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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - France (Ratification: 1981)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report of October 2005.

1. In its previous observation of 2004, the Committee pursued its dialogue with the Government on the measures undertaken and the practical results achieved in eliminating discrimination on the basis of race and national extraction and in reducing inequalities that continued to exist between men and women in employment and occupation. Having noted that the existence of discrimination and inequality was now widely recognized and documented (CERD/C430/Add.4), the Committee had welcomed a number of ongoing or planned initiatives by the Government and the social partners aimed at achieving greater conformity with the provisions of the Convention. These included in particular the decision to create a high authority to combat discrimination and promote equality, the adoption of a Diversity Charter in October 2004, under which enterprises undertook to implement a policy of non-discrimination and to seek diversity in human resources management, and the adoption of a Charter on Equality of Treatment between Men and Women in March 2004.

2. The Committee notes with interest Act No. 2004-1486 of December 2004 establishing a High Authority to Combat Discrimination and Promote Equality, an independent administrative body comprising members nominated by the legislative, executive and judicial branches as well as the Social and Economic Council. It notes that the Authority can set up an advisory committee involving representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations as well as associations and personalities working in the field of discrimination and the promotion of equality. The Authority is competent to investigate complaints relating to all forms of discrimination prohibited by law, support victims of discrimination in submitting their case, and propose solutions through mediation. Its central mission being the promotion of equality, the Authority may also undertake research and information and awareness-raising campaigns as well as training activities in this domain. The Authority may also identify and formally recognize good practices and support initiatives by private and public organizations to promote equality. The Committee hopes that the High Authority to Combat Discrimination and Promote Equality will enable practical results to be obtained rapidly in eliminating discrimination, particularly in employment, and that the Government’s next report will contain information in this regard. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government could in future provide copies of the High Authority’s annual report, and any research or other documentation produced by the Authority relevant to the application of the Convention.

Discrimination on the basis of race and national extraction

3. In its previous observation the Committee had noted that, despite an abundance of laws and administrative and advisory bodies to combat racial and ethnic discrimination, and a better understanding of the problems, discrimination persisted and was even worsening. Cases of discrimination were rarely acted upon by the courts due to lack of evidence and because victims, whose background was largely non-European immigration, were having great difficulty in asserting their rights. The Committee had noted that children and grandchildren of immigrants who arrived in France after the Second World War were having great difficulty in finding jobs although they had grown up in France, having generally become naturalized French, and have been through the French school system. The most serious difficulties were encountered during the hiring stage, in which applicants with names of Maghreb or African origin stood little chance of being interviewed. Unemployment among young graduates of immigrant background was purported to be four to five times higher than among other graduates. The Committee had requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to put an end to discrimination in hiring and to promote the access of these young graduates to employment and training. It also hoped that the new High Authority would be able to act effectively to help the victims of discrimination in employment to assert their rights.

4. The Committee notes that a recent report commissioned by the Ministry of Labour, Social Cohesion and Housing in September 2005 confirms that ethnic origin continues to be an obstacle at the recruitment stage, regardless of the level of education or qualifications of the job applicant. The report indicates that the progress made with regard to ethnic and racial discrimination and the promotion of equal opportunities has been particularly slow and there is a need to move from good intentions towards active measures to combat discrimination and promote equality. To this end, the report proposes a number of measures to develop awareness-raising and sensitization tools, to train the relevant actors involved, to measure staff diversity in order to permit better knowledge of the staff employed in enterprises, and to reform the recruitment procedures and human resources management.

5. The Committee notes with interest that the number of enterprises that have signed the Diversity Charter of 2004 has increased from 40 to 170. It notes that the Government actively supports the dissemination of the Charter and the implementation of tools and procedures assisting the economic actors involved to carry out their diversity action plans. In addition, the Committee notes that various other measures are being taken to promote diversity and equality at the enterprise level particularly with respect to ethnic origin, including the initiatives under the European programme EQUAL, which involved the participation of the Directorate on Population and Migration and the Action and Support Fund for Immigration and the Fight Against Discrimination.

