Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Barbados (Ratification: 1974)

1. Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Grounds of discrimination. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Constitution implements the provisions of the Convention and that all national legislation is gender neutral and is based on the principles of equality. It also notes that the Government is in the process of drafting an Employment Rights Bill. The Barbados Employers’ Confederation has further reported that currently no specific legislation exists to implement the Convention but that the draft Employment Rights Bill will provide protection against discrimination under the Convention. The Committee also notes the report of Barbados submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the conclusions of CEDAW contained in document A/57/38 (paragraphs 225-255, November 2002). CEDAW expresses concern that although the Constitution recognizes women’s equality before the law and guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of all individuals, sex is not included as a ground for discrimination. It recommends that the Government take steps to include in the Constitution, or other legislation, a specific right of non-discrimination on the grounds of sex. The Committee notes that section 23(2) of the Constitution defining discrimination only lists the grounds of race, place of origin, political opinions, colour or creed and, therefore, omits reference to sex, religion, national extraction and social origin. The Committee trusts that the draft Employment Rights Bill will incorporate a comprehensive definition of discrimination that recognizes all the grounds in the Convention, including sex, religion, national extraction and social origin and which addresses both direct and indirect discrimination in equality of opportunity or treatment in employment. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the draft legislation and to keep the Office informed of its progress.

2. Article 1(1)(a). Sexual harassment. The Government’s report makes no reference to the measures taken to address sexual harassment in the workplace in response to the Committees previous comments on this matter. The Barbados Employers’ Confederation, however, reports that tripartite discussions are being held on this issue. The Committee notes from earlier Government reports that legislation on sexual harassment in the workplace had been anticipated before 2000. The Committee requests that the Government inform it of the outcome of this legislation or other initiatives to address this issue such as a provision on sexual harassment in the draft Employment Rights Bill and the determinations of any tripartite discussions are incorporated.

3. Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. The Committee notes that the "social compact" between social partners has led to the development of codes of practice to eliminate discrimination against people on the grounds of disability and HIV/AIDS, to be implemented through collective agreements. It also notes that the draft Employment Rights Bill recognizes these grounds for discrimination as determined by the social partners. The Committee recalls from its General Survey on equality in employment and occupation in 1988 (paragraph 64) that the participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the determination of grounds of discrimination other than those expressly referred to in the 1958 instrument is of particular importance since it provides additional guarantees of the acceptance and implementation of the policy. The Committee hopes the Government will continue its collaboration with social partners in updating and defining new grounds of discrimination for incorporation in the legislation and indicate whether it intends to bring them within the scope of article 11(b) of the Constitution. Please provide copies of the relevant codes of practice with the next report.

4. Articles 2 and 3. National policy to promote equality. The Committee notes from the Governments report that the national policy designed to promote equality in respect of employment is declared through national legislation, including the Constitution, and collective agreements. It also notes that the Bureau for Gender Affairs has taken steps to prepare a national policy on gender following a national consultation in January 2002 on gender and development and is implementing a programme of training and sensitization for the inter-ministerial focal points responsible for the gender management systems in all departments of the Government. Despite previous comments by the Committee, the Government has provided no concrete details on the extent to which either the collective agreements or the Bureau for Gender Affairs formulates and implements an employment equality policy. The Committee, therefore, must once again stress the importance of every country formulating, updating and implementing a national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment in accordance with national conditions. In this regard, the Committee strongly hopes the Government will be in a position to provide a copy of the national policy on gender and the collective agreements referred to in its report together with updated statistics, disaggregated by sex, on labour force participation of men and women and wages to enable it to assess the effect of all policies to promote equality.