LABOR

Labor Harassment. On June 25, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and UN Women called for the ratification of International Convention 190 on violence and harassment of women at the workplace in Latin America. This international agreement, currently in force, has already been ratified in Latin America by Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay, the latter being the first country to have done so. Both international entities urged countries to adopt the Convention in the medium term in order to promote safe workplaces free of harassment. It is thought the move may contribute to more countries in the region joining the international instrument. 

ILO and UN Women called for more regional take-up of the Convention, which regulates on workplace harassment and violence, proposes measures to address and prevent situations related to these issues, and outlines the responsibilities of the various parties involved. The initiative is intended to be applied in the public and private spheres, covering male and female workers without discrimination on the basis of their contractual status or voluntary vs professional status, and including job seekers.

Ratifying countries must establish mechanisms for the protection and prevention of workplace violence, monitor the application and dissemination of the agreement, and provide redress in the event of harassment. The authorities of both organizations stated that the region has “the opportunity to maintain its leadership” in the ratification of this convention of the ILO’s normative system, especially in the context of the health emergency caused by COVID-19, which, they point out, increased violence mainly against women in the workplace.

Next steps

ILO together with UN Women urged Latin American countries to endorse Convention 190 on harassment and violence in the private and public workplace, in order to generate mechanisms that “build more dignified, safe and healthy workplaces in the future”. The organizations propose that in the medium term other countries and civil society organizations emulate Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay in ratifying the international agreement.