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Violence in the public health workplace:
New guidelines launched
Violence at work afflicts on average half the world's 40 million health workers. Now, a joint programme of labour, health, and public service organizations has launched a new initiative aimed at helping health professionals fight fear, assault, humiliation and even homicide where they work.
GENEVA - The joint task force - comprising the International Labour Office (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO), Public Services International (PSI) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) - launched a set of "Framework guidelines for addressing workplace violence in the health sector", at the ILO in October.
The initiative comes in the face of a mounting problem in hospitals and other health workplaces worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. Research shows that nearly 25 per cent of all violent incidents at work occur in the health sector, and that more than 50 per cent of health care workers have experienced such incidents.
"Our current knowledge is only the tip of the iceberg," adds international safety and health specialist Vittorio di Martino, who has studied violence in the workplace for the task force. "The enormous cost of violence at work for the individual, the workplace and the community at large is becoming increasingly apparent."
The study notes that violence in the health sector goes well beyond assaults or affronts to the individuals, threatening the quality of health care as well as productivity and development. Says di Martino: "The consequences of violence at work in the health sector have a significant impact on the effectiveness of health systems, especially in developing countries."
In accordance with the European Commission, the guidelines define workplace violence as "incidents where staff are abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances related to their work, including commuting to and from work, involving an explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, well-being or health". Although workplace violence has become a serious problem in all service sectors, reports 1
show that health workers are among those particularly at risk:The guidelines are intended to support all those responsible for safety in the workplace, be they governments, employers, workers, trade unions, professional bodies or the general public. In particular, the guidelines show how health workers can approach the problem of violence in the sector, while considering all types of intervention and involving all parties concerned in a coherent, non-discriminatory, culturally and gender sensitive manner. They show how to identify, assess and reduce the risks through preventive action, minimize the impact of violence and prevent its recurrence.
The guidelines prioritize the development of a human-centred workplace culture based on dignity, non-discrimination, equal opportunity and cooperation, including a clear policy statement on violence at work from the top management, and awareness raising initiatives at all levels. The ILO is expected to adopt a Code of Practice on Violence and Stress at Work in Services - A Threat to Productivity and Decent Work, in October 2003.
1 Cary L. Cooper and Naomi Swanson, Workplace violence in the health sector - State of the Art, ILO, WHO, ICN and PSI 2002. ISBN 92-2-113237-4.
Vittorio di Martino, Workplace violence in the health sector - Country case studies (Brazil, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand, and an additional Australian study), Synthesis report, ILO, WHO, ICN and PSI 2002. ISBN 92-2-113441-5.
World Commission on the Social Dimension
of Globalization holds third meeting
At its third meeting, from 12 to 15 October, the Commission moved towards general agreement on a framework of issues which it will address in its final report, and heard statements by the chiefs of IMF and WTO. The Commission, which is co-chaired by President Tarja Halonen of Finland and President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, has embarked on a process of identifying and assessing various policy proposals in certain major areas before its next meeting in February 2003.
The major areas to be considered include globalization and political processes; new production systems and technology; international economic and financial policies and institutions; responses to globalization in strategies for growth, development and employment; and cross-border movement of people. Gender, employment, culture, voice and representation are major themes which have emerged across the board. In all these areas, the Commission will be looking both to assess the situation and to make practical proposals for implementation.
The objectives of the Commission are to help move the debate on globalization from confrontation to dialogue, and to articulate a realizable vision for a fair and sustainable model of globalization to meet the needs of people, around which consensus can be built. The aim is to look at globalization through the eyes of people. More specifically, it aims at policy recommendations to make globalization a more inclusive process, and a resource to foster growth and development, reduce poverty, and to promote employment and decent work. The Commission will identify policies, processes and institutional changes necessary to realize this vision.
The Commission met separately with Hörst Kohler, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The discussions reflected an active interest to find pragmatic and sustainable ways of making globalization more inclusive.
