Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

1. The Committee notes the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2007, the resulting conclusions of the Conference Committee, as well as the Government’s report. The Committee notes that the Conference Committee urged the Government to take continuing, decisive and effective action to promote and ensure equal treatment and equal opportunities. It also stressed the need to ensure strict enforcement of the relevant legislation and full implementation of programmes to promote equal opportunities of Dalits and women in respect of access to education, training and employment. It requested the Government to intensify the awareness-raising campaigns on the unacceptability of those forms of discrimination. The Conference Committee also requested the Government to implement urgently a new “Time-bound Programme” to bring to an end to the inhuman practice of manual scavenging which is carried out by the Dalit. Finally, the Committee notes that the Conference Committee emphasized the need to assess at regular intervals the impact of the action taken to eliminate discrimination against women and Dalits and that it requested the Government to provide to the Committee of Experts information on the results achieved by such action, including detailed statistical data.

2. The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no information concerning the matters raised by Hind Mazdoor Sabha in their communication dated 29 August 2006. The union stated that protection under article 14 (equality before the law) and article 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) of the Constitution did not cover private employees. In addition, widespread discrimination against Dalits, Adivasis and women in the construction and fishing industries, as well as in agriculture, was alleged. The Committee notes that the Government indicated during the discussion in the Conference Committee that information was being sought from relevant sources concerning these matters. While noting the information provided concerning the fishing sector, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on all the matters raised by Hind Mazdor Sabha, including on the issue of whether private sector employees enjoy legal protection from discrimination in employment and occupation.

Discrimination based on social origin

3. The Committee notes that the information provided by the Government concerning the measures taken to promote and ensure equal treatment of and equal opportunities for the Dalit is of a very general nature and that it mainly refers to elements of national law and practice which the Committee noted previously. The Government refers to the reservations policy concerning recruitment and promotion in government services. It states that there are indications of occupational diversification taking place among scheduled castes in recent years, with members of scheduled castes shifting to urban areas for their livelihood. The Government also mentions the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation and similar bodies at the state level which provide credit facilities to support income-generating activities, as well as the protection available under the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes submitted its first two reports to the President of India. However, the reports are not yet publicly available. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the report of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes as soon as possible.

4. Noting that no information has been provided concerning the issue of awareness raising, the Committee once again stresses the importance of raising awareness of the prohibition and unacceptability of caste-based discrimination and the practice of untouchability, particularly in the context of employment and occupation. Awareness-raising campaigns should be targeted to a wide range of audiences, including public officials, workers’ and employers’ representatives, and also the public at large.

5. The Committee is concerned about the continuing lack of information which would demonstrate the actual progress made in respect of combating and eliminating caste-based discrimination in employment and occupation and in promoting equal opportunities. Given the seriousness of the matter, it is not sufficient for the Government to assert that progress is being made; it must also provide specific and detailed information on the measures taken and the results secured by its action. The Committee, therefore, urges the Government to provide specific and full information, including relevant statistical data, on the following:

(a)   the specific measures taken to launch and intensify awareness-raising campaigns on the prohibition and unacceptability of caste-based discrimination in employment and occupation, including information on the steps taken to seek the cooperation of workers’ and employers’ organizations in this regard;

(b)   the existing programmes to promote and ensure equal opportunities for the Dalits, the measures taken to ensure their full implementation and the results achieved by such programmes;

(c)   the extent to which men and women of scheduled caste have benefited from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005; and

(d)   the measures taken to ensure strict enforcement of the relevant legislation, including the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

6. With regard to the practice of manual scavenging, which is carried out by Dalits, and very often by Dalit women, the Committee notes that a Central Monitoring Committee has been constituted which is chaired by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to monitor the progress of implementation of the National Action Plan for Total Eradication of Manual Scavengers by 2009. The Government indicates that the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, (the 1993 Act), has been adopted by all States except Jammu and Kashmir and those States which declared themselves as scavenging free. The introduction of the centrally sponsored integrated low-cost sanitation (ILCS) scheme had been modified to provide more liberal assistance for conversion of dry latrines and construction of new water-borne latrines. Credit and subsidies for self-employment projects for former manual scavengers continue to be available under the self-employment scheme for rehabilitation of manual scavengers (SRMS). In addition, the Government affirms that no manual scavenging was practised under the control of the Indian railway authorities. The Committee notes that the Government appears to be committed to ending the practice of manual scavenging and that a new target date for its elimination has been set, as requested by the Conference Committee. However, the Committee urges the Government to provide the following:

(a)   more specific and detailed information on the action taken to eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and the results achieved, as well as the difficulties encountered;

(b)   statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the operation and results of the ILCS scheme and the SRMS, as well as information on where and to what extent manual scavenging is still practised;

(c)   information on whether any complaints have been filed before the competent authorities, including the courts, alleging violations of the provisions of the 1993 Act, and if so, the number and outcome of such complaints; and

(d)   a copy of the National Action Plan for Total Eradication of Manual Scavengers, as well as copies of any judicial or administrative decisions relating to the subject of manual scavenging.

Equality of opportunity and treatment of women and men

7. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that various schemes and programmes are aimed at the economic empowerment of women through increasing their access to training, financial resources, self-employment, as well as wage employment. The Committee notes with interest the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, which provides for a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment on asset-creating public work programmes every year for at least one person in every household. The Committee notes in particular that the Act provides that “priority shall be given to women in such a way that at least one third of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work under this Act”. (Schedule II, paragraph 5). According to the Government, out of the 4,928,338 persons employed under the Act in 2006–07 some 40 per cent were women. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the extent to which women benefit from the National Rural Employment Act, including in particular women of scheduled castes and tribes, “other backward classes” and minorities. Noting that the Government has not replied to all the requests for information made by the Committee and the Conference Committee, the Committee urges the Government to provide full information on the following matters:

(a)   the results achieved by the various programmes and schemes providing women with access to vocational training, income-generating activities and self-employment, including statistical information on the number of women who have benefited from the various programmes and the type of training they were able to obtain;

(b)   the action taken to promote women’s equal access to employment in the organized and public sectors, as well as government services, including statistical information on women occupying management positions;

(c)   the steps taken to raise awareness of the principle of gender equality in employment and occupation; and

(d)   any other measures taken to promote the application of the Convention under the National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, including relevant activities of the National Commission for Women.

8. With regard to the issue of sexual harassment, the Committee notes that in addition to including sexual harassment provisions in the civil service rules, the model standing order applicable to industry has been amended to include sexual harassment as misconduct. The Committee also notes that the Government is not granting licences to any new industry that does not have such a provision in its standing orders. The National Commission for Women and the Ministry of Human Resource Development have taken steps to ensure the necessary amendments of internal rules of workplaces. However, no information has been provided with regard to the progress made in drawing up sexual harassment legislation. Recalling that the Government previously referred to draft legislation on sexual harassment in accordance with the directive laid down by the Supreme Court in Vishaka v Rajasthan, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the status of the draft legislation and the progress made towards its adoption.

9. Finally, the Committee recalls its previous comments concerning the National Coal Wages Agreement (NCWA) in relation to which it considered that giving preferential treatment to sons of early retirees, as well as to male dependants of workers who died in service is discriminatory. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the relevant clauses of the NCWA pertaining to the provision of employment to dependants of workers on account of disablement or death would continue to be operative until a revised scheme is prepared keeping in view the various rulings of the Supreme Court on the matter. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the various rulings of the Supreme Court on this matter and to provide the revised NCWA as soon as possible.