Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Norway (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending 30 June 1992 and the comments of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) on the application of the Convention which were transmitted by the Government.

1. The Committee notes that, according to the NHO, reported differences in male and female wages should be viewed in the light of wages paid in positions held mainly by men and in positions held mainly by women rather than as differentials in male and female pay for the same job, which is not a problem in Norway. The NHO considers that the real problem is that positions employing mainly women pay lower wages than jobs where mainly men work and that women may experience more obstacles than men in advancing to higher positions. The Government reports that, despite the large increase of women in employment (slightly less than half the workforce in the first half of 1992 being female), and the fact that the proportion of women studying typically male-dominated subjects has risen, occupational segregation continues. The Committee welcomes the Government's efforts to overcome this, for example through the measures taken by the labour market services to help widen women's choice of occupation, the appointment of special labour advisory officers to all county employment offices, the JOB-PROFILE project and the continuation of other measures already notified in earlier government reports. It asks the Government to supply information on the results obtained by these measures in bringing equality to the gender-divided labour market and, in particular, to indicate any developments in this connection arising from the government White Paper on equality between the sexes described in the annex to the Government's report. It also refers in this connection to the observation made this year under Convention No. 100.

2. Regarding the effect given to the 1983 recommendation of the committee set up under article 24 of the ILO Constitution, which had requested measures to be taken to remove any inconsistency between section 55A of the Worker Protection and Working Environment Act, No. 45/1977 and Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the Committee notes that the parliamentary committee created to examine the relationship between the two provisions decided, in 1992, that no contradiction between them existed. The parliamentary committee asked that the question of the amendment of section 55A be taken up again if it should appear that it conflicts with the Convention.

The Committee recalls the obligation of member States of the ILO under article 19(5)(d) of the Constitution to "take such action as may be necessary to make effective the provisions" of a ratified Convention. This is an obligation to make the provisions of the Convention effective in law and in fact. It is therefore necessary, but not sufficient that the provisions of the law should comply with the requirements of the Convention. It is equally important that the provisions of the law should be fully and strictly applied in practice. In the present case, the Committee recalls that, under Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention, certain criteria may be brought to bear as inherent requirements of a particular job, but they may not be applied to all jobs in a given occupation or sector of activity. Thus, as pointed out in paragraph 126 of the 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, systematic application of requirements involving one or more of the grounds of discrimination envisaged by the Convention, to a category of persons defined by their status or employment in an enterprise, irrespective of the aptitude of those persons to carry out the tasks assigned to them, does not correspond to the inherent requirements of a particular job. In paragraph 127 of the General Survey it was emphasized that criteria such as political opinion, national extraction and religion may be taken into account in connection with the inherent requirements of certain posts involving special responsibilities, but that if carried beyond certain limits, this practice comes into conflict with the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee accordingly urges the Government to keep section 55A under review in the light of the 1983 recommendation that it be worded, interpreted and applied in such a manner as to be in conformity with the Convention and, in particular, so that it does not permit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin except "in respect of a particular job based on the inherent requirements thereof", as required by Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any developments in this respect.

3. The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government on certain other points.