Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Chile (Ratification: 1971)

1.  The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in reply to its previous comments regarding the activities undertaken by the National Women’s Service (SERNAM) to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in occupation and employment, particularly the studies conducted by SERNAM on the reconciliation of family and professional responsibilities in order to determine best practice in this sphere. With regard to equality of access by men and women to employment and occupation and to vocational training, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which indicates that women have fewer opportunities for promotion and vocational training in employment than men and that few women occupy posts at the highest levels in the Chilean labour market (CEDAW/C/CHI/3). The Committee requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to promote access of women to vocational training as well as greater participation in responsible, higher paid jobs.

2.  The Committee refers to its previous comments on section 349 of the Commercial Code, pursuant to which married women who have not wholly separated their assets from their husband’s must obtain their husband’s permission before entering into a commercial partnership agreement. The Government indicates in its report that men and women in Chile enjoy legal equality and refers to the 1999 reforms which enshrine this principle in articles 1 and 19 of the Chilean Constitution. The Government indicates that section 349 of the Commercial Code applies in a particular situation since it is the woman who, by selecting the marriage property regime on marriage, chooses voluntarily to be under her husband’s authority or not for the purposes of concluding a commercial partnership agreement. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 2 of the Convention requires the Government to declare and pursue a national policy designed to promote, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating any discrimination in respect thereof. The Committee notes that the conditions relating to marital status are not, in themselves, proof of discrimination, on the assumption that they apply to both sexes. On the other hand, the Committee considers that distinctions based on marital status are of a discriminatory nature, under the Convention, whenever their effect may impose on a person of a specified sex a requirement or condition which is not imposed on the other sex (see General Survey on equality in employment and occupation, 1988, paragraph 41). The Committee considers that the interaction between section 349 of the Commercial Code and the marital property regime creates a situation of inequality which is not compatible with a national policy of de jure and de facto equality between the sexes. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether it envisages amending section 349 of the Commercial Code in order to grant full legal capacity to women to conclude contracts, irrespective of the marriage property system chosen.

3.  The Committee notes that according to the information supplied by the Government to CEDAW, Act No. 3500 which establishes the current pension system, had a negative impact on Chilean women, chiefly because women occupy lower paid jobs and contribute for a shorter time to the system (CEDAW/PSWG/1999/II/CRP.1/Add.1). The Committee notes that the age for retirement in Chile is 60 for women and 65 for men which means that women have a shorter time to contribute to their individual pension account. Consequently, they have less capital in their account to finance retirement and a longer non-working period (ibid.). The Committee notes that SERNAM and the Social Security Department of the Ministry of Labour are considering the possibility of changing the current retirement system in order to eliminate existing inequalities. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep it informed of any measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

4.  Referring to its previous comments on the submission to the National Congress of a bill on sexual harassment, the Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of the promulgation of the bill and to send it a copy once it has been adopted.

5.  In regard to non-discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, the Committee requests the Government to supply information on the labour situation of the Mapuche, Aymara and Rapanui ethnic minorities, including statistics on the employment of members of these minorities in the various economic sectors in the country. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate any measures taken to guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment to these ethnic groups, particularly in respect of access to vocational training, employment and occupation.