Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Comoros (Ratification: 2004)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Workers of Comoros (CTC), received on 16 August 2016 and forwarded to the Government on 14 September 2016, stating that there is no wage scale in the private and parastatal sectors and that two different wage scales are implemented in a discriminatory manner in the public sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the issues raised by the CTC and hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments. The Committee notes however with regret that the Government’s report has not been received.

Repetition

Article 1 of the Convention. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Dismissal. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it undertakes to incorporate the ground of national extraction in the legal text implementing the Labour Code, which will deal with unlawful dismissal. While welcoming this commitment, the Committee requests the Government not to rule out the possibility, when the Labour Code is revised in future, of adding national extraction to the list of unlawful grounds of dismissal set forth in section 44 of the Labour Code in order to harmonize it with section 2 of the Labour Code prohibiting discrimination. The Government is also requested to provide information on any measures adopted to this end.

Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Public service. The Committee notes that section 5 of the Public Service Regulations, which provides for equal opportunities without any distinction made on the basis of gender, religion, origin, race, political opinion or social status, is only concerned with access to posts in the public sector and does not cover all the grounds listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to contemplate the possibility of amending the General Public Service Regulations in order to prohibit all discrimination on all the grounds listed by the Convention, including colour, social origin and national extraction, at all stages of employment and occupation within the meaning of the Convention, and not just at the stage of recruitment, and to provide information on the measures taken towards this end.

Sexual harassment. The Committee notes that the Government recalls the legislative framework applicable to sexual harassment in the workplace (sections 2(2) and 2(3) of the Labour Code and section 294 of the Penal Code). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which these provisions are applied in practice by labour inspectors or magistrates. Please indicate the number and nature of violations reported and detected, investigations conducted, prosecutions initiated, convictions and penalties imposed, and remedies provided, and provide copies of any judicial decisions. Please also provide information on the measures taken by employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace pursuant to section 2(2) of the Labour Code.

Article 1(1)(b). Discrimination on the basis of HIV status. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indications that a National Strategic Plan to Combat HIV/AIDS (2011–15), one of the objectives of which is to combat stigmatization and discrimination towards persons living with HIV, has been drawn up with ILO support and adopted by the Government. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to implement the National Strategic Plan and to combat discrimination on the basis of HIV/AIDS status, including measures to raise awareness of the relevant provisions of the Labour Code and training measures for workers, employers and their organizations, labour inspectors and controllers, and magistrates.

The Committee notes that section 2 of the Labour Code prohibits employers from taking into consideration real or perceived health status, particularly HIV/AIDS, when making decisions. The Committee requests the Government to contemplate the possibility of harmonizing the protection for public servants against discrimination, as established by the General Public Service Regulations (section 5), with that provided for private sector workers, by extending it to cover a person’s real or perceived state of health, including HIV/AIDS status.

Gender equality. Entitlement to leave. The Committee recalls that section 133 of the new Labour Code provides that, unless there are more favourable provisions in collective agreements, working mothers with children under 15 years of age acquire the right to leave paid by the employer, amounting to at least three calendar days of actual service per year (instead of two-and-a-half days). The Government indicates that it has noted the Committee’s request to extend section 133 to fathers with children under the age of 15. With a view to promoting equality between men and women workers with family responsibilities and the sharing of such responsibilities, the Committee once again requests the Government to envisage the possibility of extending this provision to working fathers of children under 15 years of age, so that such leave is granted to the men and women workers concerned on an equal footing.

Equality of opportunity and treatment. Public service. The Committee recalls the allegations made by the Confederation of Workers of Comoros (CTC) in 2013 to the effect that recruitment in the public service depends on how close the candidate is to persons in authority and on other considerations. The Government indicates in its report that Act No. 04-006/A.U of 10 November 2004 issuing the General Public Service Regulations provides for equality of opportunity. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured in practice that recruitment in the public service is not discriminatory.

Article 5. Special measures of protection. The Committee requests the Government to ensure, in the context of the preparation of regulations concerning work prohibited for women, that any provisions limiting the access of women to certain types of work are not based on stereotypes regarding their professional abilities and their role in society, and that they are strictly limited to maternity protection. The Government is also requested once again to provide information on the consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations on this matter and to provide any regulations as soon as they are adopted.

Enforcement. In its previous comment, the Committee noted the observations from the Confederation of Workers of Comoros (CTC) emphasizing the absence of any appropriate procedures for lodging a complaint in the event of discrimination in employment and occupation, both in the private and public sectors, and stating that the labour inspectorate and the courts had not dealt with any cases of discrimination. The Government indicates that only a few cases of dismissal involving discrimination have been referred to the labour inspectorate and recalls that any worker who suffers discrimination must first refer the case to the labour inspectorate, as such cases are only referred to the courts where attempts at conciliation between the parties are unsuccessful. Recalling that a low number or total absence of complaints or cases of discrimination may be due to a lack of awareness of rights, a lack of confidence in available legal remedies, a lack of remedies altogether or difficulties of access to them in practice, or even fear of reprisals, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that workers who consider themselves victims of discrimination are able to have recourse to appeal mechanisms and to assert their rights effectively. The Government is requested to provide information on the following:

• (i) the number and nature of cases of discrimination based on one or more of the grounds specified by the Convention which have been handled by the labour inspectorate and the courts, with an indication of the grounds invoked and the outcome of the proceedings and copies of judgments;
• (ii) any preventive action taken in this area by labour inspectors for workers, employers and their organizations.

Statistics. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the Directorate of Employment does not have up-to-date statistics, but that the opening of the “House of Employment” and the “1, 2, 3” survey conducted by the General Planning Commission should make it possible to provide the Committee with data on the situation of men and women engaged in the public and private sectors. The Committee trusts that the Government will soon be in a position to provide these data, which are indispensable for identifying any discrimination between men and women and assessing the impact of the measures taken to address it, and requests it to send this information as soon as it is available.