Nam takes stand on safe workplace

Geneva – Namibia is one of only six of the International Labour Organisation's 187 member countries which have ratified a treaty against violence and harassment in the workplace two years after it was agreed, the UN body has said.

Voted through by a huge majority at the ILO, which brings together governments, employers and trade unions from its member states, the Violence and Harassment Convention has so far been approved in Argentina, Ecuador, Fiji, Namibia, Somalia and Uruguay.

The agreement came into force on Friday, two years after the ILO vote.

"I urge countries to ratify the Convention and help build ... a dignified, safe and healthy working life for all," ILO director-general Guy Ryder said in a statement.

CAMPAIGN

The UN body launched a campaign to promote ratification and implementation of the agreement, which calls for passing laws and developing policies to prevent violence and harassment at work and aid victims.

Although work on the convention began well before #MeToo campaigns unmasked powerful sexual abusers like Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, the text singles out "violence and harassment directed at persons because of their sex or gender".

More broadly, "violence and harassment in the world of work can constitute a human rights violation or abuse," it adds.

As well as interactions in the workplace, the convention covers other areas linked to the world of work like workers' commute, places for eating, washing and changing and digital communications. – Nampa/AFP