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

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - San Marino (Ratification: 1988)

Article 2 of the Convention. Branches of economic activity and categories of workers. Scope. Legislation. The Committee recalls that section 5 of Act No. 40 of 1981 excludes domestic workers from the coverage of the provisions concerning maternity and parental leave. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that a major legal reform concerning the labour market is ongoing and, in this context, the issue of domestic workers and “caregivers” will be addressed. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the results of the labour law reform with regard to the extension of the protection of the Convention to all categories of workers and all branches of economic activity. It also asks the Government to specify how it is ensured that, pending the legal reform, domestic workers enjoy the right to maternity and parental leave.

Article 4(b). Measures to promote effective equality of opportunity and treatment for workers with family responsibilities. Leave. The Committee notes from the information provided by the Government that in 2020 and in 2021 only a small number of men (26 and 25 respectively) made use of parental leave. The Government reports that, according to the organizations of workers, cultural reasons explain why mainly women resort to the measures introduced to help reconcile professional and family life. The Committee notes the adoption on 14 September 2022 of Law No. 129 regulating “interventions in support of family”. The Committee notes with interest that Law No. 129 of 2022: (1) introduces paternity leave (fully paid leave for a maximum of 10 days within the first five months of life of the child); (2) provides for the father’s right to take 2-month unpaid leave during the first three years of life of the child or a leave of the same duration with 20 per cent of the remuneration if none of the parents made use of the full parental leave during first 18 months of life of the child; and (3) increases from 30 to 40 per cent of the remuneration the amount to be paid to the worker who take parental leave within the child’s first year of life. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to raise awareness of the measures introduced by Law No. 129 of 2022 and to promote the uptake of paternity and parental leave by fathers with a view to a more equitable sharing of family responsibilities between men and women. It also asks the Government to continue to provide information, disaggregated by sex, on the number of workers who make use of the leave entitlements both in the public and private sectors.

Article 6. Promotion of public understanding of the principle of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Equal Opportunity Commission and the local authorities undertake initiatives to inform about, promote and support equality of treatment and opportunity for men and women with family responsibilities. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on the steps taken in this regard by the Equal Opportunity Commission and the local authorities and to raise awareness of the specific difficulties faced by these workers.

Article 7. Vocational guidance and training. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that information specifically concerning participants with family responsibilities in training to integrate the labour market are not available. The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to Decree No. 79/2022 on “interventions for employment, training and active policies of the world of work” which provides for incentives aimed at job reintegration and professional reconversion; post-partum part-time arrangements; and reconciliation of professional and family life, among other things. The Committee welcomes in particular that section 8 of the Decree provides for a “relief from social security contributions” (sgravio contributivo) of 80 per cent in case of part-time recruitment under a permanent contract of jobseekers who have been unemployed for at least two months, who do not have another part-time job and who are either parents of a child attending kindergarten or primary school or are caretakers of a dependent family member. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken under Decree No. 79/2022 to support men and women workers with family responsibilities to become and remain integrated in the labour force, as well as to re-enter the labour force after an absence due to those responsibilities, including any specific training offer tailored to them, and their impact on the employment of workers with family responsibilities.