5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

In 2019, the International Labour Organization adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190), the landmark convention that seeks to eliminate violence and harassment from the world of work. Trade unions, worker associations, labour and human rights NGOs and feminist groups around the world fought hard for C190, rallying workers and lobbying governments and employers to support it. Its adoption constituted an enormous victory, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. Violence and harassment remain features of virtually every workplace, whether it be an office, a factory, a construction site or someone else’s home. But while the union leaders generally now recognise it as a workplace issue, the likelihood that it is a top priority is slim even in the Global North, where unions hold a relatively privileged position. It is even more unlikely in the Global South, where unions’ very right to exist may well be contested. This regular session examines union approaches, strategies and actions on workplace violence and harassment in different industries and different locations since the adoption of C190. It asks what challenges union leaders face in bringing this issue into focus, what progress has been made, and what relevance C190 has in workplaces and in national policymaking.