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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Yemen (Ratification: 1969)

Referring to its earlier direct request, the Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report. It also notes that a draft of a new Labour Code has been prepared with the technical assistance of the Office and has been submitted to Parliament. It trusts that the Government will keep it informed of progress in the adoption of this text, and supply a copy of it once promulgated.

1. The Committee notes that the Order envisaged in section 36 of the 1970 Labour Code, forbidding the employment of women in certain types of work other than those considered to be arduous or harmful to the health, has not been issued. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this provision has been carried over to the draft of the new Labour Code, and, if so, to supply a copy of any order issued thereunder.

2. The Committee notes from the statistics for 1992 provided by the Government on the percentage of female students (primary and secondary level, approximately 33 per cent), females undergoing training (15 per cent), females engaged in economic activity (less than 30 per cent), and females occupying posts of responsibility (5 per cent), that women are under-represented in all the areas listed in Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Convention. The Committee, recalling the principle of non-discrimination set out in the 1991 Constitution, asks the Government to inform it of any measures taken to pursue the national policy to promote equality in employment and occupation and to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex.

3. The Committee notes with interest that article 27 of the 1991 Constitution provides that all citizens are to be equal in rights and public duties, regardless of sex, colour, origin, language, profession, social status or creed and that article 39 grants citizens the right to organize themselves, inter alia, politically. It also notes, however, that these articles do not mention specifically "race" and "political opinion" which are listed in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention among the grounds of prohibited discrimination in employment and occupation. Referring to paragraph 58 of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation where it states that where provisions are adopted in order to give effect to the principle contained in the Convention, they should include all the grounds of discrimination laid down in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), the Committee asks the Government to indicate how non-discrimination on these two grounds is ensured. For example, does the draft of the new Labour Code cover this? Is the provision in article 39 intended to cover non-discrimination on the basis of political opinion?