Ghana: Unions build strong constituency for ILO C 190 ratification

In Ghana, BWI and IndustriAll affiliates organised a "campaign activity" advocating for the ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 190 on Workplace Violence and Harassment. The activity, sponsored by IndustriEnergi-Norway, was held on June 8 in Accra's Hall of Trade Unions and drew thirty-two (32) trade unionists. 

The exercise, according to CBMWU Deputy General Secretary Patrick Dadzie-Abannoh, sought to equip trade union activists with fundamental information and awareness of ILO Convention 190 and to help establish a strong constituency for its ratification in the near future.

General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU) Research Officer Nana Koomah Brown-Orleans stated that the current state of gender-based violence and harassment in workplaces is incompatible with the promotion of sustainable enterprises and has a negative impact on work organisation, work relations, and productivity.

Gender-based violence and harassment disproportionately affect women and girls in Ghana, and ending violence and harassment in the workplace requires an inclusive, integrated, and gender-responsive approach that addresses underlying causes and risk factors such as gender stereotypes, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, and unequal gender-based power relations.

The participating unions are: the Timber and Woodworkers Union (TWU), the Construction and Building Materials Workers Union (CBMWU), the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU), the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), the General Construction, Manufacturing and Quarry Workers Union (GCMQWU), and the General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU).