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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1971)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s observations, received in 2003, on the comments of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) received by the Office in November 2002. As the communication concerns issues related to remuneration, the Committee refers to its comments on the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100).

2. Article 1 of the Convention. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes with interest that section 19 of the Act on Violence against Women and the Family establishes sexual harassment as an offence punishable by imprisonment. Failure by any person, employer or authority of rank having knowledge of an occurrence of this kind to take remedial action or prevent any recurrence, is an offence punishable by a fine. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide copies of any court decisions citing this provision.

3. Article 1(1)(b). HIV/AIDS. The Committee also notes with interest Decision No. 71 of 29 November 2002 by the Ministry of Labour, according to which testing for HIV antibodies either as a requirement for admission to employment or during employment amounts to discrimination based on health and is an obvious breach of the Constitution, and a worker who is dismissed within a reasonable period following a test for antibodies carried out at the workplace or following a refusal to undergo such a test, should lodge an appeal under the Constitution in which the employer has the burden of proving that the dismissal is objective, reasonable and proportionate. Failure so to prove invalidates the dismissal, leaving it with no effect in law. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the legal nature of such ministerial decisions and the extent to which the courts are bound to apply them and, if possible, copies of decisions on appeals filed under the Constitution, or other court rulings that cite the abovementioned Decision or otherwise resolve appeals against dismissals based on the results of HIV/AIDS tests or refusals to undergo such tests.

4. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not reply to the matters raised in the direct request of 2002. It is therefore bound to reiterate that request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes that, according to the most recent data available to the Office, women accounted for only 35.35 per cent of the labour force in 1998. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to promote the direct access of women to employment, vocational guidance and specific occupations, with a view to achieving greater equality between men and women workers in employment and occupation. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities that are being undertaken by the National Institute for Women for the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation.

2. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any complaints submitted to the National Attorney for the Defence of Women’s Rights and the remedial action and conciliation measures that have been taken. The Committee would be grateful for information on any measures that are being taken to guarantee the full exercise of the rights of women workers in the informal sector and to women providing personal services, as set out in section 54 of the Act on equal opportunities for women of 25 October 1999.

3. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government on inspection activities for 1999, but observes that none of the information refers to inspections undertaken directly in relation to discrimination in employment and occupation. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the labour inspection services with a view to promoting and guaranteeing the application of the principle laid down in the Convention, including the number of inspections carried out in relation to discrimination in employment, the number of contraventions reported, the penalties imposed and copies of any relevant court decisions.