Dear John,

As we mark the start of the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (November 25-December 10), Global Labor Justice (GLJ) and its partner organizations in the C190 Arc Task Force are proud to announce the launch of a new website that brings together information and action on how the global labor and women’s rights organizations around the world are working to address gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), in line with ILO Convention 190 (C190), the first international treaty to address violence and harassment in the world of work. 

The new site launched by the Task Force offers a wealth of tools and promising practices on C190 and Recommendation 206 that unions, labor, and women’s rights organizations from across the world have used to protect women workers’ rights toward a world of work free from violence and harassment. To this end, the site showcases promising practices in three key areas: ratification of C190, implementation with ratification, and integration without ratification.

When women workers unite to fight gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work, they can change their lives and their communities.

Fighting GVBH is a vital part of GLJ’s work with unions from around the world fighting for their fundamental labor rights. From garment workers in Asia to agricultural workers in Latin America, we stand with the women workers demanding safe workplaces free of violence and harassment.

• • • In 2022, women garment workers in Tamil Nadu, India, achieved a breakthrough with the Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment, a supply chain agreement between global brands H&M Group, Gap Inc., and PVH Corp., garment supplier Eastman Exports, and labor stakeholders Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), and Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ). The agreement’s systems of union-supported worker shop floor monitors, an enforceable grievance mechanism, the use of brand business leverage, and powerful protections of  Freedom of Association have been highly effective in addressing GBVH. Additionally, the Dindigul Agreement uses foundational principles of C190 and offers an example of how C190 can be implemented even before its ratification by a government.  

• • • In the Fight the Heist campaign, led by over 25 garment unions in 6 countries across Asia, the unions are calling on brands to negotiate with them directly to increase wages and provide a system for remediation of international labor rights including safety from GBVH in the world of work.

• • • The coalition of Latin American agriculture unions in the Coordinating Body of Latin American Banana and Agro-industrial Unions (COLSIBA) has been bringing together unions from Colombia to Guatemala to build power for workers at major multinational agricultural companies in the region like Del Monte, Dole, Fyffes, and Chiquita. Women union leaders are organizing campaigns on issues women agricultural workers face in the field and have developed contract language to address them which they seek to expand. 

Formed in March 2024, the C190 Arc Task Force aims to bridge labor and women’s rights to collectively shape and implement an arc of action for C190 during the period that will extend from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in 2024 until the CSW69 in 2025 (Beijing+30), with flash points which will allow for engagement to elevate and amplify the work on C190.

During this 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, the C190 Arc Task Force convened and coordinated by GLJ invites unions, civil society organizations, UN entities,  governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders around the world to share their resources as well. You can contact [email protected] to share materials and ask questions.