LABOR

Harassment and workplace violence. The 100th annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) was held from 10 to 21 June. More than 25 heads of state participated in the event, as well as representatives from all around the world. The main issue of the conference were the future challenges of the labour market amid advances in technology. In addition to this, a covenant to prevent violence and harassment in the workplace and a document with recommendations in this regard were also approved. The covenant will enter into force 12 months after ratification by at least two ILO member countries. Likewise, the organization pledged that coming meetings would see evidence of progress in tackling these problems.

This was the 100th conference of the ILO and focused on two themes: changes in the labour market as a result of technological progress; and protection of workers from harassment and workplace violence. On the first of these, statements from the Colombian President, Iván Duque, were noteworthy, in saying that “the fourth industrial revolution poses great challenges for the future of work”, which is why it will be “important for the ILO to lead this discussion” to determine the parameters of coverage and benefits that must be respected for workers when facing these changes.

However, the most concrete advance of the conference was on the second theme: harassment and workplace violence. Here, two documents were signed: a covenant and a document titled Recommendations on Violence and Harassment 2019. The first establishes that tharassment and workplace violence constitute a lack of observance of human rights and are therefore “unacceptable to achieving decent jobs”. The second, meanwhile, outlines a series of proposals and lines of action for countries to ensure this right to their workers.

Next steps

The ILO will now move forward to develop specific measures to implement the guidelines included in the covenant. It is hoped that future meetings of the organization will move in that direction. It should also be noted that these provisions will enter into force twelve months after at least two member countries of the organization ratify the convention.