Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

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

With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its reports.

1. The Committee notes that the activities of the Women's Employment Branch have continued along the same lines as in the past. It notes that some 120 cases regarding violations of section 8 of the Employment (Equal Opportunities in Employment) Act of 1988 (stipulating that job advertisements must be drafted in a non-discriminatory manner) were filed in the Labour Courts. It would appear that in most of the cases on which the courts were required to render a judgement, the publication of job advertisements using a masculine or feminine gender was not merely a matter of terminology but an indication that the employer intended to apply a differential treatment in accordance with the provisions of section 2(c) of the Act under which differential treatment made necessary by the character or nature of the work is not considered as discriminatory. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the decisions taken by the courts on these cases, including any sanctions applied to remedy the situation if the different treatment is not based on the inherent requirements of a particular in the meaning of Article 1(2) of the Convention. Please attach to the next report the texts of some of these decisions as promised in the present report (if possible in a working language of the ILO).

2. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, progress made in increasing the rate of participation in the labour market of non-Jewish women remains very low due to several factors, in particular their poor level of formal education. The Committee notes, however, according to the statistics provided with the report, that the percentage of non-Jewish women without any formal training has dropped from over 50 per cent in 1970 to 17 per cent in 1993. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply with its future reports detailed information on positive measures taken to increase more substantially the rate of participation of non-Jewish women in training and employment, and on the results obtained. It would also like to have extracts (concerning the application of the Convention), translated into a working language of the ILO, of the study of labour market characteristics of the non-Jewish population which is currently being carried out by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, as soon as it is published.

3. In regard to the training of women in non-traditional trades for women, the Committee notes the information and statistics supplied by the Government which tend to show that the number and proportion of women registered in non-traditional training courses at vocational, secondary, post-secondary and university levels has constantly increased over the past few years. At the same time, the percentage of women registered in the traditionally female sectors has decreased in some fields but remains stable or has even increased in others. For example, the proportion of women in teacher training decreased from 63.4 per cent in 1980-81 to 49.3 per cent in 1993-94, in nursing from 11.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent; conversely, the proportion of future administration and bank employees (traditionally women's employment) rose from 3.2 per cent to 16 per cent over the same period. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide in its future reports information on the measures taken to improve further the situation of women in regard to training and employment for posts and occupations traditionally reserved for men, and in which they are still inadequately represented.

4. On the distribution between Jewish and non-Jewish workers by occupation, the Committee notes the information that the proportion of non-Jewish qualified workers in certain occupations and in supervisory and managerial posts has increased, substantially in the construction, manufacturing and transport sectors. The Committee notes however that, according to the statistics supplied, outside these sectors the proportion of non-Jewish workers as compared with Jewish workers still remains very low in general and has even decreased in recent years, particularly in the sectors of higher education, scientific research and agriculture, as well as among office workers and supervisory and managerial posts. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report information on the measures taken to reduce further the still wide gap between the number of Jewish and non-Jewish workers in many occupations and in supervisory and managerial positions.

5. The Committee notes the efforts made by the Government to promote employment of Israeli workers of Arab origin in the civil service where they have been allocated 160 managerial positions and positions of trust, but that only 80 of these jobs have already been filled. The Committee also notes the positive measures taken to encourage and facilitate access to education and employment for members of the Bedouin community. Noting that much still remains to be done to achieve the objectives set by the Government in this respect, the Committee would like to continue to receive detailed information on the measures implemented to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for Israeli Arabs, Bedouin and other minorities in access to training and employment and to particular occupations, and the results obtained.

6. The Committee notes that, since the Government's report of 1989, it has been awaiting translations of some of the numerous appeals heard under section 43 of the Employment Service Act (concerning appeals to regional labour tribunals against decisions taken, under section 42(b) of the same Act, by the employment offices not to recruit a worker on the basis of character or of the nature of the work or for reasons related to state security). Given the importance of such information in assessing the practical implementation of the Act, it trusts that it will receive with the next report copies of some of the key judicial decisions handed down (which has been postponed many times for technical reasons).