Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Sweden (Ratification: 1962)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Legislative developments. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Prohibition of Discrimination Act No. 307 of 2003 (as amended through 2005). It notes that the Act extends safeguards against direct and indirect discrimination to include areas such as labour market policy activities, starting or running a business, membership or participation in an employees’ or employers’ organization and unemployment insurance. The Committee notes that the amended Act prohibits discrimination based on gender, ethnic origin (covering persons of the same national or ethnic origin, race or skin colour (section 4(1)), religion or other belief, sexual orientation and disability. The Committee points out, however, that the grounds of political opinion and social origin, as contained in the Convention, are not covered by the new Act. Recalling from its 1988 General Survey (paragraph 58) that where provisions are adopted in order to give effect to the principle contained in the Convention, they should include all the grounds of discrimination laid down in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how it ensures, in law and in practice, the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of political opinion and social origin.

2. Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. Noting that the Prohibition of Discrimination Act covers grounds other than those explicitly listed in the Convention (namely, sexual orientation and disability), the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether these additional grounds are to be covered under the Convention in accordance with Article 1(1)(b).

3. Article 1(3). Employment and occupation. Access to training and vocational guidance. The Committee notes that the Measures to Counteract Ethnic Discrimination in Working Life Act has been extended (Act No. 308 of 2003) to include situations where employers make decisions or take steps with regard to training or vocational guidance. In addition, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson (JämO) has inaugurated an examination of equality plans for 23 higher education establishments under the Equal Treatment of Students at Universities Act (2001: 1286). The Committee notes, however, from the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/64/CO/8, 10 May 2004) that the Act is reportedly not being implemented with respect to some Swedish universities. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the outcomes of the JämO investigations into equal opportunity in higher education and to indicate what measures it has taken or is planning to ensure non-discrimination with respect to access to training and vocational guidance on all the grounds of the Convention including in educational establishments other than universities.

4. Discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual harassment. Recalling its 2002 general observation regarding sexual harassment, the Committee notes the recent amendment to the Equal Opportunities Act (No. 476 of 2005) prohibiting employers from discriminating against jobseekers or employees by subjecting them to gender-related harassment or harassment of a sexual nature (section 16(a)). It notes that employers have an obligation to take measures to forestall and prevent sexual harassment (section 6) as well as investigate cases where an employee claims to have been sexually harassed by another employee (section 22(a)). The Committee also notes the information in the Government’s report indicating the special training measures developed by the JämO to counteract sexual harassment along with its discussions with the social partners on the topic. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on measures taken to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment in employment and occupation, including activities undertaken in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations.

5. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee notes the information from the Government’s report that women in the private sector make up 37 per cent of employees yet only 19 per cent of management, with men heading nine out of every ten companies. The Committee notes, by contrast, that there is a more even balance between men and women in the public sector, but that there remains a disproportionate concentration of men in positions of authority (e.g. among municipal chief executives). In this context, the Committee notes a number of positive initiatives by the JämO for the promotion of sex equality in the labour market. It notes in particular the project on parenthood and gainful employment which surveyed a number of employers who have been highlighted as having good practices in this regard. The Committee also notes the JämO initiative, entitled Glasshouse, which encourages the social partners to work actively to achieve greater horizontal and vertical equality between men and women in the workplace through the recruitment process. Lastly, the Committee notes that the JämO is participating in the EU project Women on Top, aimed at accelerating the recruitment of women in top management positions in both the public and private sectors. The Committee asks that the Government continue to provide information on the participation rate of women in the labour market and on their representation in positions of authority. Please also keep the Committee up to date on the implementation and outcomes of the Government’s various projects to promote sex equality in employment and occupation in the public and private sectors.

