CMNT_TITLE

1. The Committee notes that the draft Labour Code, section 8 of which prohibits any discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has been under preparation for many years, is presently being studied by Parliament and that, at the request of employers' and workers' organizations, it has been decided to defer adoption of the Code to allow more consultations within a tripartite committee established for that purpose. The Committee, while welcoming the general provisions ensuring non-discriminatory treatment, nevertheless hopes that its observations and suggestions concerning certain other sections of the Code (such as sections 181, 317 and 318) will be taken into consideration during the discussions, and asks the Government to continue to provide information in its future reports on any progress made toward the adoption of this draft text.

2. The Committee notes from the report submitted by the Government to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (United Nations document CEDAW/C/MOR/1, paragraph 60) that a draft Dahir submitted to the General Secretariat of the Government by the Minister of Trade and Industry as Bill No. 274 of 14 April 1993 proposes the repeal of sections 6 and 7 of the Commercial Code of 12 August 1913. Article 6 of this Code requires the husband's authorization for a woman to engage in commerce. The same report also indicates that, in order to avoid any other interpretation, article 19 of the draft Commercial Code clearly provides for the freedom of a married woman to engage in commerce. The Committee requests the Government to provide information with its next report on any further steps taken with regard to adopting this draft Dahir, and to provide a copy in the event that it has been adopted.

3. With regard to equal access for women to public sector employment, the Committee notes that the principle of equal access for all citizens to the public service and public sector employment is set out in general terms in article 12 of the Constitution and in section 1, paragraph 1, of the General Conditions of Service for Public Servants (Dahir No. 1-58-008 of 24 February 1958, as amended by the Dahirs of 15 October 1991, 2 March 1994, 26 January 1995 and 2 August 1997). The Committee also notes that concerning the application of these General Conditions to female staff, certain reservations may be included in special statutes. It notes that in application of this provision, derogations to the principle of equality of access to public sector employment are contained in a number of statutes, including the special statute for the staff of the Ministry of Postal, Telegraphic and Telephonic Services. The Government indicates that the ministerial departments concerned have been informed of the discrepancies that exist between the provisions of these special statutes and the principles set out in the Convention. They have indicated that they will take the necessary measures to allow women access on an equal footing to the categories of jobs covered by these statutes, namely, by allowing women to be recruited as postmen in the postal sector and to work in the civil defence corps. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed in its future reports of measures taken by the ministerial departments concerned to bring their special statutes into conformity with the Convention on this point.

4. Furthermore, the Committee notes that in reply to its observations concerning the fact, as noted from the above-mentioned CEDAW report (paragraphs 123 to 133), that women are excluded from active service in the police and customs administration, that posts as fire-fighters, administrators in the Ministry of the Interior and the General Inspectorate of Finances, and in the forestry administration are in practice reserved for men, and that female staff in the royal armed forces occupy specialized posts only in health and social services, the Government indicates that certain posts in the police, the gendarmerie and the armed forces are filled by women in actual practice. The Committee asks the Government to indicate in its future reports the measures adopted by these ministries to enable women in practice to fill the above-mentioned posts.

5. The Committee notes that, in reply to its earlier comments concerning Article 3(c) of the Convention, the Government indicates that the Order of 20 June 1963 establishing an examination for the award of permanent appointments to probationary short-term typists has not been in force since the 1967 reform.

6. At the same time, the Committee notes that the Government provides no answer to its observation concerning certain points set out in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

4. The Committee also notes that a Decree of 6 September 1957 relating to dangerous work prohibited for women forbids, inter alia, the employment of women: (1) on premises where the dangerous parts of hand-operated or engine-run machines are not protected with gear-guards, hand-guards and other protective devices (section 1); (2) on hand-operated wool-combing machines in the vegetal fibre industry (section 4); (3) in work listed in table A (section 13) and certain work indicated in table C (section 15) annexed to this Decree; and (4) prohibits women under 16 years of age from working at pedal-operated sewing machines (section 10). The Act of 16 May 1951 regulating employment of women, young people and children (in the Tangier area), contains in its Annex A (sections 1, 8 and 10) and tables A and C provisions similar to those in the Decree of 6 September 1957. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether these texts will be amended with a view to adapting them to the principle of equality between the men and women embodied in the Convention.

5. With regard to special measures taken to improve the status of women, the Committee notes in reading the above-mentioned CEDAW report that the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs has prepared a number of programmes for women designed to eradicate illiteracy, provide training, and improve awareness and information on the status of women. The Committee also notes that, in order to achieve wider participation of women in economic and social life, a National Commission for Women has been established within the same Ministry for the purpose of implementing a national strategy for the promotion of women based on the following three main objectives: (a) revising the legal status of women; (b) raising their level of training and education; and (c) reducing obstacles to the participation of women in politics. The Committee requests the Government to provide with its next report information on progress made in implementation of the Ministry of Employment programmes in favour of women, and particularly on the activities of the National Commission for Women and the results achieved concerning equality of access for men and women to training and employment. The Committee hopes, furthermore, to receive with future reports recent statistics on the training and employment of women as compared with men as soon as the results of the current census are known, as indicated in the Government's report.