The Commission is expected to complete its work in the second half of 2003 and issue a report by the end of the year. Additional information about the work of the Commission can be found on its Web site, at www.ilo.org/wcsdg
ILO, ADB join forces to improve
labour standards, promote development
The International Labour Office (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have joined forces to improve labour standards as a means of promoting development and reducing poverty in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a joint workshop recently, the ILO and the ADB concluded that government commitment to improving labour standards is crucial to ensuring broad-based and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting recommended that governments, the ADB and the ILO highlight labour standards in policy dialogue with governments, promote improved labour standards by designing projects (e.g., to address child labour, improve occupational safety, reduce discrimination at the workplace or eliminate bonded labour), strengthen monitoring of working conditions in the region, and, develop capacity-building and awareness-raising activities to improve labour standards.
The two organizations agreed to strengthen cooperation in order to promote decent working conditions which would reduce poverty, raise living standards and enhance the quality of growth by increasing productivity, according to Akira Seki, Director-General of the ADB's Regional Sustainable Development Department.
"Failing to take account of labour standards harms development in definite and measurable ways," said Lee Swepston, Chief of the Equality and Employment Branch of the ILO. "Respect for basic human rights at work, and for the legal and regulatory structures necessary to give effect to them, helps workers, employers, and economies as a whole. It is also an essential measure for poverty reduction. The ILO calls this process 'Decent Work'."
Of the estimated 1.2 billion people living in poverty around the world, some two-thirds live in the Asia-Pacific region. According to ILO figures, some 127 million of the world's 246 million child labourers aged 5 to 14 live in the region. In addition, many of the world's 20 million bonded labourers live in the area, while many countries report discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of gender, race, caste, age, religious belief and political opinion. The ILO estimates that more than 350 million decent jobs will be needed in the region over the next decade.
The ILO and the Bank also discussed labour standards for public and private sectors as part of social corporate responsibility. Details on how to conduct social audits, as currently performed by Social Accountability International or private audit firms were discussed by high level representatives from employers, unions and other organizations.
The drive to improve labour standards is gaining support from many countries, development agencies, companies and civil society organizations.
"This does not mean that developing countries should be pushed into adopting regulations and protections that stifle flexibility, competitivity and growth", Mr. Swepston said. "The difficulty in practice will be to find the appropriate level of regulation and protection in each case. This will require a new approach to viewing situations and finding solutions to problems of poverty, exclusion and development."
For a report, statement and further details, see:
www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2002/Core_Labor_Standards/default.asp
ILO hosts Congress on a basic income
A basic income for all... the solution to world poverty? According to the Basic Income European Network (BIEN), which recently held its 9th Congress at the ILO, one solution would be to provide a daily allowance to cover the basic needs of the impoverished around the world.
GENEVA - How do you save 1.2 billion people from dire poverty? There is an obvious answer - give them a job. But creating 1.2 billion decent jobs is no easy matter. BIEN's idea is to give those who live on less than a dollar a day a guaranteed basic income of one extra dollar, every day. This, they say, would prevent starvation while laying the foundation for a more permanent solution.
Countries as diverse as Brazil and the US have successfully experimented with basic income schemes. In welfare states, replacing unemployment handouts with a basic income could eliminate "unemployment traps", whereby those on low incomes lose benefits if they take jobs. Guy Standing, co-Chair of the Congress and Director of the ILO socio-economic security programme, said that the issue was moving up the political agenda. "When we first introduced this, we were regarded as mad, bad and dangerous to know. But we are now welcomed by many policymakers," Standing told reporters. In his address to the Congress, ILO Director-General Juan Somavia welcomed the debate on the issue, and pinpointed income insecurity as one of the most pernicious consequences of global inequality. "To escape this global poverty trap, people need security. The security that comes from going to bed at night, knowing that you and your family are not going to wake up hungry and humiliated the next day," he stated.
A basic income could also be justified otherwise than on grounds of social justice. Mr. Somavia noted that, "We have all seen how the absence of economic and social security leads to desperation and the temptation to act destructively." A divided, unequal world where anger against a wealthy, ageing population in the North runs high, is an attractive prospect for no one.
BIEN's challenge is now to convince the international community that the scheme is feasible. Their 10th Congress is scheduled to take place in Barcelona in 2004.
For more information see www.basicincome.org
Governing Body 285:
Focus on tripartism, situation of workers
in occupied territories, Myanmar, Colombia
The ILO Governing Body (GB) concluded its 285th Session in November following discussions on tripartism, the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories and Myanmar, and a "Global Social Trust" which could ultimately help to provide basic social security for up to 100 million people in the least developed and low-income countries.
