10 August, 2022 As ways of expressing their strong commitment to the ILO Convention 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work, Indonesian unions convened social dialogue meetings with employers.
Under the leadership of the women’s committee of the IndustriALL Indonesia Council, five social dialogue meetings were held with employers, and 38 companies signed a zero-tolerance policy on violence and harassment with the respective trade unions.
According to the zero-tolerance policy, employers and trade unions commit to reject any forms of violence and harassment in the world of work, covering permanent workers, contract workers, outsourced workers, and others.
Furthermore, employers and trade unions agreed to form a team to handle complaints on sexual violence and harassment. The team’s role is to stress that victims of violence and harassment have the right to lodge complaints and should be provided full protection in terms of safety, privacy, and psychological support.
“This zero-tolerance policy is a good starting point of collaboration among employers, unions, and the government. We believe that the joint committee will lead us to better protection for our members in the world of work, although it is still a long way to go,”
said Ira Laila Budiman, the chairperson of the women's committee of IndustriALL Indonesia.
“This policy that encourages the establishment of joint complaint mechanisms is a good example that hopefully could be replicated by trade unions in other countries. Joint prevention and complaint procedures and mechanisms involving trade unions are proven to be more effective and impartial, and more trusted by the workers who felt better protected,”
said Armelle Seby, IndustriALL director of gender and non-manual workers.
In 2019, the Indonesian government supported the adoption of ILO Convention 190 at the centenary International Labour Conference. However, despite various calls from trade unions and civil society organizations, the government is yet to ratify the convention. The ILO website shows that the Indonesian government has submitted the Convention 190 to the competent authority for consideration.