Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Benin (Ratification: 1961)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Legislation. The Labour Code of 1998 prohibits employers from taking into account the sex, age, race, ethnic links, family relationships, social origin, membership or not of a trade union, trade union activity, the origin or opinions, particularly religious and political views, of a worker (sections 4 and 5). The Committee recalls that when provisions are adopted to give effect to the principles of the Convention, they should include all the grounds set out in the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to include colour and national extraction in the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. In the context of a possible review of the provisions of the Labour Code on non-discrimination, it also invites the Government to envisage reinforcing the protection of workers against discrimination through the inclusion of a definition of direct and indirect discrimination and its explicit prohibition.

Article 1. Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. In its previous comment, the Committee emphasized that Act No. 2006-19 of 5 September 2006 to repress sexual harassment did not contain provisions on hostile environment sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that provisions will be adopted with a view to the inclusion of this aspect in the Act. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to report progress in this respect in the near future and requests it to provide information on the following points:

(i)    the measures taken to include in the law provisions on hostile environment sexual harassment;

(ii)   the provisions on sexual harassment contained in the draft Penal Code;

(iii)  the awareness-raising activities undertaken with employers to encourage them to take measures to prevent harassment under section 11 of the Labour Code; and

(iv)  the manner in which any cases of sexual harassment which come to the attention of the competent authorities are treated.

Article 2. National equality policy. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the development of a national equality policy will be included in the workplan of the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service for 2010. The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the content of the national equality policy should be inspired by the principles of the Convention. It is important that this policy is not only intended to promote equality of opportunity and treatment through the elimination of all distinctions, exclusions or preferences in law and practice, but also to remedy de facto inequalities suffered by certain categories of the population, and that it covers all the grounds of discrimination enumerated, and all stages of employment and occupation, including access to land, credit and the goods and services necessary for carrying on the occupation in question (see the General Survey on equality in employment and occupation, 1988, paragraphs 162–165 and 90). The Committee also invites the Government to refer to Paragraphs 2–9 of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Recommendation, 1958 (No. 111), which provides indications on the principles that should be taken into account in the national equality policy. With reference to the comments that it has been making for several years in this respect, the Committee trusts that the Government will be able to refer in its next report to significant progress in relation to the formulation and implementation of a national equality policy, both with regard to formal and informal employment since, according to the study on inequalities between men and women (March 2007), informal employment is reported to represent 97.4 per cent of private employment in Benin. Furthermore, noting the 2009 study on discrimination in employment and occupation in Benin by the project to support the implementation of the ILO Declaration (PAMODEC) and, in particular, the proposed national plan to combat discrimination at the workplace, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effect given to the measures recommended in this context.

Article 3(a). Measures to promote the principle of equality between men and women. The Committee notes that the priority projects under the Five-Year Plan on Gender in Private Workplaces (2006–11) include awareness raising for the staff of the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service and the social partners in relation to the “gender approach”, and the dissemination of legal texts on equality in employment and occupation between men and women in relation to employers and workers in the formal and informal economies. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the following points:

(i)    the concrete measures taken to raise awareness of the labour administration and workers’ and employers’ organizations concerning the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women and to combat sexist stereotypes in relation to the skills and capacities of women;

(ii)   the concrete measures taken to help employers and workers gain a better knowledge of their rights and obligations in this respect, pursuant to the applicable law; and

(iii)  details of the implementation of these measures, particularly with regard to informal employment.

Article 3(d). Public service. The Committee notes that public servants are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code and that the general conditions of service of permanent State officials do not contain provisions explicitly prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds other than sex enumerated in the Convention. The Committee also notes, from the information provided by the Government in its report on the application of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), that a national strategy respecting recruitment in the public service and a five-year plan of action will be included in the workplan of the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service for 2010. The Committee hopes that the recruitment strategy and the plan of action will provide a basis for ensuring effective protection against discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, colour, social origin, religion, political opinion and national extraction at all stages of employment and for promoting real equality of opportunity and treatment between all officials and applicants for positions in the public service. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures adopted in this framework, the results achieved and any obstacles encountered. The Government is also requested to provide statistics disaggregated by sex on the staff of the public service, by grade and level of responsibility.

Article 3(e). Access to education and vocational training. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, certain measures have been implemented that are contained in the Five-Year Strategy and Plan of Action on Gender in Private Workplaces in Benin, such as free pre-school and primary education, awareness-raising campaigns to promote school attendance by girls and to encourage them to opt for training leading to trades traditionally selected by men. However, it notes the finding by the study on inequalities between men and women referred to above that the educational level of girls and women remains fairly low and that in 2002 women accounted for only 20 per cent of employees in the private sector with higher education. Furthermore, according to the same publication, the proportion of women who received training through the Development Fund for Further Training and Apprenticeship was also very low in 2005 (7.6 per cent for the formal economy, and between 23 and 28 per cent for agriculture, apprenticeship and informal non-agricultural activities). Welcoming the measures adopted to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for women and girls, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to promote the enrolment of young girls in schools at all levels. It requests it to provide information on the concrete measures adopted for the development of vocational training and guidance for women so as to enable them to gain access to a broader range of jobs and better paid employment. The Government is also requested to provide information, including statistical data, on the results achieved in terms of the enrolment in school and access to vocational training of young girls and women.

Article 5. Special protective measures. Further to its previous comments in which it invited the Government to take the necessary measures with the collaboration of the social partners to review the provisions of section 10(d), Part II, of the Decree of 1998 and sections 5–7 of Ministerial Decree No. 132/MFPTRA/MSP/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 2000 to limit protective measures concerning women strictly to those intended to protect maternity, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that Order No. 132 will be examined in 2010 by the National Labour Council and that measures will be taken in relation to the 1998 Decree. The Committee recalls the importance of ensuring that women are not subject to discrimination in access to certain occupations and of combating stereotyped conceptions of the skills of women and their role in society with a view to implementing the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women, in accordance with the Convention. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures in the near future to revise the above provisions and to ensure that protective measures concerning women are strictly limited to maternity protection. Please provide information on any measure adopted in this respect.

Enforcement. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to raise awareness and train labour inspectors and judges in matters relating to discrimination at the workplace and equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, as well as on the cases identified by or reported to labour inspectors and on any court decisions handed down in this respect.