6. The Committee is aware of the recent events in the country giving rise to renewed debate on the urgency to address social exclusion and ethnic and racial discrimination against the immigrant population in France and to take special measures to promote their integration in the labour market. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to demonstrate in its next report significant progress in the achievement of practical results under the various measures noted above. It encourages the Government to continue to take active and effective measures to change human resources and recruitment practices, to ensure greater equality of opportunities in employment and occupation, to promote diversity in the labour market and to promote respect and tolerance amongst the different communities living and working in France. The Committee stresses the interest of associating workers and their representatives in the definition, implementation and evaluation of these measures, and would appreciate receiving information on this subject. Given the specific role of the High Authority in awareness raising, sensitization and training on equality issues, the Committee also hopes that the Authority will undertake the necessary action in this area, particularly for the courts, employers, trade unions and associations, so that the legislative provisions prohibiting discrimination in employment, particularly on grounds of race or national extraction, are better known and observed, and breach of them more effectively penalized.

Equality between men and women

7. The Committee recalls its previous observation in which it had requested the Government to provide information on the practical results obtained in reducing inequalities between men and women in employment, in particular addressing occupational segregation, precarious employment and women’s access to continuous training. The Committee notes the information submitted by the Government in 2005 on the implementation of the National Charter on Equality between Men and Women, in particular the creation of an Equality Label and a Good Practice Guide to assist enterprises and the administration to promote equality and diversity in employment and occupation. It also notes with interest the framework agreement between the National Employment Agency (ANPE) and the Service for the Rights of Women and Equality (SDFE) of January 2005 to promote the access of women to the labour market, especially in sectors in which they are under-represented. The Committee asks the Government to provide information, including up-to-date statistics disaggregated by sex, as to the extent to which these initiatives have increased women’s participation in vocational training and in non-precarious employment as well as in occupations in which they are under-represented, including posts of responsibility.

8. The Committee recalls the key role collective agreements can play in promoting equality and the importance of women participating in the negotiating process as this can have an impact on the contents of such agreements. It notes the Government’s acknowledgement in its report that a more balanced representation of men and women in bodies representing staff, joint committees and industrial relations boards is required. The Committee notes with interest that draft legislation on equal remuneration between men and women (Senate No. 139, 12 July 2005) includes provisions aimed at increasing the percentage of female representatives in the governing bodies of public enterprises and in existing vocational training mechanisms. It also notes with interest the adoption of the National Inter-Occupational Agreement of 2004 on Diversity and Professional Equality between Men and Women, confirming the responsibility of the social partners to promote equality in vocational training and guidance, recruitment, promotion and upward mobility, and to take measures to combat stereotypes and prejudices affecting women’s employment. Noting that the Inter-Occupational Agreement provides a framework for future negotiations within industrial sectors or enterprises, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how, in practice, the objectives of the Agreement are incorporated into subsequent collective agreements at the branch and enterprise levels and whether the measures taken are proving to be successful at further reducing inequalities between men and women. The Committee further hopes that the proposed legislation and the Agreement will contribute to the increased participation of women in social dialogue and asks the Government to indicate what other practical measures workers’ and employer’s organizations as well as Government are adopting in this regard.

Discrimination on religious grounds

9. The Committee recalls the Act No. 65 of 17 March 2004 and its implementing circular of 18 May 2004 banning the wearing, in public schools, of any conspicuous religious signs or apparel under penalty of disciplinary measures including expulsion. The Committee notes that for the school year 2003-04 initially about 600 pupils resisted complying with the Act, which after consultations held with parents and pupils, was reduced to about 100 pupils. It notes that, at the beginning of the school year 2004-05, a similar number of procedures were initiated before the disciplinary councils and that 47 definitive expulsions were pronounced. Against these, 39 appeals were filed to the rectors, who upheld the councils’ decisions. Twenty-eight pupils requested the annulment of the rectors’ decisions through the courts, which rejected 26 of these requests for annulment. While the Committee had noted in its previous observation that expulsion was applied only after extensive dialogue with the pupil and his or her parents, it nevertheless feared that in practice the Act might end up keeping some children, particularly girls, away from public schools for reasons associated with their religious convictions. This could diminish in future their capacity to find employment, contrary to the Convention. In order to assess whether Act No. 65 of 17 March 2004 and its implementing circular of 18 May 2004 is not diminishing the capacity of girls to find employment in future, contrary to the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (1) any judicial and administrative decisions with respect to the application of the abovementioned legislation; (2) the respective number of girls and boys that have been definitively expelled on the basis of the Act; and (3) the measures taken to ensure that the pupils who have been expelled nonetheless have proper opportunity to acquire education and training.

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