Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

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, and the comments of the Confederation of Trade Unions in Norway (LO) and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association (NR).

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 Article 1, paragraph 2, of 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 Committee notes with interest from the Government's report that, following debate in 1996, a legislative proposal was presented to Parliament on 16 May 1996 to amend section 55A. It also notes the LO's statement that if the proposal is adopted in its present form, the LO will be satisfied with the implementation of the Convention in Norwegian law. According to the report, the proposal gives a person seeking employment the right to be informed in writing of the objective qualifications required for a particular post, and, if court challenges arise, places the burden on the employer of proving that there was no unlawful discrimination in the process of engaging the candidate. The Committee, recalling that Article 1(2) of the Convention permits distinctions, exclusions or preferences in respect of a particular job only on the basis of the inherent requirements of that job, asks the Government to transmit a copy of the proposed text.

3. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply a copy of the White Paper on Immigration and a Multicultural Norway (St meld No. 17 (1996-97)), the Governmental Plan of Action to Combat Racism and Discrimination, and the Study on the living conditions among eight of the main immigrant groups, conducted by Statistics Norway. According to the Government's report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN document CERD/C/320/Add.1, dated 23 June 1997), these documents provide information on the practical application of the national policy on equal opportunity and discrimination in employment.

4. The Committee notes that the Government's report is silent as regards section 2 of Act No. 4/1977, raised in its previous comments, which 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. The Committee has already observed that 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 NR points out that Act No. 18 contains no provision permitting treatment on the basis of race, colour and national or ethnic origin. The Committee points out, however, that the absence of discriminatory provisions in Act No. 18 might not be sufficient to assist those workers in the shipping, hunting and fishing sectors in claiming redress against discrimination in employment on grounds of race or national extraction. It accordingly again asks the Government to supply information on how workers in those sectors of activity not covered by Act No. 4/1977 are given protection against discrimination in employment on grounds other than sex.

5. Noting that the Government does not comment on the amendment to Act No. 4/1977 (by Act No. 2/1995) which extends the principal Act's coverage to homeworkers, the Committee again asks to be kept informed of any regulations issued by the King to give these workers protection against discrimination under the 1977 Act.