By the end of 2023, 50 governments will have ratified C190, according to trade unions surveyed from 79 countries across the world and recent assessments. With Central Africa Republic, El Salvador and Peru being the latest to have ratified C190, we are now at 18 ratification’s. This tallies with another key finding of the ITUC survey: 68% of governments support C190 while only 42% of employers in countries support the convention.
ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 enshrine the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment. However:
- 73% of unions surveyed think violence and harassment in the world of work has increased in the last five years;
- 80% of trade unions think gender-based violence increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trade unions across the world are working to secure the ratification and implementation of C190:
- 91% of trade unions surveyed are engaged in social dialogue to align C190 with national laws and policies.
- 67% of trade unions have negotiated workplace policies or collective bargaining agreements to align with C190 and R206.
- Over half the countries in the ITUC C190 survey need to change their labour laws to implement C190.
- 37% of the countries need to change occupational health and safety (OHS) laws.
ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said: “It is critical to ensure that workers, in all their diversity, can enjoy the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment. We urge all governments to move through the ratification process as soon as possible.
“We welcome the recent decision at the International Labour Conference to add OHS as a fundamental right, which will further pave the way for the effective implementation of C190, which includes OHS provisions such as the obligation of employers to carry out workplace risk assessments.”
Join our call for the universal ratification of C190 on 21 June, the third anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206.
The full ITUC survey findings will be published this September in a C190 global report along with a call to governments to #RatifyC190 in the lead up to the @16DaysCampaign, 25 November – 10 December, and the ITUC Congress, 17 – 22 November 2022.
