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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Sweden (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report and the attached documentation.

1.  The Committee notes with interest the various measures taken by the Government to promote gender equality. In this respect, it notes the activities of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman to ensure greater compliance with the Equal Opportunities Act including the adjudication and settlement of gender discrimination cases, educational projects, surveys and action plans and the report of the National Board on Occupational Safety and Health with strategies and action plans to address differences in working conditions of women and men, including risk assessment and equal opportunity. The Committee also notes the report of the special investigator appointed to review the Equal Opportunities Act (1991:143) which outlines a number of recommendations including, among others, the need to define the term "indirect discrimination"; to expand the coverage of the prohibition on gender discrimination to the entire employment process including recruitment, regardless of whether an offer of employment occurs or not; and to include a provision enabling the Equal Opportunity Ombudsman (JämO) to investigate allegations of discrimination in workplaces (Report SOU 1999.91). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress of these and other measures aimed at securing gender equality through the implementation of the Equal Opportunities Act, including the results of the special investigator’s report. 

2.  With reference to its previous comment regarding the inclusion of "sexual orientation" and "disability" as additional grounds of prohibited discrimination under Article 1(b) of the Convention, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is as yet too early to make such a determination, and that in accordance with its obligations under Convention No. 144 on tripartite consultation, the Government will first refer this question to a tripartite ILO committee. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed on any further developments in this regard.

3.  The Committee takes note of the activities of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination (DO), including the information on judicial decisions and the increase in the number of complaints filed, mostly against employers in the private sector. Noting also that the Ombudsman has presented a report to the Government with recommendations for the promotion of ethnic diversity at work, it requests the Government to forward information on measures taken to implement the recommendations. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the practical implementation of the new Act on Ethnic Discrimination at Work (Act No. 199:130), including details of the work of the Ombudsman and the Anti-Discrimination Commission.

4.  The Committee notes that a new immigrant integration policy has been adopted aimed at promoting equal rights and opportunities for everyone irrespective of race or national extraction, and at preventing discrimination, xenophobia and racism. It notes also the information on the work of the central body, the National Integration Office, established in June 1998. The Committee also notes the report of the Immigration Board on Employees of Immigrant Origin in some national agencies indicating that unemployment among groups of non-Swedish extraction remains very high as compared to the rest of the population, and that those employed, including women, are concentrated among those with low earning potential (e.g. assistants and cleaners in the police force, 24 per cent and 22.7 per cent, respectively). The Committee notes the steps contemplated by the Government to promote equal opportunity in treatment and employment for people of different racial backgrounds within the context of the new integration policy and asks the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this regard.

5.  The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report on the situation of the Roma community including the report of the Immigration Board on "The Roma in Sweden: A report on their situation" (January 1996) and that of "The Roma in Sweden - Together towards change" of the Legal Department of the Ministry of the Interior (1997). It notes the problems faced by the Roma in respect of health, education (high drop-out rates and absenteeism), and high unemployment, and the various initiatives taken by the Government to improve their situation. In this respect, the Committee notes the role of the Roma Working Group and their recommendations, which include the need to pay special attention to the educational needs of Roma children and youth, development of the Roma’s entrepreneurship skills, and to provide them with special vocational training programmes aimed at facilitating their access to the labour market, and to generally improve their situation. It asks the Government to keep it informed on measures taken or contemplated to improve the access of the Roma to educational and occupational opportunities, including information on the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Roma Working Group.