Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Romania (Ratification: 1973)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Sexual harassment. Recalling its 2002 general observation, the Committee notes that Act No. 202/2002 prohibits quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment and requires employers to adopt and implement policies to address and prevent sexual harassment at the enterprise level. This includes the obligation to make the sexual harassment policy known within the enterprise and to impose disciplinary sanctions in case of infringements. The Government is requested to provide information on the practical application and enforcement of the Act’s sexual harassment provisions.

2. Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment on the grounds of race, colour and national extraction. Recalling its previous comments on the need to ensure equal access of the Roma to education and training, the Committee notes that the Government, in cooperation with UNICEF, NGOs and local authorities, has been implementing a number of projects to promote Roma children’s education and to prevent their dropping out of school. In 2003-04 some 15,000 pupils were studying the Romani language, but only 121 Roma children were taught in their mother tongue at the levels of pre-school, primary and secondary education. The Committee regrets that no vocational training was provided in Romani. In the 26 public universities, 390 study places were reserved for Roma candidates in 2002-03, but no information has been provided as to whether these places had actually been filled. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote the participation of the Roma, on an equal footing with other parts of the population, in education and training at the various levels, including education provided in their mother tongue. The Government is requested to supply statistical information that will allow the Committee to assess the results obtained in overcoming the wide educational gap between the Roma and other parts of the population.

3. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee notes from the statistical information for 2003 supplied by the Government that women remain under-represented in the occupational group of legislators, senior officials and managers (31.2 per cent). As regards the participation of men and women in the various branches of economic activity, the Committee observes a high concentration of women in education, health and social services, while sectors such as construction, transport and energy remain male dominated. There appears to be a trend towards more balanced overall representation of men and women in the public administration. The Committee requests the Government to:

(a)  continue to provide statistical information on the participation of men and women in employment, disaggregated by occupation, branch of economic activity and level of education;

(b)  provide information on specific measures taken or envisaged to overcome the existing horizontal and vertical occupational segregation based on sex, including measures to promote a more equal sharing of family responsibilities between men and women, training and employment of women and men in areas where they have been traditionally under-represented, as well as to promote women’s access to management jobs;

(c)  provide indications on how collective agreements promote gender equality in accordance with Act No. 202/2002. Please provide examples of equality provisions included in collective agreements.