ballot involving representatives of governments, employers and workers, in line with ILO’s tripartite structure.
It is the first new Convention – a legally binding international instrument – agreed to by the International Labor Conference since 2011, when the Domestic Workers Convention, was adopted. According to the new labor standard, violence and harassment at work “constitute a human rights violation or abuse.”
Defined as behavior that is likely to lead to “physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm,” violence and harassment are also regarded as “a threat to equal opportunities” which are “unacceptable and incompatible with decent work.”
In signing the Convention, Member States have a responsibility to promote a “general environment of zero tolerance,” while also protecting trainees, interns, volunteers, jobseekers and employees “irrespective of their contractual status.”
