ITUC-Africa urges Nigeria, others to crack down on workplace violence

The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC-Africa, has called on Nigeria and other African countries to urgently strengthen measures against workplace violence and harassment, warning that millions of workers across the continent remain exposed to abuse despite the adoption of international labour standards aimed at protecting them.

In a statement marking the sixth anniversary of the adoption of the International Labour Organization, ILO, Convention No. 190 (C190) and Recommendation No. 206 (R206), ITUC-Africa’s General Secretary, Akhator Joel Odigie, described workplace violence and harassment as one of the most persistent violations of workers’ rights in Africa.

The organisation lamented that six years after the historic adoption of the convention on June 21, 2019, progress in ratification and implementation across Africa remains slow.

“Violence and harassment at work, including gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), remain among the most pervasive yet least prosecuted violations of workers’ rights across the African continent.

“From domestic workers in private households, to nurses in understaffed clinics, from garment workers on factory floors to women agricultural labourers in export crop supply chains, the evidence is clear and compelling: far too many workers-overwhelmingly women-continue to endure abuse, intimidation, and violence as a condition of their employment.

“Six years after its adoption, progress on ratification and implementation across Africa remains limited. Only a small number of African states have ratified C190, leaving the majority of workers across the continent without the full legal protections envisioned by the Convention.

“On the anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206, ITUC-Africa calls on African governments to ratify C190 without further delay; enact or strengthen domestic legislation that gives full effect to its provisions; allocate adequate resources for enforcement; and establish accessible, confidential and survivor-centred reporting and redress mechanisms for workers who experience violence and harassment.

and workplace interventions aimed at protecting vulnerable workers.

The statement said trade unions should “deepen the integration of C190 into their operations, organising, bargaining and advocacy work” and strengthen solidarity with women workers, informal workers, domestic workers and other groups that are disproportionately exposed to violence and harassment.

The organisation equally appealed to the International Labour Organization and development partners to increase support for African countries seeking to implement the convention.

It called on international partners to “scale up technical assistance and capacity-building support for African states undertaking ratification and implementation” and to ensure that workers’ voices, particularly those of women workers, are reflected in policy design and implementation.

ITUC-Africa maintained that the continent can no longer afford to delay action on workplace violence and harassment.

“Six years after the adoption of C190 and R206, Africa must move from commitment to action. Every worker has the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment. The time to deliver on that promise is now,” the statement declared.

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