ILO Declared War on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

ANKARA - 19 June 2018 – The 107th International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) was held on 28 May to 8 June 2018 in Geneva. As the highest body setting the broad policies of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Conference meets every June in Geneva. Convening for the 107th Session this year, the Conference brought together 6,438 delegates from governments, workers and employers including 147 governmental ministers and deputy ministers.

The agenda items of the Session this year included violence and harassment at work, women in world of work, social dialogue, application of standards and development cooperation.

Having participated in the Conference, Mr. Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Turkey, said: “The International Labour Conference of 2018 was the forum for various discussions, with perhaps the most striking one being the particular importance accorded to ‘violence and harassment at work’. It is a seminal initiative to start negotiations on setting international labour standards on violence and harassment at work.”

Indicating that a committee composed of representatives of workers, employers and governments discussed for the first time the issue of developing a new Convention or a Recommendation on violence and harassment at work, Özcan further elaborated that “ILO Director-General underscored the need for action against all forms of violence and harassment at work, including sexual harassment, and called on delegates to open the way for guarantees of workplaces entirely free of violence and harassment.”

Özcan also noted that the Director-General introduced his report on “The Women at Work Initiative: The push for Equality”, which called for innovative action to close the persistent gender gap” and added that “the Director-General’s report on promoting gender equality in the world of work was remarkable and important. The report underlined that despite the significant steps taken on the issue, there were two persistent issues of ensuring fair wage for women labour and eliminating violence and harassment at work.”

The members of the Standard Setting Committee on violence and harassment at work emphasised the need for setting a standard to protect workers against violence and harassment, and agreed that the text should be Convention supplemented with a Recommendation. The text will be voted in the 108th International Labour Conference convening in 2018. It is also significant that this critical issue coincides with the Centenary events of ILO in 2019.

Resolutions and recommendations on social dialogue

Noting that the Conference Committee on Social Dialogue and Tripartism decided on a new framework for action that includes a set of measures to promote social dialogue and tripartism, Özcan added that “the Committee called on the ILO to assist its members in strengthening social dialogue in all its forms and at all levels in line with ILO standards through capacity building and strengthening development cooperation, enhanced research and training, as well as standards-related action and improving policy coherence. This call to respect, promote and realize the principles concerning the fundamental rights of employers and workers and their organizations to freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, and for an enabling legal and institutional environment to promote effective social dialogue is important. Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining are also human rights. These are sine qua non for ILO. The Committee also reaffirmed that free, independent, strong and representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, together with trust, commitment and respect for the autonomy of the social partners and social dialogue outcomes are key to making social dialogue effective.”

Other important agenda items at the Conference

The Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the ILC adopted conclusions on 23 individual cases relating to issues arising from the implementation of labour rights. The discussion was based on the annual report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, which is an independent body composed of legal experts charged with examining the application in law and practice of ILO Conventions and Recommendations by ILO member States.

The Committee also discussed standards relating to working time, based on a general survey, “Ensuring Decent Working Time for the Future”. It noted that the discussions were timely, as transformations currently taking place in the world of work were changing many of the traditional ways of working and was having an impact on its organization. The Committee made particular reference to new emerging working arrangements, including teleworking and working in the platform economy, such as online. It considered that the adoption of an appropriate regulatory framework on working time was important, both to protect workers and to ensure a level playing field for employers. The social partners have an important role to play in setting rules and providing guidance on working time and thus ensuring that working-time arrangements better meet the concrete needs of both employers and workers.

The Committee on Effective ILO Development Cooperation had a robust discussion on the future of the ILO’s development cooperation in supporting constituents in achieving decent work for all and the Sustainable Development Goals. Committee members saw great challenges and opportunities arising from global social, economic and environmental megatrends and changes in the world of work. The Committee was also aware of the impact that the recently adopted UN resolution on reform of the United Nations Development System would have on ILO operations and assistance, particularly at the country level.

The Conference adopted a Resolution requesting the ILO Director-General to prepare a plan of action to implement the conclusions adopted by the Committee, and communicate the latter to relevant organizations at the global and regional levels. The Committee’s conclusions contain guiding principles and a roadmap for future ILO development cooperation.