Regarding the appointment of the Director-General, GB delegates confirmed that the election should take place at its 286th Session in March 2003. The five-year-mandate of the Director-General will take effect on 4 March 2004. The current Director-General Juan Somavia of Chile was elected to his position in March 1999, and his first term will be completed by March 2004. During the discussion several speakers expressed their support for a second term for Mr. Somavia.
The GB also followed up on a resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference in June designed to strengthen the tripartite structure of the 83-year-old Organization and enhance the role of its employer and worker representatives. Under the resolution on tripartism, delegates approved proposals for concrete action, including "social dialogue audits" or reviews of key ILO activities within the four ILO technical sectors, directly involving the unique expertise and specific mandates of the ILO Social Dialogue Sector and its units. The Governing Body requested the Director-General to put in place a comprehensive cross-cutting plan of action for strengthening tripartism and social dialogue throughout the office.
Country issues
Delegates examined reports on developments since June of this year concerning the observance by the Government of Myanmar of the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). Delegates discussed the possibility of the ILO sending a mission to Myanmar to conclude a plan of action for the elimination of forced labour in the country, provided that such a plan of action between the Liaison Officer and the authorities in Yangon advanced in a satisfactory manner. The sending of a mission was left to the consideration of the Director-General.
The GB also gave strong support for the creation of a Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection, which had been proposed by the Director-General in a report on the situation in the occupied Arab territories issued during the International Labour Conference in June. The ILO has called for capacity-building of social partners, creation of an employment and social protection fund and the establishment of a platform for Palestinian and Israeli constituents for social dialogue. Having noted the practical approach by the ILO, the Governing Body members encouraged the Office to assist in the establishment of the Fund, and appealed to the donor community to support it. They requested a progress report for the March 2003 session of the Governing Body.
The Governing Body also considered developments in Colombia and the special cooperation programme called "Project Colombia", which has been established to secure the rights of Colombian trade unionists, promote freedom of association and the right to organize in the country, and further social dialogue as a means of stopping violence. The Vice-President of Colombia, Francisco Santos Calderon addressed the Governing Body saying that the new Government would do everything in its power to stop violence in the country.
Global social trust
The Governing Body authorized the Office to initiate a project to test the idea of addressing the challenge of alleviating poverty through an internationally financed social protection mechanism known as a Global Social Trust. With 1.3 billion people living on less than US$1 a day - and with the world community resolved in the Millennium Development Goals to halve that number of people by 2015 - the Global Social Trust concept is to raise family income in the poorest countries through the provision of basic social security. Financing would come from networks of individuals in developed countries who would systematically make regular, voluntary donations of a few dollars a month to create basic social protection systems in developing countries and support benefit payments until those systems become self-supporting.
The core benefits would consist of basic income security benefits, education and health services. Following up on a study authorized last year by the ILO Director-General and presented this week, the Governing Body authorized that the test will include one donor country and one developing country together in setting up a concrete anti-poverty social protection benefit in the latter. The pilot project would last several years and the Governing Body and the public will be informed about the progress at regular intervals. The project will be accompanied by an advisory board which will monitor the progress of the pilot project and the Global Social Trust concept in general.
Make tripartism happen:
ILO Governing Body gives
the Organization new direction
The Governing Body followed up on a Resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference in June designed to strengthen the tripartite structure of the 83-year-old Organization and enhance the role of its employer and worker representatives. The Social Dialogue and Tripartism Resolution reaffirms the importance of the tripartite nature of the ILO, which makes the ILO unique among world organizations in that employers' and workers' organizations have an equal voice with governments in shaping its policies and programmes.
The spokesperson of the workers' group in the Governing Body, Leroy Trotman, referred to the Resolution as a means to "bridge the gap between the commitment to ILO standards and their practical application. The Resolution will make tripartism happen at the national level." On behalf of the employers' group, Mr. Funes de Rioja insisted on "the need to strengthen the tripartite structures of the ILO and to ensure that the ILO works with and for the constituents of the Organization."
The Resolution invites the governments of member States to ensure that the necessary preconditions exist for social dialogue, including respect for the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, sound industrial relations, and respect for the role of the social partners. It further asks governments as well as workers' and employers' organizations to promote and enhance tripartism and social dialogue, especially in sectors where these principles are absent or hardly exist.
