“What you don’t like, don’t do to someone else” – press release

In the last two years, the number of migrant workers from outside the EU has quadrupled. Foreign workers have the right to healthy and safe work environments, free of harassment, but these categories of workers are in situations of increased vulnerability to violence and harassment in the world of work. Romania must ratify the Convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO) no. 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, to strengthen legislation and public policies according to its standards and to adopt measures dedicated to combating and preventing harassment against all workers, including foreign workers.

The study published in September by the Association for Liberty and Equality of Gender (A.L.E.G) team, as part of the “Employers for Respect” campaign, shows that foreign workers from outside the EU, who arrive in Romania to work, are often subjected to harassing and abusive behavior. These include lack of rest time, deprivation of information about their rights as workers, unpaid overtime, withholding of wages or personal documents or poor accommodation provided by employers.

The Romanian state must and can more effectively combat and prevent harassment and violence against all workers, including foreign workers, by ratifying the Convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO) no. 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, for whose adoption at the ILO, Romania voted favorably in 2019, but four years later, it is still not ratified. Workplace bullying can affect all workers, but the research conducted by A.L.E.G. shows that the risk of exposure to abusive labor practices and conditions is increased for foreign workers due to complex layers of vulnerabilities and discrimination, at the individual, social, legal and structural levels. Laws, public policies and practices in Romania regarding, in particular, migration and safety and health at work, ignore these vulnerabilities, focusing strictly on the prevention of undeclared work.

The 2022 legislative changes prevent migrant workers from changing jobs in their first year of work, including if they face harassment at work, without the employer’s written consent. Furthermore, although there are mechanisms to report harassment, workers are often not informed of their existence or the reporting process, and when they are, these are ineffective.

To address this issue effectively, all relevant public policies, such as health and safety at work, prevention of discrimination, equal opportunities and migration policies, must include provisions to combat harassment and violence in the world of work. Ratification of the ILO Convention is not only demanded by civil society. The Economic and Social Council, the National Agency for Equal Opportunities, the National Council for Combating Discrimination and the People’s Advocate have each recommended the ratification of the ILO Convention and the alignment of the legal framework and public anti-harassment policies to the Convention’s standards. As a result of the campaign initiated by A.L.E.G. for the ratification of the ILO Convention, the Ministry of Labor recently launched inter-institutional consultations in order to harmonize the legal framework and public policies to the Convention’s standards.

The new study conducted by A.L.E.G. on harassment of workers and female migrant workers completes the first policy-brief published by A.L.E.G. in 2021, which looks at the general gaps in the legal framework regarding harassment in the world of work and the weak implementation of the law on the protection of all workers.

[Română, English, Українська мова, ﺍﻟﹿﻌﹷﺮﹶﺑﻴﹽﺔ] If you are being harassed at work, here you can find more details about what you can do.