CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the information in the Government's report.

1. The Committee recalls that Article 1, paragraph (a), of the Convention also includes prohibition of discrimination based on other grounds than sex, notably race, colour, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government, in its next report, will provide information on the practical application of the principle of the Convention as regards access to vocational training, access to employment and terms and conditions of employment on the basis of any of the grounds referred to in Article 1, paragraph (a), of the Convention.

2. Article 2. With regard to the national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, the Committee notes that the National Bureau on Women's Affairs is revising the National Policy Statement on Women and that a national consultation on women was held in November 1997 to obtain input from the various organizations, agencies and ministries. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the revised Policy Statement as soon as it is finalized and to continue to provide information on the activities of the National Bureau on Women's Affairs relevant to the Convention.

3. Article 3. The Committee notes with interest the re-appointment of the National Advisory Board on Women (NACW) in 1997 for a period of three years. The NACW will be responsible for researching, monitoring and advising on matters affecting women as well as investigating and reporting on complaints of discrimination against women. The Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the specific activities undertaken or envisaged by the NACW in relation to the above-mentioned responsibilities, particularly as regards the handling of any matters concerning employment and occupation. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate any other measures taken or envisaged to pursue a policy of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, in particular by means of legislative enactment. Please also provide information on any collective agreements containing provisions on equality in respect of training, employment or terms and conditions of employment.

4. As concerns women's equal access to employment, the Committee notes from the Government's report that more women are now engaged in the labour force and are entering into jobs which were traditionally considered to be male oriented. However, data included in the 1996 ILO's Digest of Caribbean labour statistics show that women are still concentrated in a reduced set of relatively low wage and dead-end type of jobs and occupations such as clerks (11,600 women compared to 2,900 men) and service and shop workers (11,500 women compared to 8,500 men). Further the female youth unemployment rate (43.2 per cent) remained considerably high in 1995 compared to the male youth unemployment rate (33.3 per cent). The Digest also indicates that economic growth has had a disparate impact on men and women. In construction and installation, men benefited from the expansion in employment, while in tourism, manufacturing, finance and business, women were the main beneficiaries in 1995. The Committee further notes from the Digest that 3,800 men are occupying legislative and senior official positions compared to only 2,400 women, which seems to indicate that women are still not sufficiently involved in decision-making. Noting the Government's statement that it has initiated policy measures to ensure that all forms of discrimination against women in employment are eliminated and to ensure that they enjoy the same rights as men, the Committee requests the Government to provide statistical and other information on the progress made since 1995 in women's and men's employment in non-traditional sectors and occupations as well as the measures taken or envisaged to enable women's advancement to higher level positions in the public and private sector. It also requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the progress made in implementing the recommendations contained in the National Report on the Beijing Conference and on any other measures taken or envisaged to promote equal access of men and women to vocational training and education in accordance with Article 3(e) of the Convention.

5. With regard to point III of the report form, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the specific action of the labour inspectorate in the effective application of provisions and policies concerning equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. In this regard, the Committee has pointed out in the 1988 General Survey (paragraph 193) the special importance of the labour inspectorate being properly trained as regards questions of equality, which could be done, inter alia, through gender training for labour inspectors. Please provide information on any training seminars or workshops held or contemplated for labour inspectors on equality-related issues in employment and occupation.