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The Committee notes the Government's reports and the information sent in reply to its previous direct request, as well as the appended legislation (Education Act, 1994; Protection of the Disabled Act, 1993; Criteria and Rules for the Selection of Government Employees issued under section 11, paragraph 11(b), of the 1988 Civil Service Regulations). It also notes the recently published new Labour Code (Act No. 8 of 1996).

1. In an annex to the Government's report on the application of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), it is stated that Chapter 1, paragraph 8 of the National Charter provides that Jordanians of both sexes are equal before the law and that, as regards their rights and duties, there shall be no discrimination on grounds of race, language, or religion. The Committee has also received information to the effect that the National Charter, adopted in June 1991, is a reference document for constitutional purposes. It asks the Government to provide a copy of the Charter and to indicate where it ranks in the hierarchy of domestic legislation.

2. The Committee notes with interest that many provisions of the new Labour Code are in line with the objectives of the Convention: section 27 which bans the dismissal of women workers during the period from the sixth month of pregnancy to the end of maternity leave; section 67 which entitles women who work in enterprises with at least ten employees to take unpaid leave of up to one year in order to look after their children and to return to their jobs at the end of that period; section 68 under which all workers, both men and women, may apply for leave without pay of up to two years and return to their jobs at the end of that period, in order to accompany a spouse whose work takes him/her elsewhere; section 70 which provides for ten weeks' (formerly six) maternity leave for all women workers, no longer requiring a certain period employment in the same establishment; section 71 under which, for one year following confinement, a woman worker is entitled to a one-hour break, with pay, to breast-feed her infant; and section 72 which requires employers, in certain circumstances, to provide appropriate premises and a competent teacher for the care of children under 4 years of age.

3. 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 to 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.

4. The Committee notes with interest that the National Committee for Women is represented in parliamentary debates on issues likely to lead, directly or indirectly, to discriminatory behaviour against women. It also notes with interest that an ordinance of the Prime Minister, No. 55/93, requests all state departments and public institutions to apply the provisions of the National Strategy for Women, in the belief that such a measure is a demonstration of the Government's real determination to give effect to its declarations of intent concerning the policy of non-discrimination between the sexes. It notes in particular the information contained in the report on the activities of the National Committee for Women, including the recent adoption of a number of legislative provisions designed to reduce discrimination against women workers, especially with regard to social protection (extension of their social coverage to minor children and to invalid spouses) and maternity leave for public servants (extension from two to three months). The Committee welcomes these measures which are directly linked to employment, and the measure, also reported by the National Committee for Women, whereby, in a tenancy contract signed by the husband, the wife and children are considered original tenants. This measure has an indirect yet very important impact on the job security of women in the event of dissolution of the marriage. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of all the above-mentioned provisions with its next report.

5. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the extensive information in the report of the National Committee for Women, concerning measures to increase the number of women in employment. It notes that a number of women have been appointed as members of Municipal and Village Councils throughout the country; it also notes that, out of 8,689 women employees under the Ministry of Health, 945 were recruited in 1994 alone. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would complete the information for this sector by indicating, in its next report, the distribution of workers by sex and by job category.

6. The Committee notes that, in order to promote a policy of non-discrimination between the sexes, the programme of the first ten years of schooling highlights the double role played by women, within the family and as active members of society. The Government is asked to provide in its next report information on the implementation of this programme which, according to the report of the National Committee for Women, was to begin in the school year 1995-96. It is also asked to provide information on the technical committees which, according to the same report, were created in 1993 and 1994 in order to implement the strategy of the National Committee for Women by means of short- and medium-term programmes.

7. The Committee notes that the Government's report refers to a number of improvements in access to employment for persons with disabilities (the requirement for employers, in the circumstances laid down by section 13 of the Labour Code, to employ a certain number of persons with disabilities who have undergone vocational rehabilitation, and to report to the Ministry the jobs held by the people concerned and their respective wages). It asks the Government to indicate in its next report whether, in view of the fact that disability is not one of the grounds of discrimination listed in Article 1, paragraph 1(a) of the Convention, it plans to make an explicit determination, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations, that it is an additional ground under paragraph 1(b) of the same Article.

8. Article 3(a). The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government concerning efforts to secure the cooperation of employers' and workers' organizations to encourage acceptance of the national policy against discrimination. It notes the comments made by the Federation of Jordanian Chambers of Commerce to the effect that, although from the legal and procedural points of view there is no discrimination in employment and occupation, in practice the situation is different: "such discrimination will exist as long as labour market mechanisms do not function coherently". The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures that have been taken to encourage employers' and workers' organizations to cooperate actively in promoting the acceptance and observance in the labour market of the policy of non-discrimination as required by this provision of the Convention.