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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Madagascar (RATIFICATION: 1961)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes that section 8, in conjunction with section 28, of the new Constitution of 19 August 1992, prohibits all discrimination on the grounds set out in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention, except for colour and national extraction which are not expressly mentioned. It notes, however, that the Labour Code (section 1 of Ordinance No. 75-013 of 17 May 1975) and the General Conditions of Service of the Public Service (section 6 of Act No. 79-014 of 16 July 1979) prohibits discrimination on grounds only of sex. The Committee refers to paragraph 58 of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation in which it stresses that, when provisions are adopted to give effect to the principles of the Convention, they should include all the grounds of discrimination set out in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention. It asks the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken or envisaged to include in the Labour Code and the General Conditions of Service of the Public Service specific provisions to encourage the elimination of discriminatory practices based on the criteria listed in the Constitution and the Convention and to ensure the acceptance and application of the policy to promote equal opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation (Article 3(b) of the Convention). Please indicate also the measures taken to seek the cooperation of employers' and workers' organizations and other appropriate bodies in implementing the policy (Article 3(a) of the Convention), and progress made.

2. With regard to the public sector, the Committee notes from the statistics compiled by the Ministry of Population that in the public service women account for 64 per cent of employees in categories I and II, 43 per cent of all university administrative staff and 73 per cent of the staff of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of National Education. It would be grateful for recent statistics of the percentage of women employed in the public service as a whole, other than in categories I and II, and in the various Ministries, and the percentage of women holding posts of responsibility.

3. With regard to the private sector, the Government indicates that, according to a survey carried out by the Directorate of Employment in 1990, out of 172,000 jobs in the modern sector, 28,910 are held by women, i.e. approximately 17 per cent; 13 per cent of them are in top management, 21 per cent in middle management, 38 per cent skilled salaried employees and 3 per cent skilled wage-earners. The Committee thanks the Government for this information and asks it to provide in its next report particulars of the positive measures taken, indicating the results obtained, to promote the access of women to training and employment so as to narrow the very wide gap between the number of men and of women employed in the private sector, particularly as skilled workers (3 per cent) and top managers (13 per cent).

4. The Committee refers to paragraph 2 of its previous direct request, concerning the requirement in the Decree of 18 November 1964 that employers must notify vacancies to the competent employment service, which is responsible for selecting suitable candidates for the vacancies in question. The Committee asked the Government to indicate whether the employers concerned are obliged to take on the candidates selected by this service or whether they are free to make their own assessment and selection from among them, and also to indicate how effect is given in practice to the principle of non-discrimination in both these cases. Since the Government did not give a precise answer, the Committee is bound to repeat its request and hopes that the next report will contain detailed information on this point and on the means available to placement services and their users to ensure observance of the principle of non-discrimination, in accordance with Article 3(e) of the Convention.

5. With regard to vocational training, the Committee notes that the report does not answer the questions asked in paragraph 3 of its previous direct request. Accordingly, it again asks the Government to give details on how access to the various occupational and craft training centres is ensured in practice for persons fulfilling the statutory conditions for admission, regardless of their race, sex, religion, political opinion, national and ethnic extraction. It would also appreciate receiving recent statistics of the number of persons who have attended such centres (disaggregated by sex and ethnic extraction).

6. The Committee notes the Government's indication that women mostly carry out functions that are traditionally inherent in Malagasy society, and asks the Government to provide information on the positive measures taken or envisaged to promote the access of girls to technical and vocational training, particularly in courses and trades traditionally reserved for men, such as mechanics, carpentry, welding, etc. Please refer in this connection to paragraph 168 of the 1988 General Survey on equality in employment and occupation, in which the Committee specifies the content of affirmative action programmes to redress discrimination in training and employment, in respect, inter alia, of women.