Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Malawi (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government's report and the attached documentation.

1. The Committee thanks the Government for supplying a copy of the draft Employment Act. It notes with interest that section 4 of the draft would prohibit discrimination on, inter alia, all the grounds listed in Article 1(a) of the Convention, and that section 5 requires the payment of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee draws the Government's attention to sections 21 and 22 of the draft Employment Act concerning night work and underground work for women workers and invites it to review these provisions of the draft, in consultation with the social partners and women workers, to determine whether it is still necessary to prohibit their access to certain occupations in light of the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89 concerning night work for women, 1948, Convention No. 171 on night work, 1990, Convention No. 176 on safety and health in mines, 1995, and its accompanying Recommendation, and the provisions of the 1985 ILO resolution on equal opportunities between men and women in employment and occupation, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful to receive a copy of the draft Act when adopted. The Committee also understands that the Law Reform Commissioner has undertaken a review of legislation that discriminates against women and has proposed legislation to bring the law into compliance with the constitutional standards. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide, in its next report, detailed information on the above initiative, particularly as it relates to equality in employment and occupation and training institutions.

2. With regard to the national machinery to promote the advancement of women, the Committee notes that a Ministry for Women, Youth and Social Services has been established within the Government, as stated by the Government in one of its earlier reports. The Committee would be grateful if, in its next report, the Government would provide details on the mandates, plans of action and activities of the Ministry and the National Commission on Women in Development (NCWID), and if it would continue to supply information on other organizations, such as the National Association of Business Women (NABW) in relation to the application of the Convention and the constitutional provisions on gender equality.

3. Concerning measures to combat discrimination in employment and occupation, the Committee notes from the Government's report that it encourages employers not to discriminate in their recruitment and selection activities. The Committee requests the Government to provide further details on the nature and the scope of these measures and the results achieved.

4. As for equal access for men and women to training institutions, the Committee notes from the report that educational qualifications are considered the guiding criterion when selecting candidates for admission. While no direct discrimination may exist in terms of access to training institutions, women may be inappropriately equipped in terms of general or vocational education as compared to men. In this regard, the Committee refers to the information provided in the NABW report, attached to the Government's report, that 71 per cent of women are illiterate. Within the terms of the Convention, access to training, including the elimination of illiteracy, should be promoted without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, national extraction, political opinion, religion or social origin. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report in the form of statistics or otherwise on measures taken to narrow the gap between education attainment levels of boys and girls, and to enhance women's participation in training institutions through, for example, adult literacy programmes and out-of-school education for women, flexible training schedules or general awareness-raising campaigns to increase girls' education and training.

5. With regard to the training of women for trades traditionally selected by men and their participation in training and retraining abroad, the Committee reminds the Government of its intention to provide in the near future the relevant data once these have been collected and published by the National Statistical Office. The Committee recalls that labour statistics are an invaluable tool to monitor effectively the national policy in place to eliminate discrimination and promote equal opportunity and treatment.

6. In reply to its request for recent data on women's participation in the civil service, the Committee notes the tables transmitted by the Government on the percentage distribution of civil servants by grade, sex and level of education. It also notes the policy of the Government to recruit more women for posts of responsibility in the public service. In the absence of a legend clarifying the attached statistical tables, the Committee understands that the grades S8/P8-S6/P6 and above refer to senior positions and notes the progress made in the percentage of women occupying these positions as compared to 1993. However, the tables show that in general the total proportion of women in the civil service is still very low (25 per cent) as compared to their male counterparts (75 per cent) and that women make up less than 5 per cent in the highest administrative position. It therefore requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the progress made in this regard and to indicate whether programmes designed to promote further employment of women in the civil service have been envisaged or implemented and whether concrete results have been obtained in this direction.