CMNT_TITLE

Article 4(c) of the Convention. Discrimination in employment and occupation. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, part-time workers do not suffer from discrimination and enjoy the same rights and benefits as full-time workers. The Committee stresses, however, that this provision of the Convention is aimed more particularly at ensuring that part-time workers enjoy the same protection as other workers with regard to discrimination in employment and occupation based on criteria such as race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability or age. What emerges from the preparatory work of the Convention is that this list does not appear in the Convention due to concerns regarding simplification. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether such protection is effectively afforded to part-time workers and, if so, to specify the relevant provisions.

Article 7(a) and Article 8, paragraph 1(b). Maternity protection. The Committee notes that, by virtue of section 47A of the Labour Act, as amended in 1996, female part-time workers enjoy the right to maternity leave under the same conditions as those applicable to female full-time workers in a similar situation. It requests the Government to indicate whether they are similarly covered by other measures concerning maternity protection: protection of the health of the mother and that of the child, medical care, transfer to a more appropriate post if necessary, protection against redundancy and nursing breaks. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s report of 1999, workers whose working hours are below certain thresholds are not covered by the measures prescribed in Article 7 of the Convention. It draws, however, the Government’s attention to the fact that, in accordance with Article 8, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention, such an exclusion is not allowed with regard to "maternity protection measures other than those provided under statutory social security schemes". Measures such as the protection of pregnant women against work likely to harm their health and that of their unborn children should therefore cover all female workers, be they employed on a full-time or part-time basis. In this regard, the Committee recalls that maternity protection is especially important for part-time workers, who, for the most part, are women, as was stressed during the discussions which took place during the Conference which led to the adoption of the Convention. The Committee also takes this opportunity to recall that none of the three Conventions on maternity protection (incidentally not yet ratified by Mauritius) provides for such an exclusion. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether all female part-time workers, whatever the duration of their hours of work may be, are covered by the maternity protection measures listed above.

Article 8, paragraphs 2, 3(b) and 4. The Committee notes that, as of May 2003, the wage rates below on which no contributions to the national pension system need be made were, respectively, 585 rupees per month for domestic workers and 975 rupees per month for all other workers. It also notes that these thresholds are henceforth revised annually according to the consumer price index. Furthermore, the Committee notes that there are currently no statistics regarding the precise number of part-time workers excluded from the national pension scheme but that a request will be made to the Central Office of Statistics asking it to look into the possibility of making such data available. The Government is invited to transmit this information as soon as it is available. Finally, the Committee again requests the Government to indicate whether it intends to progressively extend protection to those workers who have been excluded, in consultation with the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, as provided for by this Article of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government in its report and requests it to continue providing general indications on the application of the Convention in practice, including extracts from labour inspectorate reports and, if possible, information on the number of workers protected by the measures giving effect to the Convention, as well as the number and the nature of any violations recorded.