Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Croatia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not contain any information in reply to its previous comments. However, the Committee is aware of new information and developments that are relevant to the implementation of the Convention, including the amendments of the new Labour Act of 18 July 2014 and the Act on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2013.

Article 1(1)(a) and (b) of the Convention. Application in practice. The Committee recalls that the Ombudsperson is the central anti-discrimination authority. As the National Equality Body, the Ombudsperson is responsible for promoting equality and reporting to the Parliament on the basis of the following grounds stated in the Anti-discrimination Act: race or ethnic affiliation or colour, gender, language, religion, political or other belief, national or social origin, property, trade union membership, education, social status, marital or family status, age, health condition, disability, genetic heritage, native identity, expression or sexual orientation. The Ombudsperson has the authority to receive discrimination complaints based on these discrimination grounds, except where they are covered by a specific Ombudsperson, such as gender, marital or family status, gender identity and expression and sexual orientation (this is the responsibility of the Ombudsperson for gender equality), disability (this is the responsibility of the Ombudsperson for persons with disabilities) or handling complaints that concern discrimination against children (this is the responsibility of the Ombudsperson for children). The Committee notes that according to the Annual Report of the Ombudsperson for 2017, for cases opened each year from 2015 to 2017, discrimination cases have been among the top three subjects, with 277 discrimination cases opened in 2017 (10.9 per cent of all cases). In 2017, the Ombudsperson acted upon 527 complaints related to discrimination (the 277 new ones in addition to 250 cases opened in previous years). According to the report, over the last few years, approximately a third of all discrimination complaints were linked to labour and employment. In 2017 that figure rose to 40.8 per cent. Seventeen per cent of the complainants indicated that race, ethnicity or colour, as well as national descent, remained the leading reasons for discrimination. The Office of the Ombudsperson also received complaints about discriminatory acts based on religion (6.1 per cent), social status (5.4 per cent) and education (5.4 per cent). A considerable number of complaints of gender-based discrimination were forwarded to the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality. In 2017, 70 complaints related to labour and 43 to employment were filed with the Office of the Ombudsperson; 69 and 26 with the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality; and ten and two with the Ombudsperson for persons with disabilities. According to the Annual report of the Ombudsperson, figures by trade unions and a non-governmental organization indicate that the main grounds of discrimination by employers were age, health, trade union membership and political opinion.

The Committee welcomes the “Diversity Charter Croatia” with 34 Croatian companies or organizations signing the Charter and pledging to implement policies of diversity and non-discrimination. The Committee notes the Ombudsperson’s recommendations, including that the Croatian Employment Service continue training stakeholders, particularly employers, on discrimination in the workplace and employment procedures; that trade unions train union commissioners on the application of Croatian and European anti-discrimination law in the field of labour and employment; and that the Croatian Employers’ Association conduct regular workshops, as part of training provided to its members, on the application of Croatian and European anti-discrimination law.Once again, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures adopted or envisaged to implement the relevant anti-discrimination provisions of the Labour Act, the Anti-Discrimination Act and the Gender Equality Act with regard to equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the manner in which the provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act concerning the most serious forms of discrimination, including multiple discrimination, are being applied in practice. The Government is asked to provide information on any cases of discrimination with respect to all the grounds prohibited by the anti-discrimination legislation dealt with by the Ombudsperson, the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, the Ombudsperson for persons with disabilities or the courts, including the number, nature and outcome of those cases.

Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee recalls that both the Anti-Discrimination Act and the Gender Equality Act contain provisions prohibiting sexual harassment.In the absence of any information in the Government’s report on this issue, the Committee asks the Government once again to identify any steps taken to address sexual harassment at work in practice, including the possible issuance of a code of conduct, and any awareness-raising activities, and to provide information regarding any cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations in this regard. It also asks the Government to provide information on the number of sexual harassment cases that have been received by the Ombudsperson, the Office for Gender Equality or the courts, as well as the sanctions imposed and remedies provided.

