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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - North Macedonia (RATIFICATION: 1991)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

Legislative developments. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication in its supplementary information that a Proposal-law on Amendments to the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination, will be adopted in a shortened procedure and will be put on the agenda in the Assembly of Republic of North Macedonia to replace the Law on Prevention and Protection against discrimination (LPPD) adopted in 2019 – without the required majority in the Assembly. It notes that the Proposal-law regulates the prevention and prohibition of discrimination, the forms and types of discrimination, the procedures for protection against discrimination as well as the composition and work of the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to keep the Office informed on developments and to provide a copy of the law once adopted.

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. In follow up to its previous comments, the Committee notes that “sexual harassment” is defined and prohibited under section 9(4) of the Law on Labour Relations, section 4(7) of the Law on equal opportunities for men and women of 2012, and section 5(2) of the Law on protection against harassment at work of 2013. It asks the Government to provide information on the application of these provisions in practice, including information on: (i) the measures adopted by the labour inspectorate to prevent and address sexual harassment; (ii) the number of complaints filed and of cases detected; and (iii) the remedies available, and the sanctions imposed.

Article 1(3). Employment and occupation. Further to its previous request regarding the scope of application of the LPPD, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the draft law only regulates the prevention and protection against discrimination but does not regulate the conditions of employment and access to professional training that are matters covered by the Law on labour relations. In this regard, the Committee takes note of sections 6 and 7 of the Law on labour relations that prohibit discrimination in relation with access to employment, promotion at work, access to vocational trainings, working conditions and rights arising out of employment, the termination of employment, and the rights and privileges arising from the membership in employers or workers’ organizations.

Article 2. National equality policy. Discrimination based on sex. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the results of the measures adopted to implement the National Action Plan for gender equality. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its national report on the application of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, 1995 (Beijing+25) that its efforts to advance gender equality are visible through the formulation by the Ministry of Economy of a Strategy for Women entrepreneurship development and its Action Plan, for the period 2019–2023, and in particular its attempts to increase subsidy of enterprises owned and managed by women. Moreover, the Committee notes that the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, in cooperation with the “Subversive Front “(a community-engaged organization that aims to promote justice, freedom and equality for the members of the sexual and gender minorities in North Macedonia through the principles of accountability, solidarity and inclusivity), and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, conducted training on non-discrimination for public officials and civil servants. According to the Government, this training addressed topics such as: presentation of the new Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination, how to identify discriminatory behaviours, unconscious discrimination, hate speech versus freedom of speech, etc. In this regard, the Committee notes that in 2019: 17 training sessions were conducted which were attended by some 325 public officials and civil servants. While welcoming all these initiatives, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact on gender equality in employment and occupation of the measures adopted to implement the National Action Plan for gender equality 2018–2020, the Strategy for Women entrepreneurship development (and its Action Plan 2019–2023), and on any other measures taken to implement the principles enshrined in the Convention (such as for example updated data on the participation of men and women in education, training, employment and occupation, disaggregated by occupational categories and positions, in both the public and private sectors).

National policy. Discrimination based on race, colour, and national extraction. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to continue its efforts to create equal opportunity and treatment at work and in education and training for minorities and to provide statistical data on the participation of Albanian, Roma and Turkish minorities in the labour market. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government on the number of workers from the Roma community that have benefited from the different employment programmes aimed at facilitating access to the labour market. The Committee also takes note of the data provided on representation of minority groups in the public sector for 2016–2019 (in 2019: 73.93 per cent were Macedonians; 20.41 per cent were Albanians; 2.07 per cent were Turks; 0.93 per cent were Serbs; 1.21 per cent were Roma; 0.43 per cent were Bosnians; 0.38 per cent were Vlachs, and 0.64 per cent were from others or unspecified groups). The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date statistical information on the participation of workers from minority groups in the labour market in the private sector.

General observation of 2018. With regard to the above issues, and in more general terms, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to its general observation on discrimination based on race, colour and national extraction which was adopted in 2018. In the general observation, the Committee notes with concern that discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes based on the race, colour or national extraction of men and women workers continue to hinder their participation in education, vocational training programmes and access to a wider range of employment opportunities, resulting in persisting occupational segregation and lower remuneration received for work of equal value. Furthermore, the Committee considers that it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tackling the obstacles and barriers faced by persons in employment and occupation because of their race, colour or national extraction, and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for all. Such an approach should include the adoption of interlocking measures aimed at addressing gaps in education, training and skills, providing unbiased vocational guidance, recognizing and validating the qualifications obtained abroad, and valuing and recognizing traditional knowledge and skills that may be relevant both to accessing and advancing in employment and to engaging in an occupation. The Committee also recalls that, in order to be effective, these measures must include concrete steps, such as laws, policies, programmes, mechanisms and participatory processes, remedies designed to address prejudices and stereotypes and to promote mutual understanding and tolerance among all sections of the population.

The Committee draws the Government’s attention to its general observation of 2018 and asks the Government to provide information in response to the questions raised in that observation.

Enforcement. In the absence of information on this point, the Committee again asks the Government to provide detailed information on the application of the Convention in practice, such as for example, the number of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation dealt with by the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the labour inspectorate, and the courts, and on the follow up to these cases.