Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Italy (Ratification: 1963)

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:

1. The Committee notes with interest the information supplied by the Government in its reports (which were received in June and November 1989) in reply to the Committee's previous comments. It has also examined the report of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance for 1986, which was supplied by the Government, and which deals with the situation regarding the implementation of Act No. 903 of 9 December 1977 respecting equality of treatment between men and women in employment.

2. The Committee notes from this report that the participation of women in the employment market continued to increase during the period under consideration, but that most of them are employed in jobs in the tertiary and service sectors and that their participation rate in jobs in the industrial and agricultural sectors has remained stable or has decreased. The report also shows that there has been an increase in the unemployment rate which has particularly affected women workers due to the technological changes that have occurred in certain sectors, and which has reduced the opportunities for women to find jobs in these sectors. The report indicates in this connection that the situation is more serious in the southern regions of the country where the number of women in employment was 1,801,000 in 1986 as against 5,102,000 in the north. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to make efforts to promote the principle of equality of opportunity and encourage the access of women to the employment market, particularly through a system of vocational guidance and training that is adapted to the new technologies. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on any progress achieved in this area and particularly on the implementation of the planned reform of the present system, to which the Government refers in its reports on the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142). The Committee also requests the Government to continue supplying information on the implementation of Act No. 903 of 1987 and to supply, as soon as possible, the reports of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance for 1987 and 1988.

3. The Committee also notes with interest the new legislative measures taken during the period covered by the report and the restructuring of the two national committees on equality of opportunity for men and women, operating respectively under the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Prime Minister's Office. The Committee notes with interest the activities of these committees to encourage the effective promotion of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women, particularly as regards employment, and hopes that the Government will continue to supply information on any new measure that is taken by these committees and the results obtained.

4. The Government also indicates that draft legislation providing for positive measures to achieve equality between men and women is in the process of being adopted and that this legislation will combine the opinions of various political tendencies for the effective promotion of employment for women and the elimination of all discriminatory practices. The Committee hopes that this draft legislation can be adopted in the near future and that the Government will supply a copy of the final version when it is adopted.

5. The Committee notes the Government's explanations concerning the requirement of an absence of any criminal convictions for applicants to the public service and the case law on this point and it hopes that the Government will be able to supply copies of judicial decisions, where appropriate, which establish this case law.