In particular, the social partners should be involved in "a meaningful consultative process in labour reforms". In order to enhance the capacity of labour administrations and workers' and employers' organizations to participate in social dialogue, the Resolution instructs the ILO to carry out in-depth studies of social dialogue in collaboration with the Organization's constituents.
The Resolution also aims to improve the way the ILO operates. It calls for a strengthening of the Office's tripartite structures and for appropriate tripartite consultation when selecting civil society organizations with which to work.
Under the Resolution on tripartism, delegates approved proposals for concrete action, including "social dialogue audits" or reviews of key ILO activities within the four ILO technical sectors, directly involving the unique expertise and specific mandates of the ILO Social Dialogue Sector and its units. Social dialogue audits are meant to mainstream best social dialogue practices into ILO activities aimed at implementing the Decent Work Agenda for the benefit of tripartite constituents. The Governing Body requested the Director-General to put in place a comprehensive cross-cutting plan of action for strengthening tripartism and social dialogue throughout the office.
Latest report of ILO Committee on
Freedom of Association cites
Belarus, Colombia, Zimbabwe, others
GENEVA - Belarus, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are among the serious and urgent cases cited by the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association in its latest report, adopted by the 285th Session of the ILO Governing Body, for serious infringements of the principle of freedom of association and violations of trade union rights.
In its thrice-yearly report2
to the Governing Body, the Committee drew special attention to the case of Belarus, where the Committee noted with deep alarm the absence of progress towards implementation of previous recommendations and a serious deterioration in respect for trade union rights in the country.The Committee repeated recommendations for information on the need to amend a Presidential Decree (No. 8) "so that workers' and employers' organizations may benefit freely, and without previous authorization, from the assistance which might be provided by international organizations for activities compatible with freedom of association".
The Committee also expressed concern over measures which appeared to be a manipulation of the trade union movement, and could lead to financial difficulties for trade union organizations while further undermining the right of workers to elect their own representatives freely. It said that it regrets certain declarations in a speech made in September this year by the President of Belarus to the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FPB) which "represent a clear attempt to transform the trade union movement into an instrument for the pursuance of political aims".
Regarding the recent elections of the President of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, as well as some other branch and regional trade unions, the Committee urged the Government to institute an independent investigation immediately into the allegations relating to government interference, with the aim of rectifying any effects of this interference, including, if necessary, the holding of new elections.
Finally, the Committee requested that its Chairperson make special contacts with the Government representatives of Belarus in order to express the Committee's serious concern over the issues in this case.
In the case of Colombia, the Committee noted that while violence affects all sectors of the population, it was obliged to express its "deep concern once again at the situation of violence against trade union officials and members". It reiterated that "freedom of association can only be exercised in conditions in which fundamental human rights, and in particular those relating to human life and personal safety, are fully respected and guaranteed".
The report lists allegations of attempted murders, abductions and threats, showing that the situation of violence in Colombia continues to be extremely serious. Even the Government, in its reply, had indicated that the situation is deteriorating rather than improving.
Since the last examination of the case in June 2002, 45 murders, 37 abductions and nine attempted murders have been reported to the Committee. The Committee observed that the facts suggest that the measures adopted are insufficient to put an end to or reduce the violence directed against trade union officials. It deplored that, despite numerous requests, the Government has thus far not reported any convictions of individuals for the murder of trade unionists.
The Committee urged the Government to do everything in its power to achieve verifiable results in dismantling paramilitary groups, and other violent revolutionary groups and to take the necessary measures to put an end to the intolerable situation of impunity and to punish all those responsible for the innumerable acts of violence.
In the aftermath of serious allegations of violations of the right to strike in Ecuador, including the invasion of plantations by hundreds of armed and hooded men who wounded 12 workers and harassed female workers, the Committee decided to place this case among those it considers to be of an especially serious and urgent nature.
The Committee further noted the complainants' emphasis that the employers were responsible for these actions. While noting certain steps already taken by the Government, the Committee urged the Government to ensure that an investigation and legal proceedings are commenced immediately to find out what happened, define responsibilities, punish the guilty parties, award compensation and prevent such incidents from happening again.