6. Discrimination in employment and occupation in the private sector. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, in 2002, the Ombudsperson Against Ethnic Discrimination (DO) switched from complaint-supported supervision to a structured monitoring of the conduct of employers. The Committee notes, however, the Government’s statement that the supervisory findings have been profoundly discouraging. It notes in particular that, despite the efforts over a number of years, the DO has been unable to overcome opposition to adopting the human rights perspective, and that talk of discrimination continues to be viewed in a negative light. The Committee notes that, in 2002, the DO was only able to approve the activities of seven out of more than 400 employers on measures taken to comply with the Ethnic Discrimination in Working Life Act. Noting that this work was scheduled to continue in the following year and having regard for the statement in the Government’s report that only comprehensive supervision and preventive work can reverse, in the long term, the trend in the numbers of individual complaints, the Committee asks the Government to provide information about the ongoing efforts of the DO in evaluating employer equality plans and to indicate what strategies it is considering to strengthen the work of the DO in overcoming the admitted obstacles in ensuring compliance with the Act.

7. Equality in public sector employment. The Committee welcomes the variety of initiatives outlined in the Government’s report designed to promote equality and non-discrimination in the public sector. It notes in particular the work of the Swedish Agency for Government Employers, which offers sensitization training on anti-discrimination legislation, and on active measures for the prohibition of discrimination and harassment. The Committee also notes that the Swedish Integration Board compiled a report analysing the impact of integration policy rules on the promotion of ethnic diversity in the national government service. It notes that, of the 17 national authorities studied by the Board, only two did not have a diversity plan in place. The Committee notes, however, the assessment in the Government’s report that the majority of existing diversity plans were weak in content and in need of a holistic approach. In light of these findings, the Committee asks the Government to indicate what measures it has adopted or intends to adopt to strengthen its policies of equality of opportunity and treatment within the public sector. Please also provide a copy of the Integration Board’s complete report.

8. Swedish Integration Board. The Committee notes from the Government’s report the initiatives of the Swedish Integration Board on equal opportunities in working life. The Committee notes in particular that statistics from the Board’s 2002 publication, Rapport Integration, indicate a gap of 15 per cent between foreign-born persons (61 per cent) and native-born persons (76 per cent) who are gainfully employed - a gap reiterated by the same publication in 2003. It notes the information in the Government’s report that foreign-born graduates represent a large, unutilized potential in the labour market in part because of a lack of a uniform and timely system for evaluating qualifications and experience. The Committee notes that the Board has developed statistical indicators to improve its instruments of follow-up in the field of labour market integration and that it has signed a succession of agreements with several workers’ and employers’ organizations to induce the social partners to provide concrete measures for promoting equal opportunities for non-Swedish ethnic minorities. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the work of the Swedish Integration Board, specifically on its development of statistical indicators and the results of its agreements with the social partners in an effort to promote greater equality of opportunity and treatment for workers of non-Swedish ethnic backgrounds.

9. Roma and Sami. With respect to access of the Roma community to educational and occupational opportunities, the Committee notes the various proactive measures to improve the situation of the Roma in Swedish society, particularly with respect to the participation of Roma women in community life and the importance of Roma children and young people in achieving long-term change for the Roma as a group. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the DO has cooperated with several national authorities and Roma organizations drawing attention to the discrimination of Roma. In this respect, the DO presented a report in March 2004 with proposals that are being considered by the relevant government offices. The Committee further notes the information in the Government’s report on the four-year information drive to improve public knowledge concerning Sami culture and to counteract discrimination. It notes that this campaign was scheduled to end at the close of 2004 but that it would be succeeded by a permanent national information centre. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken and the progress achieved in improving the access of the Roma and Sami to educational and occupational opportunities.

10. Part IV of the report form. The Committee notes the Labour Court decisions supplied in the Government’s report that were filed by the DO. It notes that the number of complaints received by the DO from private individuals has risen steadily in the past few years from 272 in 2001 to 349 in 2003, and that this trend continued into the first half of 2004. The Committee encourages the Government to continue in subsequent reports to provide the number, subject matter and outcome of the most relevant complaints relating to discrimination in employment and occupation, including those submitted to the JämO and the Ethnic Discrimination Board.

11. General appreciation of the application of the Convention. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that a special investigator was appointed in 2003 to study structural discrimination in Sweden on grounds of ethnic or religious identity and to propose measures to combat such discrimination. In addition, it notes that the Government appointed a Commission in 2004 to deal with the same issue of structural discrimination and that a final report on the matter would be presented no later than June 2006. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the work and outcomes of both the investigator’s and commission’s deliberations, particularly as they relate to discrimination in employment and occupation and to supply any supporting documentation together with its next report.