Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, co-sponsor of Proposed Senate Resolution No. 877, hailed the adoption of the concurrence of the Senate to the ratification of International Labor Organization Convention No. 190 (ILO C190) as a new era for advancing workers’ rights and welfare.
ILO C190 or the “Convention Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work” provides a global framework to address violence and harassment among workers, including gender-based violence.
“As early as February this year, we filed a resolution urging the Executive Department to ratify ILO C190, and we are grateful that the President acted immediately and endorsed the convention for immediate concurrence of the Senate,” Villanueva said.
“Harmonizing our local legislation with our obligations under ILO C190 is a step towards realizing the world we envision — a world where everyone can contribute and thrive without the fear of violence or harassment; a world where dignity reigns supreme,” Villanueva added.
The Majority Leader believes that the concurrence will help address the violence and harassment at work, both domestic and abroad, especially our Overseas Filipino Workers who remain vulnerable to all types of harassment.
“Napakarami po sa ating mga kababayan dito at sa ibang bansa ang nakakaranas ng pangmamaltrato at karahasan. Dapat na po itong wakasan,” he stressed.
According to the Department of Migrant Workers, the top three countries with recorded labor and welfare cases are Riyadh with 65,136, Kuwait with 43,225 and Malaysia with 29,049.
“Each number represents a Filipino migrant worker who faced maltreatment, mistreatment, contract violation, contract substitution, sexual harassment, or rape, among others,” the Majority Leader said.
Meanwhile, according to the World Risk Poll 2021, 60% of our workers in the Philippines have experienced violence and harassment in the workplace. Of the women who were victims, 13% were sexually harassed, 9% were psychologically and physically harassed, and 12% experienced all 3 forms of harassment.
“The Senate’s concurrence to this milestone treaty is not only a commitment but a moral imperative to ensure that no worker, here or abroad, will suffer any form of violence and harassment in the future,” he ended.
