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Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Mauritius (RATIFICATION: 2004)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSP) communicated with the Government’s report. as well as the corresponding reply of the Government.

Article 3(1) of the Convention. National policy. The Committee notes the Government’ s indications in its report regarding the adoption of the 2022–30 National Gender Policy (NGP), which outlines the key priorities, objectives, and strategies to achieve gender equality in various areas such as legislation, education, governance, employment, health, media, and environment. It observes that the NGP identified, as one of the main barriers to employment of married women, the difficulty in balancing work and family responsibilities (page 24). The NGP thus recommended the revision of labour laws and practices to allow introduction of flexible patterns of work and family friendly work practices that will enable better reconciliation of family responsibilities with paid work (see below for more details, page 40). Noting the absence of concrete information in this respect, the Committee requests again the Government: (i) to provide concrete information on the implementation of the sectoral gender policies formulated by ministries, as well as on equal opportunity policies formulated by employers, indicating how such policies and the action plan are enabling men and women to reconcile work and family responsibilities; and (ii) to provide information on the concrete actions taken to implement the 2022-2030 National Gender Policy.

Article 4. Leave entitlements. The Committee recalls that it has drawn the Government’s attention to the fact that providing paternity leave (5 continuous working days) only for married fathers (section 31 of the Employment Rights Act) may be considered discrimination based on marital status, which is prohibited by the Equal Opportunities Act (EOA). It takes note of the Government repeated explanation, namely that the issue of paternity leave for non-married (civilly or religiously) male employees is for the time being incompatible with Mauritian current social and cultural fabric and that the issue still requires much thought before any change is envisaged. The Government however points out that the workers concerned can still avail themselves of other leave entitlements provided under section 45 (annual leave) and 47A (leave to care for child, parents, and grandparents with healthcare related issues) of the WRA; and that that it is working on granting 30 days parental leave, either to the working mother or father as may be deemed appropriate in the circumstances. The Committee notes that, in its observations, the CTSP states that, while understanding the cultural mindset of the Mauritian society, marriage and birth of a child should be disconnected; even, if a child is “illegitimate”, it should not bear the brunt of society disapproval and benefit of the presence of the persons who conceived him or her. While taking note of the Government’s position, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that providing only paternity leave for married fathers may be considered discrimination on the basis of marital status, which is prohibited by the WRA. The Committee requests the Government to pursue the issue so that, with time, all fathers can eventually benefit from paternal leave, regardless of their marital status and to keep it informed of any development in this regard. The Committee asks the Government to provide statistical data on the extent to which paternity leave is in practice taken up.

Leave entitlements in the public sector. The Committee notes that workers in the public sector do not enjoy the right to paternity leave and that they have to resort to taking annual to attend to their wife following confinement. It thus notes an absence of clear provisions on paternity leave in the Public Service Commission Regulations No. 177/2010 and that only maternity leave is provided. Once again, the Committee wishes to stress that when legislation reflects the assumption that the main responsibility for family care and the household lies with women or excludes men from certain rights or benefits, it reinforces and prolongs stereotypes regarding the roles of men and women in the family and in society. In that regard, it recalls that in its 2016 report, the Pay Bureau Research (PRB) has recommended the introduction of a new family responsibility leave in order to grant a maximum of three days to public officers to cater for absences where the officer has to look after the family such as a sick child or elderly parents. The Committee encourages the Government to consider amending the Public Service Commission Regulations to provide workers in the public sector formal paternity leave and thus ensuring equal treatment with workers with family responsibilities from the private sector.

Working time arrangements. The Government indicates that, measures have been introduced to enable working parents to rearrange their working schedules so that they may spend more quality time with their children, with the consent of their respective employers, and wherever the possibility exist. The Committee notes with interest that the WRA provides now for different types of working time arrangements to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities. For example, section 17 regulates teleworking; section 21 provides for compressed working hours (a 4-day week basis instead of a 5-day or 6-day week basis); and section 22 regulates flexi time arrangements. In its observations, the CTSP indicates that flexible working time should work both ways, whereas in Mauritius, flexibility is the decision solely of the employer: in practice, no demand from a worker will be entertained as the employer will systematically put forward the “exigencies of service” and thus will be protected by the law. The Committee also notes that the CTSP raised the issue of the impact of compressed working hours on export processing zones (EPZs) workers, and wishes to stress that workers should not be denied access to work organization entitlements, where they exist, or be subjected to acts of reprisal or suffer a negative impact on their career advancement or employment, when they take up these entitlements (see 2023 General Survey, achieving gender equality at work, paragraph 729). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the parental leave provisions, as well as on recourse to flexible work arrangements in force, including statistical data, disaggregated by sex, of the number of women and men with family responsibilities exercising this leave and working arrangement options. The Committee also asks the Government to communicate information on the application in practice of these working arrangements, in particular compressed working hours, to EPZs workers. Taking into account the fact that some of these arrangements often penalize women in terms of their earnings and career development, it encourages the Government to also take measures to ensure that unpaid care duties are progressively equally shared between women and men.

