Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Azerbaijan (Ratification: 1992)

Sexual harassment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation and enforcement of the provisions prohibiting sexual harassment at work contained, respectively, in the Labour Code, the Criminal Code and the Act on ensuring Gender Equality. In this regard, the Government is requested to provide information on any measures taken by parties to collective agreements with a view to preventing sexual harassment at work, as required by section 31 of the Labour Code and any educational or awareness‑raising measures undertaken by the Government as a means of preventing sexual harassment at work. Please also indicate whether any cases concerning sexual harassment at work have been dealt with by the competent authorities, and the results thereof.

Protective measures. The Committee stresses that the examination of the national legislation as envisaged under the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) should include a review of the list of hazardous workplaces and occupations which are prohibited for women by virtue of Decision No. 170 of 20 October 1999 in relation to section 241 of the Labour Code. As indicated by the Committee, this list appears to be very extensive. It is thus necessary to examine, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations the reasons for these restrictions in order to ensure that they do not go beyond what is necessary to protect women’s reproductive functions and that they are not based on stereotyped assumptions. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any progress made in the re-examination of Decision No. 170 of 20 October 1999.

Ethnic minorities. The Committee recalls the concerns it has expressed in its previous comments concerning discrimination faced by members of ethnic minorities in the fields of employment and education. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government has provided very little information in reply to the Committee’s specific requests. However, the Committee notes the statistical information on the economic activity of the different ethnic groups based on the 1999 census contained in the Government’s second report under the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe (ACFC/SR/II(2007) 001 of 10 January 2007). According to this data, the employment rate for the population was 83.7 per cent. While it was 80 per cent for Russians and 84 per cent for Armenians, it was lowest for Udins (68.1 per cent), Kurds (74.5 per cent) and Tatars (79.5 per cent). The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report detailed and updated information on the position of the different ethnic groups in the labour market (private and public sectors), including unemployment and employment rates, disaggregated by sex. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment of members of the different ethnic minorities, especially those which are particularly disadvantaged in respect of access to employment. In this regard, the Committee asks the Government to indicate how this issue is being addressed under the employment strategy.

Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee recalls that cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations is crucial with a view to making progress in the realization of the Convention’s objectives. It therefore requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to seek the cooperation of employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to promoting the acceptance and observance of the principle of the Convention, including in the context of the implementation of the current DWCP.