Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Chad (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain a reply to its previous comments. The Committee notes nevertheless that a new Labour Code is currently being drafted and hopes that it will soon be adopted.

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Grounds of discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to ensure that the new Labour Code specifically bans any direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of at least all the grounds of discrimination listed in the Convention, that is race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin. Hoping that the new Labour Code will be adopted in the near future, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the status of the adoption of the text and to provide a copy once it has been adopted.

Discrimination on the basis of sex. Occupational segregation. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) stated its concern about the persistence of patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes concerning women’s roles and responsibilities that discriminate against women and perpetuate their subordination within the family and society (CEDAW/C/TCD/CO/1-4, 4 November 2011, paragraph 20). The Committee considers that such stereotypes, based on traditional assumptions concerning gender roles in the labour market and in society, including those relating to family responsibilities, channel women and men into different education and training and subsequently into different jobs and career tracks, resulting in labour market inequalities, particularly with respect to remuneration and career development (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 713). For a number of years, the Committee has been stating that section 9 of Ordinance No. 006/PR/84 of April 1984 on the status of shopkeepers, which entitles a husband to object to his spouse’s activities, is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention, and has been asking the Government to take the necessary steps to repeal this provision. The Committee notes that CEDAW also recommended that the Government review the relevant labour-related legislation with a view to repealing all provisions discriminating against women, in particular Ordinance No. 006/PR/84 (CEDAW/C/TCD/CO/1-4, paragraph 32). In the absence of a reply from the Government on this point, the Committee is bound to repeat its request and consequently urges the Government to take the necessary steps to repeal any legislative provisions resulting in discrimination against women in employment and occupation, particularly section 9 of the 1984 Ordinance, and to adopt specific measures to combat stereotypes and prejudices on the respective roles of women and men in society with a view to removing obstacles to women’s employment.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.