France ratifies ILO Convention 190

Last 12 April, France became the 27^th country in the world, and the 5^th in the European Union, to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment in Workplaces.  

Olivier Dussopt, France’s Minister for Labour, Full Employment and Inclusion, deposited the instrument of ratification to ILO Director General Gilbert F. Houngbo. “The finalisation of the ratification of Convention No. 190 marks a decisive moment for labour law and the lives of employees, particularly women, as this text is the first global standard to aim at the elimination of all forms of violence and harassment at work. France was a driving force in the adoption of this convention and calls on all ILO Member States to ratify it as well.”

The ILO Convention No. 190 is widely regarded as the first international labor standard to address workplace violence and harassment. It establishes the first internationally agreed definition of workplace violence and harassment, including gender-based violence, as "a pattern of unacceptable conduct and practices" that "aims to, causes, or is likely to cause physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm."

BWI, led by its female trade union leaders around the world, is a driving force behind various national and regional campaigns that helped persuade many countries to ratify the said instrument. During the height of the pandemic, BWI increased its efforts to persuade national governments to adopt and ratify the convention in order to protect women workers from the growing number of gender-based violence incidents in both the workplace and the home.

(Photo: ILO)