The case of Venezuela concerned allegations of unfair dismissal of 3,500 workers in the regional government of the State of Trujillo within the framework of reorganization. While orders for reinstatement were made in respect of some of these workers, the regional entity failed to comply. The Committee therefore urged the Government to ensure that these rulings were implemented, and requested the Government to carry out an urgent independent inquiry into the reasons for this mass dismissal and to ensure that, if it is established that these dismissals were made on anti-union grounds, the workers are reinstated with back pay.
In the case of Zimbabwe, the Committee examined a raid on the headquarters of the Zimbabwean Confederation of Trade Unions (ZCTU) by plainclothes representatives of the Zimbabwean Republic Police, who threatened to use force to disband the meeting unless they were allowed on the premises. The ZCTU was finally prevented from proceeding with the scheduled meeting.
Noting that the High Court in Zimbabwe found that the police did not have a right to monitor the meeting and that it issued an order prohibiting the police from attending meetings of the ZCTU General Council, the Committee requested the Government to ensure in the future that the principles of non-interference by the authorities in the meetings and internal affairs of trade unions are respected, and to ensure implementation of the High Court order as concerns police intervention. The Committee further noted with grave concern, the allegations concerning the intention of the authorities to deregister the ZCTU, and the anti-union attitude before and during the electoral campaign, and strongly urged the Government to refrain from any action in this respect.
In the case of Japan, the allegations concerned the current and upcoming reform of the country's public service. The Committee recalled that the right to organize was distinct from the right to strike, and urged the Government to amend its legislation so that fire-defence personnel and prison staff may set up organizations of their own choosing. As concerns the general prohibition of the right to strike for public employees, the Committee recommended that the Government reconsider its intention to maintain this blanket strike interdiction and requested it to amend its legislation to bring it into conformity with freedom of association principles in this respect.
As concerns collective bargaining, the Committee recalled that public servants should enjoy such rights, with the possible exception of the armed forces, the police and public servants directly engaged in the administration of the State, and requested the Government to bring its legislation into conformity with these principles. Finally, the Committee strongly recommended that full, frank and meaningful consultations be held soon with all parties concerned, on the rationale and substance of the public service reform, to obtain a wider consensus on the subject and to bring the legislation into conformity with freedom of association principles.
2 Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, Governing Body, ILO, November 2002, GB285.9
In the line of fire:
Waiting for peace, in the south of Sudan
"We are all for Peace", says a poster common in Sudan, showing northern and southern Sudanese converging idyllically in a peaceful march, embraced by the wings of a dove. But peace is proving hard to find, as Donato Kiniger-Passigli of the ILO InFocus Crisis Programme discovered during a recent visit to the region..
SOUTH SUDAN - The mission was organized to assess the recovery needs of the thousands of people displaced by war in the south of Sudan.
Ongoing negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) have raised hopes that a peace agreement will soon be reached. In the meantime, the violence of the factions which control the country's most desolate lands, and carry out wanton shootings and killings among a desperate population, continues.
In the south, most people have fled to the relative safety of garrison towns, little enclaves where the Sudanese Government forces defend invisible boundaries never longer than a few miles. All are surrounded by minefields and territory where unruly militias hold sway in a whirlwind of violence and constantly shifting alliances.
The garrison town of Wau is a kind of ghost town. It still appears on the map, but has been largely destroyed. Three Russian-built Antonov planes lie in pieces on the airstrip. There are few other signs of a once bustling community: the daily newspaper is gone and the fruit-processing plant that used to can dried mangoes and pineapples for export is long closed. Those buildings that are still standing have been converted into military barracks. The only sign of commerce are a few shops - a carpenter and a bicycle repairman are busy until dusk, when their daily work is halted by evening prayers and the curfew.
At the Marial Ajiith displaced people camp, villagers are pessimistic about their future. Ownership issues may trigger new clashes in the absence of a well-established administration and judiciary system. Most are simple farmers who say they want to go home, but first need tools to resume their work: farm implements, fishing nets. Many show symptoms of what NGO representatives called "relief syndrome": not wanting to give up such basic services as clean water, sanitation, and education, which they received in the camps for the first time.
The East Bank camp hosts 12,000 internally displaced persons, mostly from the Dinka and Jur ethnicities. Well built tuculs (huts) are surrounded by mango trees. The people say they needed grinding mills, cattle, and shelters in order to restart their lives.
Monica, a determined young woman, learned how to make clothes while in the camp. She said she and some 250 other women could even start a business and sell the clothes at the market, if they could obtain sewing machines.