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1. Article 1 of the Convention. Legislative protection. The Committee notes the adoption of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Act No. 22 of 2002) in December 2002 (which is a consolidation of the Conditions of Employment (Regulation) Act and the Industrial Relations Act). It also notes with interest the adoption of the Equality for Men and Women Act (Act No. 1 of 2003) on 9 December 2003 which reinforces the legal protection against gender-based discrimination.

2. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. The Committee notes that section 26 of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act sets out the principle of equal opportunities in employment and occupation for men and women workers and prohibits discrimination on the following grounds: marital status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, sex, colour, disability, religious conviction, political opinion or membership in a trade union or in an employers’ association. However, it notes that the Act does not include certain prohibited grounds of discrimination: race, national extraction and social origin, which are enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information with its next report on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that discrimination on the grounds of race, national extraction and social origin are prohibited in law and practice in accordance with the Convention.

3. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee notes that the Government has adopted for the first time an Equality for Men and Women Act prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation on the grounds of sex or because of family responsibilities and that it explicitly prohibits sexual harassment in employment and occupation. It also notes the establishment of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women (under section 12 of the Equality for Men and Women Act) which is responsible, inter alia, for identifying, establishing and updating all policies directly or indirectly related to issues of equality for men and women workers and for investigating and mediating any claim of discrimination. It notes that the Commission shall submit an annual report of its activities (section 15). The Committee requests the Government to provide information with its next report on the measures taken or envisaged by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women to promote gender equality and to provide a copy of its annual report, once it has been issued. Please also supply information on the implementation and impact of the Act.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.