Social security. The Committee recalls that: (1) the National Pensions Act provides for accrual of pension rights essentially on the number of pension points earned during a working career, (2) a worker who has taken a long leave due to family responsibilities will not earn any pension points if no wages were paid during such leave, and (3) there is no provision for enhancing the number of pension points actually earned for absences from work because of family responsibilities. The Committee notes an absence of information in the Government’s report on any measures envisaged to assess the feasibility of providing for the accumulation of pension points for male and female workers during periods of absence from work due to family responsibilities under the National Pensions Act. In this regard, it wishes to stress the importance of taking measures to ensure that periods of absence from work for the purpose of taking care of children or other family members requiring help are taken into account for the acquisition of social security rights and that such measures should be provided not only to women but to all persons with family responsibilities (see 2023 General Survey, achieving gender equality at work, paragraph 814). TheCommittee again encourages the Government: (i) to take measures, in consultation with the social partners, to assess the possibility of recognizing the periods spent caring for children or other family members under the social security scheme; and, more generally, (ii) to pursue gender-responsive social protection policies that ensure that social protection systems address gender-related risk over the life cycle.

Article 5. Childcare and family services and facilities. The Committee notes that section 52A of the WRA provides that an employer who has more than 250 workers shall provide, free of charge to the workers, childcare facilities on the premises of the workplace or within a distance of one kilometre from the workplace for their children (aged not more than 3 years). A guideline is currently being worked out in consultation among the ministries concerned with finance, labour and gender and representatives of business on the best manner to implement the measure. The Government states that the Social and Integration Empowerment Act (2016) provides for the setting up of empowerment programmes and schemes for persons living in absolute poverty through the Social Register of Mauritius (SRM) and the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF). Under this scheme, a Crèche Scheme has been introduced since February 2017; it aims at encouraging mothers of children aged between three months to three years to place them in registered child day care centres, thereby allowing their mothers to take up employment or follow a training course for the purpose of their empowerment. It further notes the Government’s indication that the Budget 2023-2024 has made provision for an enhanced amount of Rs3,000 (US$68) to be provided as monthly Creche Allowance. The Committee recalls that the lack of childcare facilities for very young children constitutes an obstacle to equality of opportunity for men and women workers wishing to reconcile their professional and family lives. It therefore welcomes the Government indication that the number of children enrolled in day care centres has increased over the years (5,733 children in 2021 and 5,398 in 2016). The Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that adequate, affordable and accessible childcare and also family services and facilities are available. It asks the Government to continue to provide information, including statistics, on men’s and women’s access to childcare and other care facilities. Please also provide detailed information on the progress made in extending coverage of care services and facilities for other dependent members of the family, as well as the results achieved.

Article 6. Educational and awareness-raising programmes. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the activities undertaken to sensitize the education sector on gender-based violence. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote a broader public understanding of the need for a more equitable sharing of family responsibilities between men and women. Please also provide information on the programmes undertaken to address stereotyping with respect to family responsibilities.

Article 7. Vocational guidance and training. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in addition to the “Back to Work Programme”, the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has developed a number of programmes to train and reskill unemployed individuals, such as the National Training and Reskilling Scheme (NTRS); the National Skills Development Programme (NSDP); and the Graduate Training for Employment Scheme (GTES). The main objective of these programmes is to enable women who, after many years of being housewife or after having left their jobs for one reason or another, wish to join/rejoin the labour force to do so after they have been provided with special training schemes, which caters for at least 15 occupations. The Committee notes, from the statistical information provided by the Government that, in 2022, 66,900 heads of households (with children below 11 years) were enrolled in these programmes; whereas the number increased during the first quarter of 2023 to reach 66,400. While taking note of this information, the Committee notes an absence of statistical information disaggregated by sex on the number of jobseekers with dependents who have been recently placed. Knowing that women still bear a heavier burden of family duties, the Committee underlines the importance of collecting statistical information disaggregated by sex on the labour market situation of women and men workers with family responsibilities (see 2023 General Survey, achieving gender equality at work, paragraphs 301 and 302). The Committee asks the Government to indicate how the above-mentioned programmes have enabled workers with family responsibilities (both women and men) to become and remain integrated in the labour force. Please provide statistical information disaggregated by sex on the number of jobseekers with family responsibilities (including care for children and or other members of their immediate family who clearly need their care or support) who have benefited from employment services and other programmes and who have obtained employment.

Article 11. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee takes note of the information provided in this regard, which addresses its previous request.

Enforcement. The Committee notes that, during the period under review, no case of discrimination based specifically on workers with family responsibilities has been dealt with by the competent authorities, such as the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation or the Employment Relations Tribunal. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number and nature of complaints concerning workers with family responsibilities, both in the private and public sectors, dealt by the competent authorities, and in particular the Labour Inspectorate. Please, also indicate the measures taken to strengthen labour inspectors’ sensitivity to the issues of non-discrimination.