Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Brazil (Ratification: 1965)

1. Discrimination based on race and colour. The Committee notes that Act No. 10678, of which it took note in its observation, establishes the National Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality (CNPIR), which formulates, coordinates and integrates policies and directives to promote racial equality. It also notes that a decree of 23 August 2004 established within the Ministry of Labour, a Tripartite Committee on Equal Opportunities in Respect of Gender and Race in Employment and Occupation, which works in coordination with the task forces to combat all forms of discrimination in employment and occupation that have been set up in the regional delegations and sub-delegations for labour. The functions of the Tripartite Committee are to establish public policies for equal opportunities and treatment and the elimination of all forms of discrimination on grounds of race or gender in employment and occupation. It further notes that seminars and activities concerning discrimination are being conducted in various parts of the country. In this context, the National Qualifications Plan (PNQ) for 2003-07 gives preferential access to those who are most vulnerable, particularly women workers with little education and persons of African extraction and of indigenous extraction. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistical information on the representation of these groups in the PNQ and the impact of the PNQ in improving the access of vulnerable groups to employment and occupation. Please also continue providing information on policies and action adopted by the Tripartite Committee, including the impact thereof, and indicating the methods used to measure the impact.

2. ILO cooperation with the Government of Brazil. The Committee notes that May 2005 saw the launch of a handbook by the ILO on training and information regarding gender, race, poverty and employment, which is being implemented in nine Latin American countries and which in Brazil has a special module on race. The Committee notes that a programme to strengthen institutions is being implemented to secure equality based on gender and race, the eradication of poverty and the generation of employment (GRPE), and requests the Government to keep it informed regarding the programme’s implementation and practical impact.

3. Judicial decisions. The Committee notes that the High Court of Labour upheld the decision of the ordinary labour courts ordering a company to compensate a worker for racial discrimination due to the actions of a supervisor. The Committee notes that the decision cited the Constitution, the international Conventions ratified by Brazil and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The Court found the company liable in that “the employer has a duty to safeguard respectability, civility and decency in the work environment as part of the contract of employment”. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on judicial decisions relevant to the application of the Convention.

4. Sexual harassment. In general, the Committee observes that although the Government has replied to the report form, it has not answered all the questions addressed to it by the Committee of Experts in its comments of 2003 and 2004. It refers the Government in particular to its observation of 2004 and the first paragraph of its direct request of 2003, in which it noted that according to a report by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and the National Institute for Settlement and Agrarian Reform, 52 per cent of working women have suffered some kind of sexual harassment. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the measures taken to combat sexual harassment and on the practical effect given to new section 216-A of the Penal Code, as requested by the Committee in 2003.