Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU-K) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has pledged to ensure employment terms and conditions of employees are improved in the coming new year.
Atwoli also said he will work with the Kenya government, employers and other solidarity partners to ensure the ILO C190 is ratified.
The ILO Convention No. 190 (or C190) is the first international treaty to recognize the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.
The treaty seeks to eliminate of violence and harassment in the world of work.
“Working together with the government of Kenya, employers and our solidarity partners we commit to ensure that during this year, ILO C190 is ratified, outsourcing of labour is stopped and generally the terms and conditions of employment of Kenya workers are improved,” Atwoli said.
According to the International Labour Organisation, violence and harassment at work affects a person’s psychological, physical and sexual health and dignity among others.
The treaty was adopted in June 2019 during the General Conference of the International Labour Organization in Geneva.
This comes even as reports about Kenyans who are mistreated in the Gulf countries by their employers as stakeholders call for a lasting solution.
The Gulf countries, for instance, rely on millions of foreign workers such as housemaids, fitness instructors, metro-train employees, hotel cleaners and waiters, caregivers, nannies, drivers, and security guards.
They work for long hours for wages far below the minimum rate and in some instances, suffer physical and sexual violence.
