Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1977)

1. Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes that section 86(3) of the draft Labour Law gives the wage earner the right to terminate the employment contract without notice if the employer or the employer’s representative commits anything inconsistent with public morals against the wage earner or a member of his or her family. The Committee considers that this provision is not sufficient to protect workers against sexual harassment, as the only remedy offered to victims is the right to leave their jobs without consequences for the perpetrators or the employer. In addition, the sex-related offences established under the penal law generally cover severe forms of sexual harassment. They may however not be adequate to prevent and address many other forms of sexual harassment at work, whether quid pro quo or hostile working environment harassment, as identified in the Committee’s general observation of 2002. The Committee, therefore, asks the Government to amend section 86(3) of the draft Labour Law and to include an explicit provision defining and prohibiting all forms of sexual harassment at work, and to report on the progress made. Please also provide information on any measures taken, including awareness-raising programmes, to prevent and address sexual harassment at work.

2. Discrimination on the basis of religion in the civil service. The Committee notes the statistical data provided on first category employees in the public administration indicating that out of a total of 104 employees, 50 are of the Christian faith and 54 are of the Muslim faith. No data have been provided on the nominations of the men and women and their respective religions for other categories in the civil service, following competitions organized pursuant to section 54 of Act No. 583 of 23 April 2004. The Committee recalls once again that such data are essential for an effective evaluation of inequalities that might exist in the public service and for developing appropriate strategies to address them. Furthermore, the Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report that the situation concerning religious representation in the civil service is transitional and that for now the rule of equal representation of religions for top positions will be maintained. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments with respect to the rule of equal representation of religions in top positions of the civil service. It further trusts that the Government will make every effort to compile data on the composition of the public service, disaggregated by religion, so as to enable the Committee to assess the progress made in promoting equality with respect to religion in the public service.

3. Articles 2 and 3. Discrimination based on sex – unjustified restrictions on employment of women. With respect to its previous comments concerning
section 35 of the draft Labour Law, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that employment restrictions take into account women’s nature and physiological condition. The Committee recalls that the Convention allows protective legislation excluding women from certain types of employment when measures are intended to protect pregnancy and maternity and if they are sufficiently delimited. The Committee considers that the current wording of section 35 entails the risk that government decrees adopted under this provision would include unjustified restrictions going beyond the protection of the biological conditions of pregnancy and maternity. The Committee asks the Government to consider revising section 35 in light of the ILO resolution of 1985 on equality of opportunity between men and women, and ensure that any employment restrictions for women are strictly linked to the biological conditions of pregnancy and maternity.

4. Equality between men and women in the civil service. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Civil Service Council on employment in the public administration highlighting the low percentage of women employed as civil servants (28.8 per cent) and their under-representation in the highest category (7.2 per cent). With respect to employment in public institutions and municipalities covered by the Civil Service Council, women represent only 8 per cent and 29.8 per cent respectively of civil servants. Likewise, in the other categories of employment in the public administration, public institutions and municipalities, the percentage of women generally remains extremely low. The Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report the underlying causes for the low percentage of women employed in the civil service and the measures taken or envisaged to improve their access to a wider variety of posts, including in the highest categories of employment.

5. Access of women to employment in the private sector. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the participation rate of women is 25 per cent of the total number of women of working age, and 36 per cent for the age group of 18 to 35 years old. In addition, women are taking up leading administrative positions in large undertakings (17.1 per cent) and in small enterprises (8.3 per cent). The Government further indicates that, in spite of practical difficulties confronting women, such as reconciling work and family responsibilities, women have entered liberal professions and new specializations formerly restricted to men, such as engineering, medicine, accountancy and the business sector. The Committee welcomes these developments, but considers that overall women’s labour force participation remains low. The Committee, therefore, reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to increase women’s participation in non-traditional occupations and those offering better career opportunities, and to assist them in better reconciling their work and family responsibilities, and on the results achieved.

6. Discrimination on the basis of race, colour and national extraction. Further to its previous comments concerning the protection of non-Lebanese citizens against discrimination, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the jobs and occupations restricted only to Lebanese citizens. The Committee also notes that, in 2005, the Minister of Labour allowed, by virtue of Memorandum No. 67/1, Palestinian refugees, born in Lebanon and registered at the Directorate General of Political and Refugee Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, to practice clerical and administrative employment which had previously been restricted to Lebanese citizens. The Committee notes from recent research commissioned by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 2006 and 2007 that Palestinian refugees continue to face inequalities and prejudices with respect to access to employment and occupation. Palestinian women are even more disadvantaged than Palestinian men. For instance, while the unemployment rate of male Palestinian refugees is
9 per cent, women’s unemployment rate is as high as 26 per cent. The Committee is particularly concerned about the employment situation of Palestinian refugees and their vulnerability to discrimination in the labour market on the basis of race, colour or national extraction. The Committee, therefore, asks the Government to provide information in its next report on any research undertaken or envisaged to analyse the nature and extent of discriminatory employment practices against Palestinian men and women refugees; and on the measures taken to ensure effective protection of Palestinian refugees, and migrant workers in general, against discrimination in employment and occupation.

7. Migrant workers. Domestic workers. The Committee notes that the draft Labour Law continues to exclude “servants and whoever is in a similar standing performing house work and living in the homes of their employer” (section 5), an exclusion which in practice largely applies to women migrant domestic workers, as they have the contractual obligation to reside in the employer’s home. The Committee also notes from the Assessment on the migrant labour situation in Lebanon. The case of women migrant domestic workers (2007) that women migrant domestic workers are in a particularly vulnerable situation due to factors such as gender stereotyping, lack of protection by labour legislation, regulations that curtail their freedom of movement and human rights, and the obligation to live in the employer’s home which exposes them to potential exploitation and abuse. This contractual obligation appears to distinguish them from male migrant workers who are not subject to such an obligation. The Committee is concerned that this legal vacuum perpetuates potential discrimination of women migrant domestic workers on the basis of sex as well as other grounds such as race, colour or ethnic origin, contrary to the Convention. It notes, however, the Government’s commitment, expressed at a national awareness-raising workshop on migrant domestic workers held in November 2005 and during an ILO technical advisory mission on private employment agencies in April 2006, to improve the legal and policy framework for the protection of migrant domestic workers and develop a national action plan with components on capacity building and awareness raising on the relevant international labour standards applicable to them. The Committee further notes with interest the establishment in 2006 of a National Steering Committee (NSC) on migrant domestic workers which has set up three working groups respectively on: (1) labour laws; (2) a unified rights-based contract for migrant domestic workers; and (3) an information booklet on rights and obligations of employers and workers. The Committee notes that a comprehensive bill on migrant domestic workers is being prepared and that a preliminary draft of a unified contract for domestic workers has been developed. The Committee hopes that the draft legislation and unified contract will take into account the principles of the Convention and establish protection and standards concerning issues such as discrimination, wages, working hours, night work, leave and maternity leave, termination and dispute settlement. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the following: (1) progress made with respect to the adoption of the bill and the unified contract for migrant domestic workers; (2) the progress made in the adoption and implementation of a national action plan on domestic workers; and (3) any other action taken or envisaged to improve the employment status and the rights of migrant domestic workers and protect them against discrimination in employment.

8. Parts II and IV of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that no decisions have been handed down regarding employment discrimination. The Committee recalls the important role of the judiciary and of the labour inspectorate in enforcing the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. The Committee asks the Government to make an effort to collect and provide information on judicial and administrative decisions, as well as the activities of the labour inspectorate in its next report.