Swiss urged to ratify convention on workplace violence

Gilbert Houngbo says the ILO sees no reason why Switzerland should not ratify the convention prohibiting workplace violence and harrassment. © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

The director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is urging Switzerland to “set an example” and finally ratify an international convention prohibiting violence and harassment in the workplace.

Gilbert Houngbo of Togo, first African head of the Geneva-based ILO, told Le Temps newspaper in an interviewExternal link published Tuesday that Switzerland should set an example, especially now that it is a member of the UN Security Council.

Switzerland’s two houses of parliament are divided over the issue. While the House of Representatives has approved ratification, the Senate has so far refused to do so. Its legal affairs committee was debating the issue for a second time on Tuesday and a new parliamentary vote is expected in the autumn.

The convention, which was adopted in 2019, has been ratified by 31 ILO member states. No state has yet expressed a refusal. It is already in force in Italy, El Salvador and the Central African Republic.

While admitting that Switzerland has national laws in this domain, Houngbo believes that it has an “international responsibility”. “We are making a solemn appeal to the Swiss political authorities to do everything to ratify this convention,” he told Le Temps on Tuesday.

“We have so far been careful not to interfere in national political debates,” he continues, “but the International Labour Office (ILO), the ILO’s permanent secretariat, sees no reason why Switzerland should not ratify, especially when it concerns violence and harassment.”