ILO convention on violence and harassment to come into force in June 2021

One of the main achievements of the last International Labour Conference, which took place in Geneva in June 2019, the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190) obliges the ratifying states to equip themselves with the appropriate judicial means to prohibit and sanction violence and harassment at work. In particular they must ask employers to adopt, after consultation with employees and their representatives, a policy addressing all forms of violence and harassment (see article n°11188). To establish the date of the convention’s entry into force – i.e. the date from which the provisions would become binding for states that ratify it – ratification by two states was required. Ratification by Fiji, which follows that of Uruguay, means Convention 190 will enter into force in one year’s time, on 25 June 2021. Argentina is also on track for ratification in the near future.