CMNT_TITLE

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - New Caledonia

Other comments on C111

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 1(1)(b) of the Convention. Additional grounds of discrimination. Legislation. Referring to its observation, the Committee notes that the protection against discrimination enjoyed by workers in metropolitan France is more extensive than that accorded to workers in New Caledonia under its own Labour Code (section Lp. 112-1). The Labour Code applicable in metropolitan France (section L1132-1) prohibits discrimination on the basis of origin, sex, customs, sexual orientation or identity, age, family situation or pregnancy, genetic characteristics, particular vulnerability resulting from the apparent or known economic situation (of an individual), actual or supposed membership or non-membership of an ethnic group, nation or race, political opinions, activities in trade unions or mutual benefit associations, religious beliefs, physical appearance, family name, place of residence, state of health or disability. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the reasons why the protection of workers against discrimination in New Caledonia differs from that applicable in metropolitan France, and requests it to examine the possibility of extending the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in employment and occupation in New Caledonia to align it with the list of grounds of discrimination which are prohibited in metropolitan France.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. The Committee notes that the Government of New Caledonia indicates that it is aware of the inequalities that women suffer. The Committee notes from New Caledonia’s report on the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/FRA/7-8/Add.1, 14 July 2014) that one of the areas of greatest concern in relation to discrimination against women in New Caledonia is employment and occupation; even when women are better qualified than men, they encounter greater difficulties in finding jobs due to the fact that they are directed towards low-growth sectors and occupations, and they occupy only a small percentage of positions of responsibility. The report also refers to the continuing precariousness of the situation of women, which has a negative impact on their education, training and occupational integration; the lack of sufficient action for native women; the lack of information, education and communication activities to promote a change in attitudes towards women and girls; and the lack of data disaggregated by sex, together with the crucial lack of qualitative and quantitative studies on women’s involvement in the development of New Caledonia. In this respect, the Committee notes that the Report on the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (April 2004) indicated that the Gender Observatory, created in 2006, should be restructured in 2015, in order to strengthen the production, analysis and dissemination of data disaggregated by sex. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to encourage girls and women to choose subjects that offer real possibilities for diverse employment, particularly in sectors and jobs traditionally occupied by men, as well as measures to improve women’s knowledge of their rights and to combat sexist stereotypes concerning their aspirations, preferences and skills. The Committee also requests the Government to provide specific information on the situation of women in employment and occupation in rural areas, and on any measures taken to improve their access to employment and to different occupations, and their outcomes. Please provide information on the research and analysis activities of the Gender Observatory with respect to employment and occupation.

Equality of opportunity and treatment without distinction on the basis of race, colour, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain information on this subject and merely indicates that no action has been taken on the points raised by the Committee with regard to discrimination. However, the Committee notes that, according to a study presented in August 2016 at the University of New Caledonia during a colloquium on “rebalancing employment”, the reduction in inequality in the access to employment for the Kanak people, whose employment rate is 22 percentage points lower than that of members of other communities, has been stagnating since 2009, despite the establishment of training programmes, such as “Future Managers”, which aims to enable those born in New Caledonia who already have work experience to gain access to middle- and higher-level management positions. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to prepare and adopt a policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, irrespective of race, colour, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, including not only legislative and administrative measures, but also policies and platforms for action, as well as the establishment of specialized bodies to deal with equality and non discrimination in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the situation of the Kanak community in employment and occupation, and on any measure taken to improve their access to training and employment, to remedy de facto inequalities and to effectively promote equality in employment and occupation for all members of the population of New Caledonia.

Awareness-raising measures and enforcement. The Committee notes that the Government’s report indicates that no case of discrimination has been dealt with by the labour inspection services or brought to their attention. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to raise awareness among labour inspectors, magistrates, men and women workers, men and women employers and their respective organizations of issues relating to discrimination and equality in employment and occupation, and in particular of the new legislative provisions on sexual and moral harassment in the public and private sectors. Please indicate any measures taken in this regard and provide information on all cases of discrimination identified by labour inspectors or controllers or brought to their attention, and any relevant judicial decisions.