The Philippines commits to a violence-free workplace

The ILO Convention 190 policy protects employees from violence and harassment, which includes gender-based discrimination at work.
By: | January 3, 2023
Topics: Employee Experience | Employment Law | News | Philippines

The Philippine House of Committee on Labour and Employment has endorsed the adoption of a resolution calling for the immediate ratification of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 190.

House Resolution 650, which replaced House Resolutions 32, 85, and 271, stated that the delegation of the Philippine government to the 108th ILO Conference in 2019, led by then Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III, voted in favour of the adoption of the ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment.

The resolution said the favourable vote is “a concrete expression of the Philippine government’s commitment to a world of work free from violence and harassment.”

Fiji and Uruguay ratified ILO Convention 190 in June 2020, which resulted in the convention coming into force on 25 June 2021. In March 2020, Argentina, Finland and Spain formally communicated to the ILO their intent to ratify the convention and seek the approval of their legislative assemblies, reported Politiko.

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“Considering that the Philippines had already adopted ILO Convention 190 in June 2019 and that there is an urgent need to provide the appropriate and necessary protection to Filipino employees, especially those working abroad, it is incumbent upon the Department of Labour and Employment, the Department of Foreign Affairs to urge President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to confirm ILO Convention 190 and the Philippine Senate to ratify it,” the resolution read.