To mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, MP Maria Miller held a parliamentary briefing, attended by several MPs, with a coalition of advocacy groups to mark the Government’s recent ratification of the International Labour Organisation Convention 190 to end Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.
The announcement was made by the Government earlier this month in the form of a Command Paper in both Houses together with an Explanatory Memorandum stating the Government’s proposal that the UK should ratify it.
Maria said: “This is really welcome news that the Government have begun the ratification process for the ILO Convention to end Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. The Convention includes within it ground-breaking provisions that will go a long way in making the workplace safer and fairer for workers, so I hope that more states will follow suit by ratifying this important convention.”
C190 protects all workers irrespective of their contractual status: current employees but also jobseekers, job applicants, interns, apprentices, trainees, volunteers – as well as workers whose employment has been terminated. It covers all sectors in the public and private sector, rural and urban, formal and informal economy and recognises the world of work as extending beyond the physical premises to include travel, off site training and commuting.
The convention also recognises the heightened vulnerability of workers depending on types of work arrangements, sectors and multiple protected characteristics of workers. Online engagement is also recognised as being part of the world of work, meaning C190’s protective provisions could help address online harassment and abuse.
In a ground-breaking move, the convention also recognises the impact that domestic violence may have in the world of work. Evidence shows that women who experience domestic violence or intimate partner violence are employed in higher numbers in casual and part-time work, and their earnings are up to 60 percent lower than women who do not experience such violence.