Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Protection of workers against discrimination. For many years the Committee has been asking the Government, as part of the reform of the Labour Code, to introduce a definition and a general prohibition of direct and indirect discrimination based on the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, in all aspects of employment and occupation. The Labour Code currently in force only covers discrimination between men and women in certain aspects of employment (section 26) and does not provide effective protection against all forms of sexual harassment (quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment). The only section of the Code that could be applied in cases of sexual harassment is a provision which authorizes employees to leave their jobs without notice when “the employer or his representative is guilty of molestation of the worker” (section 75(3)). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that its comments on sexual harassment will be forwarded to the commission responsible for reviewing the legislation and working methods. The Committee recalls that the implementation of a genuine national equality policy aimed at eliminating any discrimination in employment and occupation presupposes the adoption of a range of specific measures, which often consist of a combination of legislative and administrative measures, collective agreements, public policies, affirmative action measures, dispute resolution and enforcement mechanisms, specialized bodies, practical programmes and awareness raising (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 848). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the future Labour Code contains provisions defining and prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of at least all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention in all aspects of employment and occupation, and also all forms of sexual harassment. The Government is requested to provide detailed information on any progress made with a view to adopting the Labour Code. The Committee also requests the Government to adopt specific measures to ensure in practice the protection of workers against discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin, and against sexual harassment in employment and occupation, including measures to raise awareness of these issues among workers, employers and their respective organizations, and also measures for training labour inspectors and strengthening their action in this respect.

Foreign domestic workers. Multiple discrimination. For a number of years the Committee has been following the measures taken by the Government to address the lack of legal protection for domestic workers, most of whom are female migrants, since these workers are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code and are particularly vulnerable to discrimination on the basis of sex and other grounds such as race, colour or ethnic origin. The Committee notes that a Practical Guide on the Rights and Duties of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon was published in 2012 by the Ministry of Labour, in collaboration with the ILO, and that it can be accessed on the Internet. However, referring to its last observation under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), the Committee notes that the situation of female migrant domestic workers, as described by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), is particularly difficult, especially because they are tied to a particular employer under the sponsorship system, which places them in a situation of increased vulnerability. The Committee also notes the study on access to the justice system for migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, which was conducted jointly by the ILO and the Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre in 2014. The study concludes that bringing domestic workers under the coverage of the labour legislation is essential in order to eliminate the “grey areas” in which numerous violations of their rights remain unpunished and in order to provide magistrates with a complete legal framework. One of the study’s recommendations is to improve the legislation and legal protection for migrant domestic workers, to reinforce the capacity of key players, including workers’ organizations, and to develop preventive mechanisms. The Committee notes that the Government refers in its report to the existence of a bill concerning the employment of domestic workers, as it has been doing for some time, without specifying its current content or the time frame for examination and adoption thereof. The Committee would emphasize once again that the bill provides an opportunity to make effective improvements to the protection of migrant domestic workers against any form of discrimination on the grounds specified in the Convention, including sexual harassment, and to regulate their working conditions by means of specific legislation establishing their rights and duties and also those of their employers. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, in collaboration with the social partners, to provide genuine protection in law and in practice for migrant domestic workers against direct and indirect discrimination based on all the grounds set out in the Convention in all aspects of their employment. The Committee also requests the Government to take steps to ensure that the bill concerning the employment of domestic workers is adopted in the near future and to supply information on all progress made in this respect.

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

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.