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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report and the attached annexes and statistical data.

1. The Committee notes the communication sent by the Internal Union Commission for Telefonica Argentina on 1 June 2001, describing the working conditions of students engaged for trial periods in Telefonica Argentina, particularly as regards pregnant workers who do not enjoy the same rights to maternity leave as other women workers covered by other types of employment contracts. Noting that the Government has not provided any information in reply to the above communication, it refers to its comments under Convention No. 3 respecting maternity protection.

2. The Committee notes that in view of the concern at the high level of sexual harassment encountered in Argentina and its effect on labour relations, a Bill has been submitted to Congress which is designed to protect victims of such practices and provide them with direct procedures to require harassers to cease such conduct. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in the adoption of the Bill. It also requests the Government to refer to its general observation on sexual harassment.

3. It also notes the Bill for the inclusion into Act No. 23.551 respecting trade union associations of a minimum threshold (set at 30 per cent) of women’s participation in trade union offices and/or representation and asks to be kept informed of the adoption of the Bill.

4. The Committee notes the report issued by the National Women’s Council (CNM) indicating that the Plan for Equality of Opportunity between Men and Women in the World of Work, approved by Presidential Decree No. 254/98 of 9 March 1998, was not successfully integrated at the institutional level, with the result that its implementation was of a low level and only a few individual measures were undertaken. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the activities undertaken within the framework of the above Plan.

5. The Committee notes the information concerning the types of action undertaken by the CNM with regard to the integration of women in the labour market. It notes the CNM’s statement that over the past decade women have increased their labour market participation by 41 per cent. According to the statistics provided, some 28.2 per cent of women were employed in 1999, compared with 25.6 per cent in 1990. The data received with the report for the unemployment rate are from 1999, showing that unemployment was 14.9 per cent for women and 12.9 per cent for men. The Committee also notes the statistics compiled by the National Statistical and Census Institute (INDEC) indicating that the educational situation of women has improved over recent decades, but that nevertheless 70 per cent of employed women have not completed secondary education and that only 6.6 per cent have completed higher education. It also notes the statistics on the distribution of students by subject at universities, which show the low level of women studying engineering subjects. With regard to the distribution of the population by branch, the data show that women are basically concentrated in education, social and health services and domestic work. The Committee requests the Government to provide more up-to-date statistics, where possible, to enable it to assess the impact of the measures that are being adopted to improve the situation of women on the labour market and to provide practical information on the measures that it envisaged adopting to promote the access of women to non-traditional occupations.

6. The Committee also asks to be kept informed of developments regarding the Draft Additional Protocol to be concluded between the CNM and the Directorate of the Labour Inspectorate with a view to implementing a programme of training with a gender perspective for labour inspectors.

7. The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government concerning complaints made to the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) during the period between August 2000 and August 2001. It notes that of the 394 complaints submitted, 37.05 per cent concerned discrimination in the workplace, of which 41.09 per cent concerned cases related to political decisions, 17.2 per cent to acts of discrimination related to sickness suffered by workers (more than half of which were related to HIV/AIDS), 11.6 per cent concerned nationality, 10.95 per cent concerned discrimination on grounds of gender, 9.58 per cent directly related to pregnancy (93 per cent of which concerned cases in which women had been dismissed for that reason) and 9.58 per cent the age of the worker. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the solutions found, the penalties imposed and the compensation provided to victims of the above discriminatory treatment.

8. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/304/Add.112 of 27 April 2001) in which it notes with concern that the territories on which indigenous peoples have settled coincide with the areas of the highest index of unmet needs, and that the poverty and unemployment indices among indigenous populations and other vulnerable groups have risen as a result of the economic crisis, and also that INADI is experiencing difficulties in covering the entire national territory with regard to receiving and handling complaints of racial discrimination. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures that are being adopted to pursue, in respect of indigenous populations, a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation.