Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1984)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

I. With reference to Parts I and II of its previous comments, the Committee would recall that, as the Government has stated its intention to apply the Convention by stages, it is required, by virtue of Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Convention, to state in each report the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given to the various articles of the Convention. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the following Articles, which were not covered in the last report.

Article 3. The Committee notes the creation of the Ministry of Family Welfare and requests the Government to provide information on any further measures taken to enable persons with family responsibilities who are engaged, or wish to engage in employment, to exercise their right to do so without being subject to discrimination and, to the extent possible, without conflict between their employment and family responsibilities.

Article 11. Please indicate in what manner employers' and workers' organisations participate in devising and applying measures designed to give effect to the Convention.

II. With respect to the replies made by the Government to the Committee's previous comments concerning measures already taken to give effect to certain provisions of the Convention, the Committee would like to draw attention to the following points:

Article 4(b). 1. The Committee takes due note of the Government's statement that the term "father head of family" ("padres de familia") used in section 18 of the Federal Labour Act applies equally to men and women who are "heads of family" and this is reflected in the standards used by the Central Office of Statistics to classify heads of family.

2. The Committee notes that the collective agreements annexed to the report of the Government do not provide for special conditions of employment or social security measures to take account of the needs of workers with family responsibilities (with the exception of the measures referred to in point 3 below). Paragraphs 18 to 23 of Recommendation No. 165 give examples of special working conditions and conditions of employment and paragraphs 27 to 29 refer to measures in the field of social security. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to take all measures compatible with national conditions and possibilities, for example in respect of workers in jobs subject to its control, to progressively apply this provision of the Convention and that the next report will indicate the progress made in this regard.

3. The Committee notes that the collective agreements supplied by the Government contain provisions providing post-maternity leave only for the mother of the child ("trabajadoras"). The Committee would point out, however, that all measures applying the Convention should apply equally to men and women having family responsibilities. It would be grateful if the Government would indicate in its next report the measures taken to provide men workers with family responsibilities an opportunity with parental leave equal to that of women workers.

Article 5. The Committee notes the information supplied concerning the progressive establishment of day care centres by the Minister of Family Welfare. The Committee requests the Government to state in its next report the progress made in this regard, indicating in particular the number and nature of community child-care, as well as family services and facilities.

Article 6. The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report concerning a programme providing information to women workers. The Committee would recall that the measures provided for by this Article aim at promoting information and education to the general public in order to engender broader public understanding of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers on the one hand and the problems of workers with family responsibilities on the other. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to inform and educate the general public in this regard. In particular, have steps been taken or envisaged to give publicity to the provisions of the Convention and of Recommendation No. 165?

Article 7. The Committee notes the statistics supplied with the Government's report. It requests the Government to indicate the measures taken, in particular in the field of vocational training and vocational guidance, to enable workers with family responsibilities to become and remain integrated in the labour force.