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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - New Caledonia

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Advice No. 2/2002 of the Social and Economic Council (SEC) concerning the study relating to sexual and moral harassment at work, highlighting that in New Caledonia the incidence of sexual harassment is significant but that the problem is widely ignored by society at large. The Committee notes that the SEC recommends that greater attention should be paid to informing the general public and employers about the issue. The SEC also envisages legislative measures to transcribe the provisions of the Metropolitan Labour Code concerning sexual harassment into local labour law and to provide administrative sanctions, in addition to civil and penal sanctions, against public servants guilty of sexual harassment. The Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on measures taken to follow up on the recommendations made by the SEC, and to report on the progress made.

2. Equality of treatment between men and women. The Committee notes from the "Social assessment of New Caledonia in 2004" (Bilan social 2004 de la Nouvelle-calédonie) annexed to the Government’s report on Convention No. 100, that women make up only 37.9 per cent of the private sector employees. It notes that, in the public sector, women outnumber men between the ages of 30 and 49 years but that they make up only 34.4 per cent of all civil servants aged 50 years and beyond. Furthermore, the report indicates that the increase of female employment in the highest category A appears to be due to the fact that an increasing number of women have been employed as schoolteachers. The Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report the reasons behind the low percentage of women employed in the private sector and behind the fact that more women than men appear to leave the civil service once aged 50 or beyond. It encourages the Government to continue to collect and analyse statistics on the distribution of men and women in the various occupations and branches of the economy in both the public and private sectors, and include such information in its next report.

3. Application of the principles to non-nationals. The Committee notes that the Government is developing a legislative framework to protect foreign workers employed by enterprises established outside New Caledonia providing services in the area of construction and civil engineering. Noting that the draft law will include provisions concerning maternity protection and discrimination, the Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard and to provide copies of the text of the relevant provisions.

4. Enforcement. Please provide information on the activities and methods used by the labour inspection services to promote and ensure the application of the principle of the Convention, and any judicial or administrative decisions concerning the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation on the grounds set forth in the Convention.