Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Bangladesh (Ratification: 1972)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report, including the statistics.

1. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the various initiatives undertaken by the Government aimed at reducing the very high level of illiteracy among women and girls. It also noted the concern expressed by the Government that the educational curricula were not gender sensitive and often reflected the traditional roles of men and women, thereby reinforcing those roles. The Committee hoped that this issue would receive more attention and that the Government would take active measures to reach its target of ensuring that females comprised 60 per cent of all recruitment for primary schoolteachers. According to the Government's report, the literacy rate for women and girls increased from 25.8 per cent in 1991 to 38.1 per cent in 1996. A project on a higher secondary level programme for girls is awaiting final government approval; it is expected that after the implementation of the project in 2002, the percentage of women in higher education will increase. The Committee notes this information with interest and requests the Government to provide information on the progress made under the project. The Committee notes nevertheless that the Government's report does not include any information on the measures taken to reach the 60 per cent target for the recruitment of female primary schoolteachers nor on the measures taken to make school curricula more gender sensitive. The Committee hopes that the Government will supply in its next report detailed information on these matters and encourages the Government to continue to take measures to enhance the literacy rate and education level of girls and women.

2. Further to its previous comments on women's participation in public sector employment, the Committee notes that the Government's report contains statistical data for 1993 indicating that women's participation in the public sector continues to be very low, with women only filling 7 per cent of the officers' ranks, 10 per cent of the staff positions and 5 per cent of the low-level positions in the public service. The Committee further notes that neither the Government's report nor the ILO Yearbook on Labour Statistics (1998) contains more recent data on the distribution of men and women employed in the public sector. It therefore hopes that the Government will provide in its next report more recent statistical data and information to permit the Committee to assess fully the progress made in ensuring the application of the Convention in the public sector. The Committee further notes that a few women have been recruited into the police force, but that the proposal to revise the recruitment procedures to permit women to enter the police force or to facilitate this, still has not been approved. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the progress made on this initiative as well as on any measures taken, including the provision of suitable training at each level in the public sector, to ensure that women can actively participate in the public service and at higher levels of organizations, where their representation is still negligible.

3. With regard to women's employment in the private sector, the Committee noted, in its previous observation, that women workers in Bangladesh were concentrated in industries such as the construction industry (where they work as manual labourers), the manufacturing industry and the export-oriented labour-intensive industry, which absorb mostly unskilled and low-paid labour. It also noted that the manufacturing sector did not always provide the minimum wage and working environment stipulated in the labour legislation. With regard to the situation in the garment industry, which employs predominantly women, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which labour standards on conditions of work and wages are enforced for women working in this industry. The Committee further notes that the statistical information contained in the Government's report does not provide any new information with regard to women's employment in the various sectors of the economy, and requests the Government to provide more recent information, in so far as it is available, so as to enable an assessment of the trend in women's employment.

4. Further to its previous comments on the difficulties in enforcing existing labour legislation, particularly the lack of knowledge and commitment by the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, the Committee notes that gender sensitization training was arranged for labour inspectors and judges by the respective ministries in collaboration with different United Nations agencies. Furthermore, the Government states that the number of women judges increased from 40 in 1994 to 55 in 1997. The Committee welcomes these initiatives and asks the Government to indicate in its next report whether they have had any effect on the enforcement of legislation designed to ensure equality for women. The Committee further notes that the Government's report contains no reply to its previous request for information on the review undertaken by the high-level committee headed by the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to examine and update existing laws so as to eliminate all forms of discrimination. The Committee has been informed that a tripartite Labour Law Reform Committee (LLRC) has been reconstituted by notification of 24 August 1998 to review the draft Labour Code of 1994. It requests the Government to provide information on the extent to which these two committees coordinate with each other and the progress achieved in the legislation reform process.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.