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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1960)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes from the national report on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration (Beijing+25) that: (1) between 2014 and 2019 measures were implemented to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace; and (2) there were 14 cases of sexual harassment that came before the Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD). It notes the concern of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) about the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly in the garment sector where the majority of workers are women belonging to marginalized groups. The CESCR also expressed concern at the low level of awareness of sexual and other forms of harassment and the low rate of reporting of harassment (E/C.12/BGR/CO/6, 29 March 2019, paragraph 23). The Committee encourages the Government to investigate the reasons for the low number of reports or complaints and take the necessary measures to address them. It also asks the Government to provide information on the specific measures implemented to prevent and address all forms of sexual harassment at the workplace, including in the garment sector, in collaboration with the workers’ organizations concerned.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment. Workers with disabilities. The Committee notes the concerns expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in its concluding observations, that: (1) there remains segregated education systems, and that children with disabilities are not allowed to enrol in mainstream schools; (2) the lack of data on the number of children and youth with disabilities not currently enrolled in any form of education; (3) despite the incentives offered to employers to hire persons with disabilities, such persons continue to face unemployment and discrimination in the employment sector; (4) the low level of awareness among employers about reasonable accommodation at the work place; and (5) the low transition rate of persons with disabilities from sheltered workplaces into the open labour market (CRPD/C/BGR/CO/1, 22 October 2018, paragraphs 49 and 57). In this regard, the Committee welcomes the indication from the Government in its report that, under the National Action Plan for Promoting the Equality between Women and Men for the period 2021-2022, key actions include encouraging employers to ensure equal access when hiring women and men with permanent disabilities in a regular, specialized and protected work environments; encouraging women entrepreneurs with permanent disabilities to actively participate in the program for starting an independent business activity; and stimulating the non-governmental sector to create conditions for social inclusion of people with disabilities. Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest the Persons with Disabilities Act, which entered into force in 2019. The Act aims at ensuring and promoting full and equal rights and freedoms for persons with disabilities and provides for employment quotas and accommodation of workplaces. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to promote:

• (i)equal access to education and training for children and youth with disabilities; and
• (ii)equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation for persons with disabilities, including in the framework of the Action Plan for Promoting the Equality between Women and Men for the period 2021-2022.

It further asks the Government to provide:

• (i)information on the application of the Persons with Disabilities Act in relation to employment and its impact on employment rates and conditions of persons with disabilities; and
• (ii)any data available about the participation of women and men, and boys and girls with disabilities in education, vocational training, employment and occupation.

Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Law on Equality of Women and Men which entered into force on April 26, 2016. In particular, it notes that: (1) section 6 establishes a National Council for the Equality of Women and Men which is responsible for proposing measures to promote the state policy in this regard; (2) in accordance with section 7, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, amongst other things, organizes a system for monitoring the equality of women and men; (3) sections 2 and 4 provide for various actions and approaches, including (a) a balanced representation of women and men in all decision-making bodies, (b) overcoming gender stereotypes, (c) integrating the principle of equality of women and men into legislation, policies, strategies, programs and plans and (4) the application of temporary incentive measures.

The Committee notes the concern expressed by the CESCR, in its concluding observations, about the persistent stereotypes about roles of men and women resulting in a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care work for women, which hinders their full participation in public life and in the labour market, as well as the horizontal and vertical occupational segregation between men and women. (E/C.12/BGR/CO/6, paragraphs 15 and 17). It further notes from the Main Labour Force Survey of the National Statistical Institute that in the second quarter of 2022, the employment rate was 59.7 per cent for men and 48.1 per cent for women. In that context, the Committee welcomes the National Strategy for Promoting the Equality of Women and Men for the period 2021-2030, adopted on December 30, 2020, and in particular the priority area on “Equality of women and men in the labour market and an equal degree of economic independence” alongside the six key actions to achieve progress in this area. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on practical measures taken to ensure equal access to opportunities for men and women in the labour market and in particular, measures taken to promote women’s access to gender atypical employment and occupations, including through awareness-raising campaigns addressing gender stereotypes and training opportunities. It also asks the Government to provide information on implementation, and monitoring of progress of the National Strategy for Promoting the Equality of Women and Men for the period 2021-2030, the National Action Plan for Promoting the Equality between Women and Men for the period 2021-2022, and the Law on Equality of Women and Men, and on the results achieved in relation to employment and occupation.

Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour, national extraction or religion. Roma people (and other ethnic, religious and linguistic minority groups). The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the National Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma (2021 - 2030) which highlights several urgent issues facing the Roma community including that: (1) the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the vulnerability of isolated and marginalized Roma communities; (2) the percentage of young Roma aged 16-24 who do not work, study or receive additional training as a main activity is 79 per cent for young Roma women and 52 per cent for young Roma men; (3) the share of Roma students attending schools with mixed ethnicities has almost halved; (4) the level of discrimination in the country is estimated at 26 per cent. The Committee notes from the Strategy the following priorities: (1) creating conditions for the implementation of integrated, inclusive and intercultural education; (2) equal access of the Roma to the labour market and an increase in employment of Roma men and women; (3) guaranteeing the rights of citizens and prevention and counteraction to intolerance and hate speech; and (4) monitoring through an annual report on progress. The Committee notes that the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and its consequences, on her visit to Bulgaria was alarmed that the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues and the National Statistical Institute does not collect data on school dropouts disaggregated by ethnicity, which would allow the specific needs of Roma communities to be extrapolated and that civil society reported a 65 per cent dropout rate for Roma girls between the sixth and eighth grades. She also noted that Roma women have a 42 percentage points lower employment rate than the total population (A/HRC/44/52/Add.1, 19 May 2020, paragraphs 52 and 61). The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken under the National Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma (2021 - 2030) and the results thereof, including information on specific steps taken towards overcoming the ethnic separation of children in education; reducing the high school drop-out rate, particularly of Roma girls; ensuring equal access of Roma men and women to the labour market; and forming a culture of equality for Roma women and encouraging their full participation in public life. It asks the Government to continue providing information on measures taken to promote equal access to employment and occupation of persons from other ethnic, religious and linguistic minority groups.

Article 5. Affirmative measures.The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application of section 24 of the Protection Against Discrimination Act, according to which employers must encourage persons belonging to under-represented sex or ethnic groups to apply for certain jobs or positions, or for vocational training and the results achieved, indicating the manner in which it is monitored and enforced.

Enforcement.Noting the information provided by the Government on discrimination cases dealt with by the courts,the Committee asks the Government to:

• (i)provide global statistical information on the number, nature (ground concerned) and outcome (sanctions and compensation) of cases dealt with by the CPD and the Courts; and
• (ii)any obstacles encountered by victims of discrimination to obtain redress.