Campaign #Against violence against textile workers

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Historic anti-violence and anti-harassment agreement adopted

Governments and businesses are now required to implement the Convention in practice

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the member states adopted the new International Convention No. 190 against Violence and Harassment in the World of Work by an overwhelming majority at the end of June 2019. This legally binding international treaty, which was supplemented by a recommendation for concrete implementation by the member states, is a historic victory for workers and their representatives:

The adoption of the Convention is an important step, especially for working women, which finally closes a gap in protection for millions of workers suffering from violence and harassment in the workplace. In doing so, the Convention and the Supplementary Recommendation explicitly take into account gender-based violence in the workplace, which mainly affects women and girls. The Convention stresses the need to address the root causes of gender-based violence (gender stereotypes, discrimination, gender inequality of power) in order to combat violence in the workplace. So far, there has been no law at international level that could have served as a basis for such measures.

The adopted Convention provides for a wide range of remedial measures against violence and harassment, such as complaint mechanisms and far-reaching support measures for victims.

With the Convention, member states now have a strong instrument to transpose ILO Convention No. 190 into their respective national legislation to prevent violence and harassment in the world of work, protect workers, especially women, and establish legal remedies for victims. However, this is only the beginning. The next step is to put this protection into practice. For this purpose, the 189 member states of the ILO adopted a recommendation as an aid to the states. The Convention enters into force 12 months after it has been ratified by two Member States. In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) is responsible for the ratification process of ILO conventions. Federal Minister of Labour Hubertus Heil (SPD) said: "In the context of the global #metoo debate, the ILO has now created an effective instrument at the UN level. Violence and harassment in the world of work must be outlawed and combated. Germany is committed to this and will start a rapid ratification of the Convention.”

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