The purpose of the conference was to evaluate the developments within trade union strategies in the PERC region on fighting violence and to evaluate the Count us in campaign and way forward. Experts from FES, ILO, ITUC , ETUC , Liga and Hungarian NGOs were invited to the conference.

Violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work is an abuse of power and it particularly affects workers in the most vulnerable work situations who have poor access to labor rights. Some groups of workers and particularly women are disproportionately affected by violence at work, where unequal power relations, low pay, precarious working conditions and other workplace abuses expose them to violence.

The main items on the agenda were: presentation of the ILO process of preparation towards standard setting discussion for an ILO Convention and recommendation on violence against women and men at the workplace; explanation of the questionnaire to be filled up by unions; presentation of the ITUC campaign on violence and the ETUC project Safe at home, Safe at work, activities developed by Hungarian NGOs on fighting domestic violence, case studies on developments in different countries in the PERC region. The conference showed the important role that trade unions play in preventing and addressing violence at work and enhanced the role of trade unions in taking a systematic approach in prevention and elimination of violence and harassment at work.

Group work has been organized to develop national and regional campaigns on fighting violence and prepare for the ILC discussion next year. PERC women’s committees and networks will continue campaigning and lobbying national governments for the adoption of standard setting item on violence against women and men in the world of work and will build a strong union position at the International Labor Conference in 2018.