Manila - In line with the celebration of the National Women’s Month, the Department of Labor and Employment, through its attached agency the Institute for Labor Studies (ILS), organized a forum on Convention 190 on Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work following the country’s ratification to raise awareness and common understanding of its principles. The forum serves as a platform for tripartite discussion on concrete policies and programs, various approaches and avenues to promote and engage the support of stakeholders in the implementation of the said Convention.

In his welcome remarks, DOLE Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto R. Bitonio, Jr. underscores the role of government as duty bearers and its tripartite partners in advocating for and realizing the principles of the Convention. He also identified the different avenues and platforms to promote the Convention which includes incorporating it as an elective course in the curriculum of higher education and technical vocational education, developing a distinct policy and establish reporting system in the workplace, and integrating it on DOLE programs and services.

"The ratification of the Convention should not end there. There are many things that we need to do, including adjustments in our legislations that the tripartite partnership work on. The second is the enhancement of institutions to put into effect the concept, which may require adjustments in national laws and implementing mechanisms. The third is the buy-in from employers, particularly employers, which the Convention identifies as primarily responsible to ensure that their workplaces, whether physical or virtual, are indeed free from violence and harassment.," Undersecretary Bitonio,Jr. emphasized.

The forum featured presentations of resource speakers on various initiatives being undertaken by different organizations in support of the Convention. Ma. Rebecca Rafaela R. Baylosis from the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), spoke about the impact of C190 on women's empowerment in the workplace; Dir. Jerrick Gerard C. Go of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), discussed the convention's rights-based framework; Brent Kenneth L. Calvo from the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) presented the DOLE's initiatives; Ms. Nenette Fernando of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), addressed the role of employers in upholding the principles of C190 as well as employee engagement initiatives; and Ms. Fidelina Geraldez of the United Domestic Workers of the Philippines (UNITED) shared the experience of domestic workers as victims and the importance of soliciting the support of the local government to protect their rights.

The recorded forum can be accessed through the ILS Official Facebook page at https://bit.ly/ILS_C190PHLRatification.

###