Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Cyprus (Ratification: 1968)

1. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Recalling its previous comments concerning the prohibited grounds of discrimination covered by the Combating of Racial and other Discrimination (Commissioner) Law (No. 42(I)/2004) and the Equal Treatment in Occupation and Employment Law (No. 58(I)/2004), the Committee notes from the Government’s report that under Law No. 58(I)/2004 the ground of colour is considered to be covered by the terms “national” or “ethnic origin”, while political opinion is covered by the term “belief”. With regard to social origin, which is not covered by either of the laws, the Committee notes that the Ombudsperson’s Office would welcome amendments to the legislation adding social origin as a prohibited ground of discrimination. The Committee encourages the Government to include social origin as a prohibited ground of discrimination in the legislation and requests it to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged in this regard.

2. Sexual harassment. With regard to the Committee’s previous comments concerning the scope of the definition of sexual harassment contained in the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law (No. 205(I)/(2002), the Committee notes that the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training (Amending) Law (No. 40(I)/2006) brought the definition of sexual harassment in line with European Directive 2002/73/EC. The Committee notes that in February 2007, the Equality Authority published a code of conduct on sexual harassment in the workplace and promoted its application through a series of activities. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the legislation and the code of practice prohibit quid pro quo harassment, to forward a copy of the code of practice and to continue to provide information on the measures taken to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment at the workplace, including through training and awareness-raising activities, and to provide information on the number and outcomes of sexual harassment cases dealt with by the competent authorities.

3. Inherent job requirements. The Committee recalls that section 4(2) of the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law (No. 205(I)/2002) provided that certain occupations in relation to which sex constitutes a determining factor due to the context in which they are carried out are excluded from the Law’s application (these occupations are listed in a schedule to the Law). The Committee notes that following the amendments made by the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training (Amending) Law (No. 40(I)/(2006), these occupations are no longer excluded from the Law’s application as such, but only from the Law’s provisions concerning access to employment, vocational training and self-employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 4(2) of the Law, including information on the facts and outcomes of any related cases dealt with by the competent authorities. The Committee also requests the Government for information on the outcome of the proposed review of the schedule relating to section 4(2). The Committee particularly requests the Government to consider repealing paragraph 4 of the schedule to which it referred in its previous comments.

4. Promotion of gender equality in the labour market. The Committee notes that women’s labour force participation rate rose from 53.3 in 2005 to 54.3 per cent in 2006, compared to 73.4 per cent for men (73.9 in 2005). Women continue to be concentrated in certain occupational groups (e.g. clerks and sales or service workers), and remain particularly under-represented among managers and senior officials. As regards employment status, the Committee notes that women continue to be employers or self-employed workers less often than men. The Committee notes from the report that the majority of participants in initial training programmes offered by the Human Resource Development Authority in 2005 and 2006 were men.

5. The Committee notes that, in 2007, the Government launched a scheme to promote employment of previously economically inactive or unemployed women. Efforts are under way to expand daycare services for children and other dependant family members, such as the elderly or persons with disabilities. The Government has also continued its efforts to encourage and assist women to become entrepreneurs. Under the National Action Plan on Gender Equality for 2007–13, which includes a chapter on the promotion of equality between men and women in employment and vocational training, a number of seminars and workshops have been carried out on issues such as equal pay and work and family. The Committee urges the Government to reinforce its efforts to address the existing inequalities faced by women in employment and occupation and requests the Government to provide the following:

–           detailed information on the implementation of the programmes, schemes and initiative aimed at promoting equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women in employment and occupation, including vocational training, as well as the results achieved;

–           information on the specific measures taken to ensure that women have access to employment in a wider range of occupational groups and to posts of responsibility, including through positive action measures;

–           statistical information on the position of men and women in the labour market (employment, unemployment, labour force participation, occupational category, sector of activity, employment status).

6. Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour or national extraction. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the persons registered as unemployed from January to April 2006, according to ethnic origin. The Committee also notes that the Equality Authority published information material about the anti-discrimination legislation in Greek, Turkish and English. According to the Government’s report, among the first 259 complaints of discrimination received by the Equality Authority since its establishment in 2004, 72 related to national or ethnic origin and language. The Committee requests the Government to provide more complete statistical information on the participation of the different ethnic groups in employment to enable the Committee to appreciate the situation of the different groups. It also requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation of ethnic groups that are disadvantaged in the labour market.

7. Work of the Equality Authority. The Committee notes that the 2005 Annual Report of the Equality Authority includes information on the mandate and activities of the Authority, including summaries of important decisions. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the work of the Equality Authority, including copies of its annual reports.

8. Judicial or administrative decisions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any cases involving discrimination in employment and occupation dealt with by the courts or the labour inspectorate, including cases applying section 5(3)(b) of the Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Law No. 58(I)/2004 (see point 7 of the Committee’s previous direct request). With regard to such cases, please indicate the facts, rulings and remedies provided or penalties imposed.