Ratifying Convention 190: Prevalence of violence, harassment at workplace
Violence and harassment continue to be pervasive in the world of work in all countries, occupations and work arrangements. The growing canker manifests in different forms like sexual advances, verbal and physical conduct, and deprives people of their dignity.
It is incompatible with decent work and social justice. Additionally, persistent inequalities, demographic shifts, changes in work organisations, and technology have been identified to exacerbate the incidence of violence and harassment, including gender-based ones.
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As parts of efforts to eradicate incidence of violence and harassment at work, the International Labour Conference on June 21, 2019 at its 108th and centenary celebrations adopted the new International Labour Standard Convention on Violence and Harassment, Convention (No. 190), which is accompanying Recommendation (No. 206).
It is the first of its kind to provide a clear road map to preventing and addressing violence and harassment in the world of work.
Two years after the passage of Convention 190 (C190), Ghana, being a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and a signatory, it is taking steps to ratify the new ILO Instrument.
Prior to the steps being taken, there were anecdotal data indicating that violence and harassment existed at the workplace. For example, a 2016 Report of the Ghana Family Life and Health Survey estimated that 41.9 per cent of women and 31.5 per cent of men in many workplaces experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime at work.
It is noted that the majority of the victims did not report the infractions for redress, and Peter Agyekum Boateng (2016) also discovered that about 95 per cent of violence and harassment cases went unreported.
Survey
Against this backdrop of information about violence and harassment in the workplace, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), with financial assistance from the ILO, commissioned a survey on the incidence of violence and harassment in the world of work in Ghana.
The survey is part of measure to sensitise all, provide the baseline data for the ratification of Convention 190, and contribute to evidence-based dialogue and policy making to support and expedite action on the ratification of C190 for the protection of all.
The findings of the survey indicated that out of the total respondents of 20,279, a total of 14,540 (71.7 per cent) had experienced one form of violence or harassment at the workplace.
The number of male respondents covered were 7,775 (47.7 per cent) and 8, 525(53.2 per cent) were females. Thirty-four per cent of the occurrences were from the formal sector, with the informal sector accounting for 66 per cent.
With respect to location, 58.30 per cent of the occurrences emanated from the urban areas, 41.30 per cent in the rural areas and the remaining 0.40 per cent outside of Ghana.
Incidence
The survey revealed that the incidence of violence and harassment was more prevalent among the age group of 22-35 years (67.9 per cent) while the lowest was 2.3 per cent for the age group of 15-17 years, representing children of school age.
Most (67.4 per cent) of the occurrences were during daytime. It added nearly half (48.1 per cent) of all victims were employees whereas (19.1 per cent) were self-employed.
Furthermore, more than half (50.8 per cent) of the incidents recorded were repeated.
The survey results further indicated that all the key stakeholders in the workplace were involved in perpetrating acts of violence and harassment.
The leading perpetrators being third parties (35.1 per cent), followed by co-workers (32.5 per cent) and almost a quarter (24 per cent) of the perpetrators being supervisors/managers.
The survey also discovered that out of the 14,540 cases recorded, 3,197 (21.99 per cent) occurred because of personal differences and disputes, 20.58 per cent due to abuse of power relations and 15.21 per cent, of socio-cultural norms that support violence and harassment at the world of work.
The survey results indicated that more than quarter (38 per cent) of all the reported incidents did not receive any attention.
Interestingly, 29 per cent of all the cases under consideration were settled amicably, while guidance-education-sensitisation options accounted for only nine per cent of the actions undertaken.
The survey concluded that incidence of violence and harassment is indeed prevalent at workplaces in Ghana and urged the establishment of comprehensive measures, mechanisms or instruments at the enterprise and national levels to support the ratification of C190 in eliminating all such violence and harassment at workplaces, including gender-based violence and harassment.
The writer is the Head of Public Affairs of the MELR & Staff of ISD. E-mail: [email protected]