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

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

The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee recalls that the Committee set up by the Governing Body in 1983 under article 24 of the ILO Constitution to investigate the alleged inconsistency of section 55A of the Worker Protection and Working Environment Act No. 4/1977 with the Convention stated that this provision in its present wording "appears to be drafted in such a way that its exception clause could be applied in respect of jobs that do not by their nature carry with them a special responsibility to contribute to the attainment of the institution's objectives". The Committee recalls that section 55A prohibits employers, in recruitment, from demanding that applicants supply information concerning, inter alia, their political, religious or cultural views except where such information is justified "by the nature of the position or if the objective ... of the employer in question includes promotion of particular political, religious or cultural views and the position is essential for the fulfilment of the objective".

2. The Government states, in reply to the Committee's previous comments following up on the representation, that it is continuously keeping the provision under review. The Government adds that the question as to whether this provision is in conflict with the Convention will depend on its interpretation by national courts, and that no cases were brought under the section in question during the period of the report. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue to take measures to ensure that section 55A is worded, interpreted and applied in such a manner as to be in conformity with Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention, and to inform it in future reports of any developments in the matter.

3. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that section 2 of Act No. 4/1977 excludes from the scope of the Act, and thus from the protection against discrimination contained in it, workers employed in shipping, hunting and fishing, including the processing of catch on board ship, and military aviation. Workers in seagoing navigation are protected under the Seamen's Act No. 18/1975, which, however, provides protection only against discrimination based on sex. The Committee again asks the Government to supply information on how workers in sectors of activity not covered by Act No. 4/1977 are given protection against discrimination in employment as provided by the Convention.

4. The Committee notes with interest the amendment to Act No. 4/1977 by Act No. 2/1995 to make it applicable to homeworkers. Noting that the extent to which the Act shall be applicable to homeworkers, and employees who perform housework, supervision or care in the household of private employers, is to be determined by regulations prescribed by the King and that the King has not yet issued any such regulations, the Committee asks to be kept informed of any regulations made having a bearing on the protection against discrimination provided by the Act.