CMNT_TITLE

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Chad (RATIFICATION: 1966)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Grounds of discrimination. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to amend the national legislation in order to ensure that it at least covers discrimination on the basis of all the grounds listed in the Convention, including a prohibition on any discrimination based on race or colour. While noting the Government’s statement that it faces difficulties which prevent it from revising the Constitution accordingly, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that these grounds could be included in the provisions of the Labour Code concerning discrimination (sections 6 and 7), which in their current wording cover sex, age, nationality, membership or non-membership of a trade union, trade union activity, and the origin and opinions (particularly religious and political) of the worker, or that regulations implementing the Labour Code could be adopted to also cover race and colour before any revision of the Constitution is undertaken. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary steps to adopt legislation, or revise existing legislation or expand the provisions of the Labour Code so that at least all the grounds on which discrimination is based, which are prohibited under the terms of Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, are expressly covered by the national legislation, and to supply information on the measures adopted in this respect.

Discrimination on the basis of sex. For a number of years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the incompatibility of section 9 of Ordinance No. 006/PR/84 of April 1984 issuing regulations on trading with the provisions of the Convention and has asked the Government to take the necessary steps to repeal this provision. In view of the lack of any reply from the Government on this point, the Committee requests the Government to state whether the 1984 Ordinance is still in force and, consequently, to clarify whether a husband still has the right to object to the commercial activities of his spouse. If so, it urges the Government once again to repeal section of the Ordinance because of their discriminatory nature with regard to women.

Sexual harassment. In view of the lack of information in the Government’s report on the measures taken or contemplated to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, the Committee is bound to repeat its request in this respect, referring once again to its general observation of 2002, in which it emphasizes that sexual harassment undermines equality at work by jeopardizing the integrity, dignity and well-being of workers and is harmful to enterprises by weakening the foundations of the employment relationship and reducing productivity.

Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 019/PR/2007 of 15 November 2007, protecting the rights of persons living with HIV and AIDS. This Act contains provisions which define the denial of access to employment for HIV-positive persons as a discriminatory act (section 22), prohibit screening for HIV in relation to obtaining employment, promotion, training or benefits (section 36), guarantee employment to any employee who is living with HIV as long as he or she is capable of working, and guarantees the offer of acceptable replacement work (section 36), and prohibit any penalty or dismissal on the basis of the worker’s HIV status (section 38). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the implementing decrees provided for in section 64 of the Act No. 019/PR/2007 have been adopted, particularly as regards the abovementioned provisions relating to the right to work (sections 32–41) and, if so, to provide a copy of the decrees. The Government is also requested to provide information on any measure taken or contemplated to ensure the effective implementation of these legislative provisions against discrimination towards, and stigmatization of, persons living with HIV and AIDS, for example awareness-raising campaigns on equality at work intended for workers’ and employers’ organizations, labour inspectors, magistrates and the general public.

Also noting, according to the information contained in the report drawn up by the Ministry of Education in October 2008 on the development of education, that an Act on the protection of disabled persons has been adopted, the Committee requests the Government to send a copy of it to the Office and indicate the steps taken to ensure in practice the equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation for disabled persons.

Article 2. National policy to promote equality. Access to education and vocational training. As regards education and training, on which actual possibilities of access to employment and occupation in both the public and private sectors depend, the Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 016/PR/06 of 13 March 2006 issuing guidelines for the Chadian education system, which focuses on combating the exclusion from education of groups considered the most vulnerable, namely girls living in rural areas, nomadic and lake-dwelling groups, street children, physically disabled persons, refugees and displaced persons, child domestic workers, child herders and child soldiers. The objectives of this Act include “ensuring equitable access to high-quality education for all Chadian children” and “promoting schooling for girls by removing stereotypes and other socio economic and cultural obstacles to the full development of girls and women in terms of the education process”.

The Committee also notes, according to the abovementioned report on education, that incentives aimed at making school attendance more attractive to girls are provided for in the “National plan of action for education for all” and that experimental action has been taken in four pilot areas to promote schooling for girls, such as awareness raising on a large scale with regard to gender issues, grants to communities to undertake income-generating activities, waiving school fees and no age limits on school enrolment for girls, etc.

Welcoming the efforts made and the desire shown by the Government to achieve greater equality in the area of education and training, the Committee hopes that the planned measures to promote equal access to education will be implemented in the near future and that the abovementioned experimental measures can be extended throughout the country in order to rectify the inequalities which exist in practice. It requests the Government to supply information on the results achieved, in the context of the various mechanisms established, with respect to schooling and access to vocational training for girls and women, particularly those living in rural areas. Please also provide information on any measure taken or contemplated to combat discrimination on grounds other than sex in education and vocational training, including the results achieved.

Article 3(d). Employment in the public sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide as detailed information as possible on the measures taken or contemplated to promote and guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment in the public sector, including the results achieved by these measures in terms of employment, promotion and training of women within the public service. The Government is also requested to supply all available statistical information on the numbers of men and women employed at different levels in public service and, more generally, in the public sector.

Part V of the report form. Practical application and statistics. The Committee notes that in reply to its request for statistics the Government indicates that it will soon give labour inspectors the means to gather information relating to the situation of workers on the ground. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the steps taken to equip labour inspectors with the appropriate resources and to supply the statistical information thus obtained on employment in the private and public sectors, disaggregated by sex, and also any statistical information available on employment in the informal economy, in order to enable an evaluation of the effect given to the Convention in practice.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.