Gender equality, harassment and violence at work

F.O.I. LEGAL AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE Dr Ingrid Buhagiar represented the federation at two meetings in Brussels, organised by the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations on Europe (UNICE), of which the FOI is an active member.

The meetings, on gender equality, and harassment and violence at work, were organised negotiations between employer and employee organisations, held under the mandate of the European Commission.

During the first meeting, which focused on gender equality, the delegates discussed the European Social Partners' Framework of Actions on Gender Equality, which was adopted last March.

This entails a commitment of the UNICE member organisations, among others, to promote the framework of actions in member states at all appropriate levels, taking account of national practices.

Another agenda item was a first exchange of views on actions taken in member states on the promotion of gender equality.

The second meeting, harassment and violence at work, was characterised by an introduction to negotiations on a non-legally binding agreement. The negotiations, which have to be finalised by social partners within nine months, have the aim of producing guidance on how to deal with harassment and violence at work and how to prevent or minimise the occurrence of such phenomena.

Such a voluntary agreement would be a practical instrument that could be of use to both employers and workers when devising policies to prevent and manage such situations.