Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 1962)

1. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report in reply to its previous comments, in particular the adoption of the new Labour Code (Act No. 11/92 of 22 December 1992). It notes that section 1(3) of the new Code prohibits all discrimination in employment on the grounds set out in Article 1, 1(a) of the Convention, except for colour and national extraction which had been covered in the preliminary draft Code sent to the ILO. Since colour is one of the grounds of discrimination prohibited by articles 1(3) and 19 of the new Constitution of 11 June 1991, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the steps taken or envisaged to ensure that national extraction and colour are included in the text of the new Code during the current revision. In this connection, the Government is asked to refer to paragraph 58 of the Committee's 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, which stresses 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), of the Convention.

2. In answer to the Committee's previous comments concerning the lack of sanctions for breaches of sections 1(3) and 20(7) of the new Code, the Committee notes the Government's indication that such sanctions were not deemed necessary, since in practice there are no breaches of the principle of non-discrimination. As there is no indication that such breaches might not be committed in the future, the Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures taken to ensure that in the current revision of the Code, the sanctions provided for in section 238(a) also cover sections 1(3) and 20(7) mentioned above.

3. The Committee notes from the statistics supplied with the report concerning the disaggregation by sex of employees of the public service and semi-public and private enterprises during the period 1986-92, that the overall percentage of women employed in the public and private sectors is very low compared with that of men (just over 12 per cent) and that there was no change in the situation over the period in question because of the very slight increase in the number of women joining the labour market (an increase of approximately 0.3 per cent in seven years). The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate in its next report the obstacles in the way of higher female participation in employment and the specific measures taken or envisaged, as part of the national policy to promote equal opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment, to facilitate women's access to employment in the public and private sectors. Please provide information on the results obtained, including statistics of the percentage of women employed at different levels and the number of women holding high-level posts.

4. With regard to education and vocational training, the Committee notes that the Government has not been able to provide the statistical data it requested to enable it to ascertain developments in the distribution by sex of pupils and students attending general educational institutions, and technical and vocational institutions. It again expresses the hope that the Government will include with its next report statistics of the percentage of female students in vocational training schools and centres and will indicate the measures taken or envisaged to increase the enrolment of girls in such establishments or in other education or training programmes, so as to promote and diversify opportunities for women in employment and occupation. Please refer in this connection to paragraphs 15, 158 and 170 of the 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, in which the Committee stresses the affirmative measures that must be taken in implementing the national policy provided for in Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention, and the need to give particulars of the actions undertaken and the results obtained.

5. With regard to the public service and its specialized bodies, the Committee notes that eight specific regulations have been adopted under section 17 of the General Public Service Regulations, and that 15 others are about to be adopted. Referring to the Government's previous indications about possible derogations from the principle of the Convention, it hopes that the Government will ensure that the Regulations contain no provisions that discriminate against women in respect of access to employment, training, promotion and employment conditions in certain specialized bodies of the public service, including the police and water and forestry departments. It asks the Government to provide a copy of the regulations that have already been adopted, as indicated in its last report.

6. Please provide the information requested under points III, IV and V of the report form on the practical application of the Convention.