Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Measures to prohibit discrimination and to promote equality. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act CXXV of 2003 which prohibits discrimination in private and public employment on all grounds listed in Article 1 of the Convention, as well as on the grounds of mother tongue, disability, state of health, family status, motherhood or fatherhood, sexual orientation, sexual identity, age, financial status, part-time or fixed-term status or other employment relationships, trade union membership or other status (section 8). The Act also contains provisions on indirect discrimination, harassment, burden of proof and positive measures. It also provides for the establishment of a public administrative body mandated, inter alia, to investigate and decide discrimination cases, initiate law suits, and engage in promotional activities and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application and enforcement of the new Act in respect of employment and occupation, including through the competent judicial and administrative bodies.

2.  Discrimination on the basis of sex. The Committee recalls that, at its 275th Session (June 1999), the Governing Body approved the report of the committee designated to examine the representation submitted by the National Federation of Workers’ Councils (NFWC) pursuant to article 24 of the ILO Constitution, alleging the Government’s non-observance of the present Convention, and of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122). The Governing Body determined that there was insufficient information to permit it to reach any conclusions regarding the issues raised in the representation, including the NFWC’s allegations that the Government’s enactment of legislation reducing the personnel and social security-related budgets of institutes of higher education in 1995 had resulted in the dismissal of a disproportionate number of female lecturers and researchers. However, it requested the Government to provide additional information to the Committee of Experts on the issues raised in the representation.

3. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments on this matter, the Government states that like any other employer, the institutes of higher education are bound by the prohibition of discrimination established under the law the protection of which also extends to female teaching staff in these institutions. In cases of alleged discrimination the right to a remedy was established under the Labour Code. The Government also states that there have been a number of court decisions in regard to dismissals in the context of the 1995 austerity measures holding that dismissals had been illegal based on procedural reasons rather than due to discrimination. It also provided examples of the judicial decisions in such cases. The Committee notes this information. However, the Government was not able to provide information disaggregated by sex on the number of teaching staff dismissed due to the 1995 austerity measures, nor on the number of non-teaching staff dismissed. The Committee therefore  requests the Government to take the necessary measures to provide this information in its next report in order to allow the Committee to consider fully the de facto result of the austerity measures in relation to the application of the Convention.

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