CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes with interest the information contained in the Government's detailed report and attached documentation including the court decision and the Commission for Equality at Work and Employment (CITE) material.

1. Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Further to its observation, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information in its next report on the manner in which the new constitutional and legislative enactments have been implemented.

2. Articles 3 and 4. With reference to its earlier comments, the Committee notes that the stated objectives of the Global Plan for Equal Opportunities include helping workers balance their work and family responsibilities by promoting, together with the social partners, the idea of shared responsibility in reconciling family and professional life. In this connection, the Committee notes with interest the many activities being carried out to raise awareness of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment in the context of family responsibilities, including training courses in equal opportunities for lawyers and judges and courses for training equal opportunity specialists. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information concerning these activities, particularly those conducted in collaboration with the social partners, to encourage and promote changes in traditional societal attitudes towards the sharing of family responsibilities.

3. Article 5. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that the Directorate-General of Social Action's inventory of social services reflects a 25 per cent increase from 1993 to 1997 in the number of facilities and services established for the benefit of children and youths, older or disabled persons, those with drug or alcohol abuse problems and families and the community. The number of persons making use of these facilities and services increased by 18 per cent during the same time period. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the services provided to these sectors of the population relevant to the Convention, and requests the Government to indicate what measures it has taken or envisages taking to ensure that the number and type of facilities and services provided correspond to the actual needs of the workers.

4. The Committee notes the results of the 1995 survey conducted by the CITE on "family assistance for older persons: policies and initiatives in enterprises to provide support for older dependents". The Committee notes that the majority of the enterprises surveyed (84.3 per cent) had no specific policies aimed at assisting workers with family responsibilities towards older dependents. A majority of these enterprises did not consider the implementation of such measures to be important and 20 per cent indicated that they did not feel it was their responsibility to adopt these measures. Moreover, 60 per cent of the enterprises surveyed indicated that female workers were absent more often than male workers because of their family responsibilities towards older persons. The Committee notes the CITE's conclusions that, given the ageing of the European population, the increased participation of women in the labour market and increased social security costs, it is necessary to implement innovative measures to assist families in caring for older dependents. In this connection, the Committee notes with interest the Programme for Integrated Support for Older Persons (PAII) established jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in 1994, and whose objectives include the development of support systems for families caring for dependent persons, particularly older dependents. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information concerning the PAII, as well as on any other measures taken to promote application of the principles of the Convention to men and women workers with family responsibilities towards older persons, including efforts to raise awareness of the need for measures for workers caring for older dependents.

5. Article 7. The Committee notes the pilot project launched in March 1999 to provide vocational training for workers that have faced problems in accessing other available training, including workers that have been unemployed for a prolonged period of time, or who seek to re-enter the job market after a prolonged absence. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the pilot project gives effect to Article 7 of the Convention. It would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on all measures taken or contemplated to enable workers with family responsibilities to choose their employment freely as well as to re-enter the labour market after an absence due to family responsibilities.