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Vietnam joins international efforts on ending harassment at workplace
Vietnam joins international efforts on ending harassment at workplace
29/5/19
A seminar on ending violence and harassment in the workplace was held in Hanoi on May 28 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and CARE International in Vietnam.
Nguyen Manh Cuong, General Director of the MOLISA’s Department of International Cooperation, said Vietnam would send a delegation of Government officials, employers and employees to the 108th annual session hosted by the ILO in Sweden’s Geneva in June to join the final round of discussions on a draft convention to stop sexual harassment in the workplace.
Vietnam's interest in the new convention showed Vietnam's commitment to global labour and international integration, he said.
According to Vuong Thai Nga from CARE International in Vietnam, the main point of the new convention was the broadening of the terms "violence," "harassment," "at work," and "labourers."
The term "violence and harassment" at work refers to a series of unacceptable behaviour that could cause physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm.
"Labourer" in the draft is regulated to include all employees, trainees and apprentices, volunteers, job seekers and job applicants, both in the formal and informal economic sectors, and in urban and rural areas.
The draft also clarified the concept "at work" as any location or environment related to the work process, related to or arising from work, according to Nga.
Vietnam has ratified the ILO Convention on Discrimination (Convention 111), which places an obligation on states to address gender inequality, encompassing gender discriminatory behaviour. Additionally, a joint report by the ILO and MOLISA noted that without a clear definition in the Labour Code or decrees, Vietnamese workers were vulnerable to sexual harassment, which clearly violated their fundamental rights.
Andrea Prince, and expert in labour laws at the ILO in Vietnam, said in general, the attitude towards victims and perpetrators had started to change and national laws, policies and initiatives by leading employers had been adjusted in the right direction.
"In the draft revised Labour Code recently published, we see signs that Vietnam is joining this push, with a proposal for the definition of sexual harassment to be included for the first time in law."
She said the definition may not yet fully capture all aspects of the problem.
"Providing a definition is a big step forward, laws need to also reflect the requirement for and right to equality across all provisions. The recent draft revised Labour Code includes some very positive steps in this direction, but there is still more work to do," she said.
Le Dinh Quang, Deputy Director of the Labour Relations Department at the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, said it was still difficult to identify acts of sexual harassment, adding there should be specific regulations.
The concepts and definitions needed to be clear to help businesses and employees implement this regulation and find solutions to protect workers, he said./.
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All comments [ 22 ]
Vietnam is committed to actively joining the international efforts on ending violence and harassment at workplace.
I highly appreciate Vietnam's efforts on protecting women and children's rights.
Vietnam will make significant contribution to the process of making the Convention as well as completing the nation’s legal framework in order to end violation and harassment in the world of work.
There is no internationally-agreed definition of violence and harassment, nor international guidance on how to address it. This is why we need new standards on violence and harassment in the world of work.
We need the Convention. It will come up with key definitions, concepts and disciplines, while recommending ways to obey the disciplines and monitor and support affected people.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a form of sex discrimination which negatively affects the working environment, undermines gender equality at work, creates unfair practices in employment, and adversely impacts the dignity and well-being of workers.
To lay the legal groundwork for a safe and healthy work environment, the Vietnam 2012 Labour Code stipulates that sexual harassment is prohibited in the workplace.
There should be consequences for those who choose to abuse and not comply. It cannot continue that sexually abusive behavior is considered as an inevitable part of the lives of those abused, whether women or men, something to be endured by victims no matter the personal cost to them.
The United Nations (UN) in Viet Nam reaffirms its full commitment to the UN’s zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment. Zero tolerance means that even one case is one too many.
We are committed to providing a work environment free from sexual harassment in which every staff is valued and respected.
Data shows that where sexual harassment is more prevalent, business profits are negatively impacted. While there is growing company action to tackle this issue, wider action by governments is needed.
There can be no decent work with violence and harassment in the workplace. Gender-based violence is one of the most pernicious and widespread obstacles to gender equality and decent work.
Without strong laws and government standards, employers not only suffer losses through reduced productivity and absenteeism, they may individually bear the cost of developing programs to ensure worker safety and access to remedy.
Viva Vietnam. Let stop sexual harassment now and for all.
It is the role and responsibility of every employer, regardless of the size of his/her company, to create and maintain a working environment which is free from sexual harassment.
All workers, regardless of their sex, age, position, type of contract or status, have a responsibility to ensure that the workplace is free from sexual harassment, to discourage and report unacceptable behaviour and to comply with the company’s sexual harassment policy.
In order to effectively prevent sexual harassment at the workplace every employer should adopt, promote, implement and monitor a policy on sexual harassment within workplace regulations, collective agreement or other legal regulations of the company.
Trade unions have the responsibility to participate in the development and implementation of a company’s sexual harassment policy and ensure that issues related to sexual harassment in the workplace are negotiated in a fair and transparent manner.
The company policy on sexual harassment should propose measures which will ensure maximum confidentiality for all parties concerned, both at the time of reporting and while the complaint is being investigated.
Employers should take every measure to ensure that sexual harassment complaints are investigated and handled in a confidential manner without exposing the identities of the parties involved.
All managers and supervisors should demonstrate a strong commitment to the sexual harassment policy by modelling appropriate behaviour at all times and this should be regularly looked at by employers through performance reviews.
Committees handling sexual harassment cases should include an equal representation of and women to ensure that the perspectives of both women and men are taken into consideration.
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