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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Austria (RATIFICATION: 1973)

Other comments on C111

Observation

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The Committee notes the observations made by the Federal Chamber of Labour (BAK) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), which were attached to the Government’s report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Legislative development. The Committee notes the complex federal structure in the country, with labour issues being regulated by different instruments such as federal law (Bund), provincial law (Länder), collective bargaining agreements (for employment sectors) and works agreements (at company level). As recently noted by the European Commission: (1) this complicated division of competences leads to a very scattered landscape of anti-discrimination laws and provisions; and (2) the Ombud for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft) called for a unification of equal treatment and non-discrimination laws and respective competences, as the multitude of different legal acts and provisions makes it difficult for laypersons to understand their non-discrimination rights (European Commission, European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-discrimination, 2022 Country Report Austria: page 13 on non-discrimination; and page 64 on gender equality). Similarly, while commending the efforts made to gradually harmonize federal legislation, the United Nations (UN) Committee on the elimination of discrimination against women (CEDAW), in its 2019 concluding observations, remained concerned that gender equality structures and their mandates and resources vary between provinces. It called for institutional mechanisms for coordination between the federal State and provinces, and for the amendment of legislation on equality and non-discrimination “with a view to ensuring substantive and procedural protection against discrimination with regard to all prohibited grounds of discrimination in the private and public sector” (CEDAW/C/AUT/CO/9, 30 July 2019, paragraphs 10–11). The Committee notes the positive developments in the province of Carinthia where provincial anti-discrimination legislation was consolidated in a new Equal Treatment Act which came into force on 1 January 2022. It also notes the information provided by the Government in its report regarding the amendment of the Maternity Protection Act in 2019 so that periods of parental leave (for both mother and father as well as adoptive and foster parents) be credited in full (up to the child’s second birthday) as regards the rights based on length of service (such as holiday entitlement, anniversary bonuses or advancement to the next salary level). The Committee asks the Government to provide information regarding any initiative taken with a view to consolidate anti-discrimination legislation and to coordinate anti-discrimination measures between the federal State and provinces as well as on any legislative developments with regard to the application of the Convention.

Article 1(1)(a). Social origin. In relation to its previous comments, the Committee notes the BAK’s observations pointing to social exclusion experienced by socio-economically deprived communities, with the additional burden of difficulties in accessing law enforcement mechanisms. The Committee requests the Government to monitor emerging forms of discrimination on the ground of social origin in respect of access to education (including vocational training), access to employment and terms and conditions of employment, and to provide information on any cases handed out by the courts and equality bodies in this regard.

Article 1(1)(b). Workers with disabilities. The Committee notes the adoption, on 6 July 2022, of the National Action Plan on Disability 2022-2030. Two of the eight chapters of the Plan concern “equality and non-discrimination” and “employment”, with measures aiming at: (1) evaluating the legal framework for equal treatment regarding disability; (2) developing quality criteria for the employment contracts of persons with disabilities in supported employment; (3) developing youth coaching in preparation for and within daily routines; (4) increasing protection in the case of repeated discrimination in employment; (5) enhancing the right of persons with disabilities to work, including the right to equality at work; and (6) strengthening of the protection against multiple and intersectional discrimination (including through awareness-raising for judges and prosecutors). However, the Committee notes the concerns of the UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) about: (1) the lack of disaggregated data on the situation of women and girls with disabilities on the federal and provincial levels as well as on education of children with disabilities; (2) the lack of reasonable accommodation in education (including in vocational orientation and training) and the lack of an established, enforceable legal right for children with disabilities of age 14 and older to attend inclusive schools at the secondary level; (3) the low rate of participation in the work force of persons with disabilities, their low employment rate in the open labour market, and their increasingly high rate of long-term unemployment; and (4) the segregated employment of persons with disabilities in sheltered workshops and “occupational therapy workshops” and the payment of “pocket money” instead of adequate wages (CRPD/C/AUT/CO/2-3, 8 September 2023, paragraphs 18(c), 55, 61 and 70). Similarly, the CEDAW expressed concerns that women and girls with disabilities continue to face intersectional forms of discrimination and are frequently referred to special employment centres. It called for all women and girls with disabilities to have access to inclusive learning opportunities in the mainstream education system and to the open labour market (CEDAW/C/AUT/CO/9, paragraphs 31(e) and 40-41(a)). The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on any legislative developments regarding the prohibition of discrimination in employment and occupation on the grounds of disability and on the results achieved through the implementation of the National Action Plan on Disability 2022–30.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity irrespective of race, colour and national extraction. According to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI, Council of Europe, 2020), in 2018, 23 per cent of the workforce in Austria had a migrant background and the employment rate of 15–64-year-old persons with such background was 66 per cent (compared to 75 per cent of those without a migration background). The Committee notes the information contained in a 2022 report from the European Commission according to which there is no national action plan on anti-racism or discrimination although migrants are a central target group for discrimination (European Commission, European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-discrimination, Country Report Austria on non-discrimination, 2022, pages 65 and 73). In this regard, it also notes the information contained on the website of the Ministry for European and International Affairs according to which non-legislative measures taken in the field of education, training and awareness-raising will be further increased and strengthened through the “National Action Plan Integration” and that further concrete progress will be brought by the “National Action Plan for Human Rights in Austria” and the “comprehensive Strategy to prevent and combat all forms of racism, xenophobia, radicalisation and violent extremism” planned for the 2020–24 legislative period. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on a range of programmes supporting people with a migration background, such as language courses; catch-up qualifications programmes; the “Mentoring for Migrants” project (a joint initiative of the Austrian Integration Fund, the Chamber of Commerce and the Public Employment Service) which supports migrant workers as they enter the labour market; and contact points offering multilingual information, advice and support throughout the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures taken or envisaged to promote equality of opportunity irrespective of race, colour and national extraction, including through the “National Action Plan Integration” and the “National Action Plan for Human Rights in Austria” once adopted; and (ii) the results of such measures, including statistical information, to evaluate the impact on employment and occupation of migrant workers, especially migrant women.

