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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Dominican Republic (RATIFICATION: 1964)

1. The Committee notes with interest that, by an agreement between the National Institute of Occupational Technical Training (INFOTEP) and the Dominican Association of Free Exporting Zones (ADOZONA), a percentage of the amount collected in the free-exporting zone enterprises has been earmarked for the purpose of occupational training to provide apprenticeship and specialization courses for workers in these enterprises, 56 per cent of whose workforce are women. The Committee requests the Government to send more detailed information on the apprenticeship and specialization courses mentioned including, if possible, the objectives and content of the training with indications of the number of workers who have benefited from it, disaggregated by sex and subject or course. It also requests information disaggregated in the same manner on the occupational training courses and seminars in the rest of the country. The Committee recalls that occupational training and guidance are of primary importance as they affect possibilities of access to employment and occupation and that it is important for women to have access to training options in fields different from those considered traditionally feminine.

2. The Committee welcomes the information supplied by the Government that the Secretary of State for Labour is carrying out an investigative study for the purpose of determining the percentage of men and women who provide services in various branches of activity and for comparing salaries on the basis of sex, and that the study will be communicated to the Office as soon as it is completed.

3. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, in regard to the measures adopted to protect women workers against all discrimination or arbitrary dismissal in the event of pregnancy, including measures to dissuade employers from the practice of pregnancy testing, the Labour Code guarantees to women the right to work and to maternity leave of three months. The Government further indicates that abuses in this area are decreasing (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 17th session, E/C.12/1997/SR.30). The Committee recalls that the discriminatory nature against women of distinctions based on pregnancy, childbirth or its possible medical consequences, are clear from the simple fact that they can affect only women. Given that pregnancy testing is a discriminatory mechanism frequently used at the hiring stage, in which it is difficult for the labour inspection service to intervene, the Committee requests information on the prevention and investigation machinery that exists in order to discourage this practice, whether it falls under the labour inspection service or within the ambit of specialized bodies. The Committee draws the Government's attention to paragraph 193 in fine and paragraphs 193-215 of its 1988 General Survey on equality of employment and occupation.

4. The Committee requests information on the activities of the Labour Inspectorate on the areas covered by the Convention and whether there have been reports of discrimination to that body, to administrative or judicial tribunals, or to specialized bodies.