New Federal Forum for the Eradication of Violence and Harassment

After ratifying the ILO Convention No. 190, Argentina seeks to move forward with its commitment, to guarantee employers, workers, and organizations guidance, resources, training, and other tools to prevent violence and harassment in the work environment.

The ILO Convention No. 190 is specially aimed at preventing violence and harassment in the workplace. It seeks to extend the protection to new spaces and to more people, with a special focus on vulnerable groups. Thus, it proposes an inclusive, integrated approach –that considers gender issues– for guaranteeing the right of all persons to a work environment free of violence and harassment.

To move forward with the implementation of this agreement, on September 24, 2021, Argentina created the Qualitas 190 Program [1].

This program seeks, on the one hand, to develop a training that prevents and addresses violence and harassment in the workplace and, on the other, provides employers with the Ministry of Labor’s technical team’s support, to design good practices that prevent and approach violence and harassment in the workplace.
 

In the same sense, on July 18, 2023, through Resolution 930/2023, published in the Official Gazette, the Ministry of Labor created the Federal Forum for the Eradication of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. The national and provincial public sectors, as well as employers, unions and the civil society will participate in the forum, to debate and exchange experiences, promote tripartite dialogue, and enrich strategies to prevent and address violence and harassment in the workplace.
 

The forum will also address different topics to systematize public policies on violence and harassment in the world of work, such as strategies for businesses, workers, and the private sector.
 

This is a new example of actual actions the Federal State is carrying out to meet the commitments taken on when ratifying the ILO Convention No. 190. This confirms the importance of checking that companies’ policies and practices conform to the new paradigms the agreement proposes. Thus, carrying out awareness actions, training persons on the matter, designing protocols in accordance with the reality and needs of each organization, and reviewing codes of conduct are some of the steps companies are taking to review, update, and consolidate their good practices.

This article is a brief comment on legal news in Argentina; it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis or to provide legal advice.