Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Netherlands (Ratification: 1973)

The Committee notes the observations by the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) and the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions (CNV) received on 31 August 2016.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. National equality policy. The Committee notes the Action Plan on Labour Market Discrimination in 2014, which was adopted following the advice provided by the Social and Economic Council “Discrimination doesn’t work!” (published in 2014). The Plan, which was updated in 2016, emphasizes the collective responsibility of government, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and other social actors, in addressing labour market discrimination. It includes generic measures to combat discrimination in five tracks (enforcement; reporting; knowledge and awareness; diversity policy; and research), and additional measures targeting specific groups. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on various measures taken to implement the Action Plan on Labour Market Discrimination, including: the Diversity Charter launched by the Labour Foundation in July 2015 to support employers and workers in the public and private sectors, and signed by more than 65 public and private companies; the labour anti-discrimination campaign in 2016 which focused on selection and recruitment, and which included a toolkit for employers; a Guide to improve public willingness to report on discrimination; the anti-discrimination team within the labour inspectorate; and a model agreement for hiring flexible labour, which includes a termination clause where a company receives a criminal conviction for employment-related discrimination. The Committee notes that while acknowledging that the Government has worked closely with the social partners to develop and support programmes to tackle discrimination in the labour market, the FNV and the CNV emphasize the need to demonstrate that the measures adopted meet their objective. Noting that progress reports on the implementation of the Action Plan on Labour Discrimination are being presented to Parliament at regular intervals, the Committee trusts that such reporting includes an evaluation as to whether the measures taken have produced effective results in achieving both formal and substantive equality in employment and occupation and in eliminating discrimination on the grounds listed in the Convention, and asks the Government to provide information in this regard.

Equality of opportunity and treatment of ethnic minorities in employment and occupation. The Committee recalls its previous comments in which it noted the high unemployment rates among “non-Western” persons with a migration background (persons of whom both parents were born outside the Netherlands) and the need to address discrimination against certain ethnic groups, particularly those of Moroccan and Turkish origin, with respect to access to the labour market. Measures were needed to address the unexplained difference in the unemployment rates between non-Western minorities and native Dutch, to set specific targets in the context of specific programmes aimed at eliminating discrimination on the basis of race, colour and national extraction, and to assess the effectiveness of these programmes. The Committee notes from the Annual Report on Integration 2016 (Statistics Netherlands) that one in three employed persons with a non-Western background work under flexible contracts compared to one in five native Dutch workers. While the unemployment rate among non-Western persons with a migration background, especially among Turkish and Moroccan women, declined in 2016 to 13.2 per cent (down from 16.5 per cent in 2014), it is higher among second generation migrants. Youth unemployment among persons with a non-Western background is particularly high (22 per cent compared to 9 per cent for native Dutch youngsters). Among the more highly educated with a non-Western background, unemployment rates are two or three times higher than educated native Dutch people. The Government has further provided data showing that non-Western persons with a migration background represented only 5 per cent of the employees in the public sector in 2015 (as compared to 8.5 per cent Western persons with a migration background and 86.5 per cent native Dutch). The Committee notes the observations by FNV and CNV that young persons of non-Dutch background, in particular of Moroccan, Turkish and Caribbean origin, still have difficulties in entering the labour market, and that discrimination in recruitment against people with a non-Dutch sounding last name continues to be a concern. In this regard, the Committee notes from the Government’s report and information published by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (the Institute, hereafter) the relatively high number of cases received by equality and human rights bodies concerned with discrimination based on race (which includes colour, and national and ethnic origin). In 2015, 43 per cent of the complaints received by the Anti-Discrimination Services (ADVs) concerned racial discrimination, and decisions by the Institute relating to such discrimination increased from 10 per cent in 2014 to 23 per cent in 2016.

With regard to specific measures taken to address discrimination against persons with a non-Western background, the Government indicates that the Action Plan on Labour Discrimination contains various measures that focus on specific groups, including non-Western migrants. Generic measures include the launching of the Diversity Charter, the anti-discrimination campaign and the improvement of reporting and registration of incidences of discrimination to the (ADVs) and the Institute. In addition, the “Inclusive Government” Programme aims to promote inclusive organizations particularly in the areas of youth, employment, education, health care, welfare and the judiciary. The Government further reports that addressing discrimination is an integral part of the strategy on youth unemployment that has a specific focus on persons with low qualifications or with a non-Western background. Policies will concentrate on career orientation, cooperation and the active involvement of employers, and 75 employers have signed a “work agreement” to this end. Regarding diversity policies in the public sector, the Government refers to the relevance of the “Inclusive Government” programme, the Diversity Charter, and research on, and the sharing of, good practices on cultural diversity. While welcoming the ongoing efforts taken by the Government to address discrimination in the labour market, the Committee notes the observations by FNV and CNV that the impact of the measures adopted remains unclear and that the Government should monitor whether targets are reached in practice. While welcoming the information provided by the Government on the measures adopted in the context of a generic approach towards discrimination, the Committee notes the scant information in the Government’s report on any specific measures taken to address discrimination on the basis of race, colour and national extraction against non-Western minorities, or on whether measures to promote their equality of opportunity and treatment in the labour market in practice have reached the expected results. In these circumstances and noting the rise in cases of racial discrimination reported to the Institute and the ADVs and the observations communicated by the FNV and the CNV, the Committee asks the Government to evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes to eliminate discrimination and promote equal opportunity in training, skill development and employment of ethnic minorities, in particular of non-Western persons with a migration background, and to provide detailed information in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to assess the root causes of systemic and structural discrimination against minority groups, and to report on the measures taken and the results achieved to address the unexplained difference in employment between native Dutch and non-Western minorities, in particular men and women of Moroccan and Turkish origin.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly by the Government.