Obtaining Protection in the World of Work

 On last year’s blog, we introduced ILO C-190 and R206, two critical international treaties whose ratification is necessary to support the fight against gender-based violence in the world of work.

Fiji and Uruguay ratified the convention this past June. Countries like Spain, Finland, Italy, Namibia, South Africa, and Argentina have created plans to include C-190 as part of their legislation.

As for Canada, the country still has to ratify these treaties, and whether it is moving towards ratification or not is unclear. The Convention will take effect in June 2021, and it would be in Canada’s interest to work to ratify it before it formally becomes international law.  

In June 2020, the federal government announced new regulations to prevent harassment and violence in the federal workplace, a critical development in the protection of the rights of public servants, Employment and Social Development Canada mentioned that Ottawa was negotiating with the provinces for the ratification of the Convention. To this day, the status of these negotiations are not known, but Canadian unions are lobbying their provincial governments. 

The complexity in the ratification of ILO C-190 is that labour laws are not a uniquely federal jurisdiction. The federal government has jurisdiction over TV and radio broadcasting, inland fishing, maritime and inland navigation and shipping, and interprovincial and territory transportation. Provinces have power to legislate any other industries. 

Ratifying ILO C-190 requires negotiation with provinces and territories with different labour laws, different labour cultures, and different understandings on the power employers have on their workers. 

Advocacy here then needs to be more targeted. While reaching out to your federal MP will increase pressure on the federal government to commit to further negotiations with the provinces, reaching out to your provincial representative should be the first step. As a constituent, you have the right to get your voice heard and shape the agenda of your provincial government, which goes beyond voting for a candidate and their platform. 

Sending letters and emails, calling offices, joining advocacy campaigns, signing petitions, and supporting organizations that are lobbying for the provinces to support the ratification of ILO C-190 are examples of what an individual citizen can do to help move towards greater labour protection. 

Because the 16 Days Campaign of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence puts an emphasis on how ILO C-190 can help protect women in the world of work, ratifying the Convention will enshrine in Canadian law an overarching equal protection of workers under the law, both federal and provincial. 

Ratifying ILO C-190 is in Canada’s interests, for multiple reasons. It will send a powerful message of commitment to human rights at home and abroad, to the rules-based international order and multilateralism. But it is also in Canadians’ interests, in that it will include additional legal protection for all workers, in all of their diversity.