In recent years, there has been an increase in the awareness and importance of the protection of whistleblowers. Public Services International has been campaigning for the recognition and protection of Whistleblowers for several years, with high-level meetings and campaigns denouncing the situation around the world.

The adoption this year of the EU Directive for the protection of whistleblowers, the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, represents a huge step forward and provides a higher level of protection across the member States of the European Union to those whistleblowers who have the courage to speak up. This is a significant achievement by the WhistleblowerProtection.EU platform, led by Eurocadres, which PSI is proudly part of.

Yet this is not enough.

We need the same or even better protection across the globe; in Africa, the Americas, Asia and beyond, to protect people who fight corruption and whose jobs and lives are sometimes at risk. Also, our public sector workers who oversee the quality of our food, the resources for our health care system, our taxes and public money, our justice administration, our data and privacy rights, all need the security and knowledge that they have whistleblowers’ protection so that they can speak up and to make sure we are not in danger through wrongdoing.

PSI continues its campaigning and persistence to obtain an ILO standard that will protect workers who fight corruption and wrongdoing all over the world. An international instrument based on the best practices and standards is invaluable to guarantee a level-playing field and a coherent approach in the fight against corruption.

On international anti-corruption day, PSI stands by those whistleblowers and public sector workers all over the world who face harassment, dismissal, violence, prison and exile for revealing corruption and injustice.