Discrimination based on race, colour and national extraction. General observation of 2018. The Committee notes that in the Annual Report of the Ombudsperson for 2017, race, ethnicity or colour remained the leading reasons for discrimination. Regarding these issues and more generally, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to its general observation on discrimination based on race, colour and national extraction which was adopted in 2018. In the general observation, the Committee notes with concern that discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes based on the race, colour or national extraction of men and women workers continue to hinder their participation in education, vocational training programmes and access to a wider range of employment opportunities, resulting in persisting occupational segregation and lower remuneration received for work of equal value. Furthermore, the Committee considers that it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tackling the obstacles and barriers faced by persons in employment and occupation because of their race, colour or national extraction, and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for all. Such an approach should include the adoption of interlocking measures aimed at addressing gaps in education, training and skills, providing unbiased vocational guidance, recognizing and validating the qualifications obtained abroad, and valuing and recognizing traditional knowledge and skills that may be relevant both to accessing and advancing in employment and to engaging in an occupation. The Committee also recalls that, in order to be effective, these measures must include concrete steps, such as laws, policies, programmes, mechanisms and participatory processes, remedies designed to address prejudices and stereotypes and to promote mutual understanding and tolerance among all sections of the population.

The Committee draws the Government’s attention to its general observation of 2018 and requests the Government to provide information in response to the questions raised in that observation.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that according to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the majority of persons with disabilities are either unemployed or have low-income employment. It also notes its recommendations to strengthen the development and empowerment of women with disabilities in employment with sufficient budget resources and clear timelines; to develop awareness-raising campaigns; to develop and implement a plan of action to increase the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market; to complement the quota system with other incentives for employers and to analyse and remedy disincentives to employment of persons with disabilities; to regulate and monitor reasonable accommodation, including supported employment with personal assistance, and the accessibility of the workplace, and to review systematically and reform the data collection system as it pertains to persons with disabilities, including by collecting data and statistics on the situation of women and girls with disabilities (CRPD/C/HRV/CO/1, 15 May 2015, paragraphs 10, 14, 41, 42 and 50). The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Act on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2013 (as amended) as well as the National Strategy of Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 2017–20. According to the Government, the Act provides a unified framework that ensures equal standards, measures and methodology of carrying out vocational rehabilitation – and its implementing measures such as the Ordinance on establishing an employment quota of persons with disabilities and the Ordinance on incentives for employment of persons with disabilities. If candidates have the same results in pre-employment screening and testing, public sector employers must give priority to persons with disabilities. A quota of 3 per cent of employees with disabilities is set for workplaces with at least 20 employees in both the public and private sectors. Employers who do not fulfil the quota have to pay, monthly, a fine equivalent to 30 per cent of the minimum wage that would have been paid to disabled workers had they met their quota (with the fines used exclusively to provide incentives and rewards for employment of persons with disabilities). However, the Committee notes that employers can fulfil their quota obligations using “alternative measures” such as accepting persons with disabilities for practical, rehabilitation or occupational training; providing scholarships for their regular education; or concluding business agreements with integrative and protective workshops. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that new vocational rehabilitation centres were established in 2015 to assess the working capabilities of persons with disabilities and to offer them vocational training and provide employers with professional assistance in the employment of persons with disabilities. In 2017, the organizational and technical capacities of four of these centres were further improved. According to the Government, the employment of persons with disabilities in the last ten years has constantly improved, increasing by 28.8 per cent in the years 2015 to 2017. Finally, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that employers who recruit persons with disabilities – and persons with disabilities who are self-employed – can benefit from several incentives provided by the Institute for Disability Certification, Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities such as: (a) wage subsidies; (b) co financing of expenses for workplace (architectural) or working conditions (technical) adaptation, education and expert support; (c) co-financing of interest on loans to buy specific equipment needed for the employment of disabled persons; and (d) special funds for innovative programmes for employment or job creation and maintaining employment in integrative and sheltered workshops.The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures adopted to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities and the impact of such measures over time, such as, for example, statistics showing the composition of workforce or quantitative workplace monitoring, complaints data, research, etc. The Government is also asked to provide statistics on the number of employers who fulfil their quota obligations by employing persons with disabilities, those who use alternative measures to fulfil their obligations and the fines applied to defaulting employers as well as information on the results achieved under the National Strategy of Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 2017–20.

Article 2. National equality policy. The Committee reiterates its request for information on the status and the content of the draft National Strategy for the Suppression of all Forms of Discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, which was previously mentioned by the Government.

Article 3(a). Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee recalls that the Anti-Discrimination Act provides for consultation by the Ombudsperson with the social partners when preparing regular reports and issuing opinions and recommendations (section 15(1)). It notes that the Annual Report of the Ombudsperson for 2017 does not make reference to such consultations.The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on any consultation exercises held pursuant to the Anti-Discrimination Act and information on the issues addressed. The Government is asked to identify any additional cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations as regards discrimination in employment and occupation, including any training undertaken or envisaged among workers and employers, and their organizations on the anti-discrimination provisions.