Geneva, Switzerland
"Violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work" was on the agenda for the first time at the International Labour Conference (ILC). This year, the Standard Setting Committee held discussions with a view to establishing a new international labour standard in 2019.
Informal workers account for the majority of the world’s workforce, yet are typically excluded from legislation meant to protect against harassment and violence at work. Delegations of informal workers participating in the ILC wanted to remedy that oversight.
WIEGO’s delegation to the ILC included informal worker leaders who shared the experience of violence and harassment in their sectors — street vending, waste picking, and home-based work. Our ally, the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF), highlighted what domestic workers face on the job.
These informal workers’ organizations were calling for an international convention, supplemented by a detailed recommendation, concerning violence and harassment in the world of work — one that specifically includes informal workers and their disparate workplaces and issues.
Read WIEGO's Violence and Informal Work Briefing Note in English | Spanish | French | Russian
Watch the following short videos to hear their presentations to the ILC.
Vídeos
Suntaree Saeng-ging of HomeNet South-East Asia discussed violence and harassment faced by home-based workers and street vendors at at the Tripartite Committee on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work
Wisborn Malaya on behalf of StreetNet & ZCIEA called for an ILO Convention & Recommendation on violence & harassment which includes protections for all workers — formal and informal — during the Tripartite Committee on Violence
Lorraine Sibanda, President of StreetNet International made the case for informal workers' representation in social dialogue and for the tripartite system to be expanded to tripartite plus during the Tripartite Discussion