FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21^st November2019

On 21st June 2019, the International Labor Organisation (ILO) Convention 190 (C190) on Violence and Harassment was adopted in a historic moment that ushered in a fresh set of protections for workers and established global standards to end gender based violence and harassment in the world of work. The centenary International Labor Conference voted overwhelmingly in favor of the convention as a result of the combined efforts of women workers, unions, parliamentarians, journalists and women rights activists. The convention is the first of its kind with a specific focus on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Uganda, like many other ILO member countries adopted the convention, signaling a commitment to domesticate and implement the aspirations of the framework.

Ahead of the 16 days of activism, a global campaign to end violence against women and girls, Akina Mama waAfrika (AMwA) in partnership with the Uganda Hotels, Food, Tourism, Supermarkets and Allied Workers Union (HTS-Union) and the Uganda Horticulture Industrial, Service Providers and Allied Workers’ Union (UHISPAWU) with support from Hivos, is today convening a forum to build collective actions to accelerate efforts to ratify and implement the ILO Convention.

We therefore make the following calls to:

1. Government of Uganda to ratify and implement ILO Convention 190 and incorporate key provisions of the instruments at the local level including in state laws and policies, local ordinances and executive orders to provide safer working conditions for women workers in Uganda.
2. Employers to integrate the newly adopted standards and underlying principles into their policies, codes of conduct, and with unions through collective bargaining agreements.
3. Human rights movements and trade unions to synergize efforts and bridge approaches to support women workers to hold governments and unions accountable to using these standards in their own bargaining efforts and structures for improved access and equality.

Contact

Telephone: +2564141543681

Email: [email protected]

About Akina Mama wa Afrika

AMwA is a Feminist Pan-African leadership development organisation that aims to strengthen the individual and collective leadership of African women, forming strategic partnerships, to tackle patriarchy and attain gender equality and women’s empowerment for a just and secure Africa.