CMNT_TITLE

The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its reports, in particular the copy of the National Charter, sections of which are devoted to equality irrespective of sex, race, language or religion. It also notes the Government's references to non-discrimination on the basis of disability that do not amount to a determination of disability as a further ground of prohibited discrimination.

1. The Committee notes the Government's observation that section 69 of the 1996 Labour Code (which stipulates that, upon consultation with the competent official bodies, the Minister shall adopt a decision specifying: (a) industries and trades where women's work shall be prohibited; and (b) hours in which women may not be employed and exceptions thereto) imposes restrictions on the employment of women with the aim of protecting their health. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any decision adopted to date on the basis of this section.

2. The Committee notes with interest the work undertaken by the Jordanian National Committee for Women which, inter alia, conducted, through its Legal Committee, a comprehensive survey of all Jordanian laws and detailed studies on the aspects relating to women in these laws. Noting that the National Committee adopted the first group of recommendations issued by the Legal Committee and that these were subsequently submitted, in part, to the Council of Ministers where they are currently under study, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the conclusions of the survey and copies of legislation amended, if any, by the Council of Ministers, especially with regard to the texts highlighted by the National Committee, namely the Personal Status Law No. 61 of 1976, the Jordanian Nationality Law, Act No. 6 of 1954, the Civil Retirement Act No. 24 of 1959, Ordinance No. 55/93, and the Social Security Act No. 30 of 1978. In addition, so as to be able to assess the impact on employment opportunity of the legislation, the Committee would like to have copies of the first group of amendments issued by the Department of Civil Status and Passports under the recommendations of the Committee concerning the Instructions of the Civil Status Law, Act No. 34 of 1973 and the Instructions concerning the Passport Law, Act No. 2 of 1969.

3. The Committee had previously requested information on the composition of the employees working in the Ministry of Health following information provided by the Government that out of the 8,689 women employees under the Ministry, 945 were recruited in 1994 alone. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the distribution of workers by sex and by job/category and level of responsibility.

4. The Committee notes with interest the establishment of a new department responsible for the affairs of women working in the Ministry of Labour and the appointment of nine female labour inspectors in various parts of the Kingdom to ensure the implementation of those provisions of the Labour Code which are related to the status of working women and to provide women with the necessary consultative services. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the activities of the new department, the functioning and findings of the inspectors and the nature of the consultative services provided.

5. Article 3(a). The Committee notes the Government's statement that, in order to organize the labour market, the Ministry of Labour has adopted the principle of cooperation between the workers' and employers' organizations to encourage acceptance of the national policy against discrimination. Noting that Article 3(a) lays down a State's obligation to seek the cooperation of, rather than between, employers' and workers' organizations and other appropriate bodies in promoting the acceptance and observance of the national policy on the elimination of discrimination, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures that have been taken to facilitate such cooperation.

6. Finally, the Committee notes that the Government's report is silent on one issue on which it asked to be kept informed and must therefore repeat a part of its previous observation which reads as follows:

In its Special Survey on equality in employment and occupation of 1996, the Committee stressed that legislation on non-discrimination should be adopted as part of a policy on equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. It pointed out that special measures to protect maternity or the health of women are expressly recognized as non-discriminatory and are "always necessary", and suggested that certain provisions applicable to women to allow them to raise children or to care for them should increasingly be granted to men as well, so that the advantages granted cease to be an obstacle to women's competitiveness on the labour market (see paragraphs 131-133 of the above-mentioned Special Survey). The Committee therefore welcomes the significant improvements to the legislation which the above-mentioned provisions of the Labour Code represent, and suggests that the Government examine the possibility of extending to male workers, or granting to one of the two parents where both are employed, the right to one year's unpaid leave with reinstatement in their jobs, which is at present granted only to women workers under section 67.