Roma people. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the calls for “Roma Empowerment for the Labour Market” rolled-out with the support of the European Social Fund (seven projects run in Vienna and Upper Austria) and the special policy entitled “Roma Empowerment for the Labour Market 2022–30”, funded out of labour market resources, which seeks to address permanent (long-term) unemployment and fight the entrenchment of poor living conditions among Roma due to lack of integration and inclusion in the labour market. In this regard, it notes the recommendation of ECRI (2020) that the Roma Strategy be accompanied by an evaluation of all projects implemented over recent years, on the basis of comprehensive and gender disaggregated equality data. The Committee asks the Government to: (i) continue its efforts to promote employment opportunities and to ensure equal treatment of the Roma in employment and occupation; and (ii) provide information on the results achieved in integrating members of the Roma community into the labour market, including statistics, disaggregated by sex, if available.

Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on various developments, such as: (1) the “Papamonat” (“father’s month”) whereby all fathers in paid employment have a legal entitlement to unpaid leave on the birth of their child (with a financial support during that month amounting to €700); and (2) the expansion of elementary education facilities and financial support resulting in a substantial increase (from 21 to 51.8 per cent) in the number of 3- to 6-year-old children attending facilities whose opening hours enable both parents to work full-time. The Government also cites the Equality Programme of the city of Vienna which aims, inter alia, at removing horizontal and vertical segregation; giving access without discrimination to training and further education programmes, particularly for part-time workers; and preventing sexual harassment. It recognizes however that, within the civil service, women make greater use of the option to work part-time than do men (30.5 per cent of women for 6.6 per cent of men in 2021). The Committee also notes that the CEDAW underlined the stereotyped views on the roles of women and men, with women continuing to be the main caretakers of children and adults in need of care, and the fact that only a very low number of men avail themselves of parental leave and only for short periods. It recommended that the Government: (1) strengthen measures aimed at facilitating the reconciliation of professional and private life; (2) improve the conditions for paid maternity leave, encourage men to avail themselves of parental leave and extend the length of paid paternity leave, so as to promote the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men; and (3) collect gender-disaggregated data on the use of flexible working arrangements. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to promote gender equality in the labour market and requests it to provide detailed information on the results achieved in contributing to and ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment and occupation in practice, including statistical data, disaggregated by sex.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on several cases of discrimination on the grounds of sex or religion referred to the Supreme Court and the Vienna and Linz Higher Regional Courts. The Committee notes, however, that both the CEDAW and the European Commission voiced concerns about the barriers to accessing remedy due to the current complex anti-discrimination legal architecture with scattered legislation and distribution of competences at the federal and provincial levels, varying degrees of protection for different grounds of discrimination, lack of explicit mandate for equality issues of the Labour Inspectorate, fear of reprisal, lack of effectiveness of sanctions and limited role of the Ombud for Equal Treatment and the Equal Treatment Commission (CEDAW/C/AUT/CO/9, paragraphs 12–13; and European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-discrimination, Country reports on non-discrimination, 2022, and gender equality, 2022). The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on (i) the activities of the Equal Treatment Commission; (ii) any measures taken or envisaged to facilitate access to enforcement mechanisms; and (iii) any judicial decisions relevant to the application of the Convention.