WIEGO at the International Labour Conference 2019

en español

FRIDAY, JUNE 21 – An instrument on Ending Violence and Harassment in the World of Work has been adopted at the 108th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. This is a significant victory for informal workers—especially women—whose organizations advocated tirelessly to ensure ILO Convention 190 can protect some of the world’s most vulnerable workers.

WIEGO’s delegation at the ILC included networks of informal workers who advocated for a convention that addresses violence and harassment issues for informal workers.

Violence and harassment in the world of work … is a threat to the dignity, health and well-being of those who experience it and to their families.        ~ILO Standards Setting Committee on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

Read WIEGO’s press release.

What a Convention will mean to informal workers

WIEGO’s Network Partners have been working across sectors with a range of informal workers and their organizations. This has included organizing affiliates at national and regional levels to share strategies, develop plans and engage in action.

• Watch StreetNet International President Lorraine Sibanda’s statement at the ILC.
• Watch the statement of Sonia George, representing SEWA and WIEGO at the ILC.
• Follow the ILC live and see all the recorded speeches through the ILO

Position Papers from Informal Workers’ Network

• HomeNet South Asia — Briefing Document on Proposed ILO Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work and a brief summary of the Blue Report from HNSA’s perspective.
• StreetNet International — Position Paper on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work | en francais
• International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) Platform of Demands: Violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work (2018) and IDWF’s May 2019 Petition to Asian governments

How the ILC Works

During the annual two-week ILC session, delegates (representing employers’ organizations, trade unions and government officials of Member States) gather to discuss international labour standards. Informal worker representatives from the domestic worker, home-based worker, street-vendor and waste picker sectors will participate as observers and as part of the worker group to ensure the voice of informal workers is heard.

In 2019, WIEGO joined efforts with our Network partners from IDWF, StreetNet International, HomeNet South Asia, SEWA and IUF in sending delegations to bring the voices and experiences of the most marginalized workers, and hence the most at risk of violence and harassment in the world of work.

It was expected that the ILC would vote on whether to adopt a Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. View a diagram on the ILO Standard Setting Procedure (pdf).

Learn More

• ILO Report V (2A) and ILO Report V (2B) were the basis for the discussion in June 2019 in Geneva: Ending Violence and harassment in the world of work
• WIEGO Blog: Workplace Violence and Harassment: Informal Workers also need protection
• WIEGO Violence and Informal Work – Briefing Note (2018): English, French, Spanish, Russian
• New WIEGO PODCAST speaks to the violence domestic workers face:

Celebrating 100 Years of ILO and the Future of Work

This ILC marked the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Discussions on the Future of Work, “green” work, and other relevant topics were held.

In this position paper, WIEGO congratulated the ILO and made the case for the including the majority of today’s workers as crucial to the future of work.

More on the Future of Work

• WIEGO Working paper No. 37 “Informal Workers and the Future of Work: A Defence of Work-Related Social Protection”by Laura Alfers, France Lund and Rachel Moussié, March 2018
• WIEGO Blog: Year in Review: Five reflections on the “Future of work”
• WIEGO Blog: Think Rain, Not Robots: Shaping the Future of Work for Women in Informal Employment, by Sally Roever, WIEGO’s International Coordinator

WIEGO’s Delegation to the ILC

Our delegation included:

• street vendors from StreetNet International’s executive
• home-based workers: the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) of India, HomeNet South Asia, and Cooperativa MAESOL of Brazil
• waste pickers (recicladores) from Colombia

WIEGO’s ally, the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF), brought a strong delegation to highlight the persistent violence and harassment that domestic workers face on the job.

MEDIA CONTACTS

• Sofia Trevino (onsite in Geneva): +1 613-290-5258 (English and Spanish)
• Demetria Tsoutouras (in Ottawa): +1 +613 882 3364; demetria.tsoutouras@wiego.org (English and Spanish)