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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its last report.

1. The Committee notes with interest that section 31 of the new Constitution which came into force on 30 November 1990 provides for political pluralism, that section 67 establishes equality between men and women in all areas of political, economic, social and cultural life, and that section 74 provides for the freedom of expression. It notes, however, that the prohibition on discrimination in section 66 does not include discrimination on grounds of political opinion. The Committee wishes to refer to paragraphs 57 et seq. of its General Survey of 1988 on Equality in Employment and Occupation, where it is stipulated that when provisions are adopted to give effect to the principles of the Convention, they must include all the grounds of discrimination listed in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention. The Committee hopes that measures will be taken to complete the relevant provisions of the Constitution so that political opinion is explicitly mentioned among the grounds of discrimination.

2. In its direct request of 1990, the Committee pointed out that the requirements and criteria of a political nature for admission to the public service, the assessment of performance and progress in the service and the appointment of directors outside the public service went beyond those allowed by the Convention, and asked that they be restricted in order to comply with Article 1 of the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government's statement that, with the recognition of political pluralism in the Constitution (sections 30 to 37) commitment to the revolutionary process will become increasingly less relevant to access to higher posts both in the public service and in other sectors. The Committee therefore hopes that sections 41, subsection 2(b), 74 and 79 and Annex I, No. 11, of Decree No. 14/87 of 20 May 1987 to approve the general conditions of service of public servants will be amended to restrict requirements concerning political or revolutionary commitment to higher posts which directly involve implementing government policy.

It also hopes that section 2 of the Order of the Secretary of State for Labour of 21 May 1982 will be amended so as to remove any mention of conditions of a political nature for access to managerial posts in enterprises outside the public service. It requests the Government to indicate the measures taken in this respect in its next report.

3. The Committee notes that, in reply to the comments in its previous direct request concerning the measures taken to pursue an active policy to promote the equality of women and men in employment, the Government refers to sections 67 and 69 of the Constitution and section 42 of Act No. 8/85 of 14 December 1985 which, according to the Government, guarantee the application of Article 2 of the Convention.

The Committee points out that, under Article 3 of the Convention, a State which has ratified the Convention undertakes not only to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention but also to promote such educational programmes as may be calculated to secure the acceptance and observance of the policy to promote equality and to pursue the policy in respect of employment under the direct control of a national authority and of activities of vocational guidance, vocational training and placement.

The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government, in its next report, would describe the positive practical measures that have been taken to encourage access of women to education and vocational guidance and training, and their employment in the various sectors at different levels of responsibility. It requests the Government to provide statistical information reflecting recent trends in this area, particularly statistics on the employment of women in the public service.