Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Yemen (Ratification: 1969)

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application (domestic workers, agricultural workers and casual workers). The Committee recalls that casual workers and 80 per cent of the agricultural workers – those who are self-employed – are excluded from the application of the Labour Code. The Committee also recalls that section 3(4) of the draft amendment to the Labour Code specifies that the Code does not apply to domestic workers with respect to holidays, minimum wage, dismissal, and rights related to end of service. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the situation of domestic workers is still being discussed. It notes that it is envisaged that either the draft law will specify the promulgation of an order laying down rights and obligations of employers and domestic workers or that specific legal texts on domestic workers will be issued. The Committee hopes that the legislative texts with respect to domestic workers will soon be adopted and drafted in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. It asks the Government to indicate any measures taken to ensure that both national and foreign domestic workers duly benefit in practice from protection against discrimination with respect to all aspects of employment. Please also indicate how it is ensured that self-employed agricultural workers and casual workers enjoy protection against discrimination as regards access to land, credit, and various goods and services necessary to carry out their occupation.

Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to prohibit and prevent sexual harassment in employment and occupation, taking into account its general observation of 2002 on the subject.

Article 2. Equal access of women to employment and particular occupations. The Committee recalls the significant gender differences with respect to access to employment in the public and private sectors and to vocational training, and in particular the fact that 87.7 per cent of the female workforce is employed in agriculture, hunting and forestry, and only 6.3 per cent in the government sector. The Committee notes that the Government, with the assistance of the ILO, is carrying out awareness-raising activities on working women’s rights, and that the Government is promoting job opportunities for rural women through the support of small enterprises and assistance of the Social Welfare Fund. The Government also indicates that women are being trained in new specializations in order to enable women to enter occupations available on the labour market. The Committee asks the Government to provide information as follows:

(i)    the results achieved through the small enterprise development activities to improve the economic and employment status of rural women;

(ii)   the type of vocational courses and new specializations offered to women, and their participation in these courses as compared to men;

(iii) the measures taken to increase women’s participation in the various posts of the government sector; and

(iv)  the measures taken to overcome existing stereotypes regarding the role of women which have a negative impact on women’s opportunities in employment, education and skills development.

National strategy on gender equality. The Committee notes with interest that the National Strategy for Women’s Employment (2001–11) aims to increase women’s employment opportunities; enhance women’s competitiveness in the labour market; improve their terms and conditions of employment through legal coverage; and raise awareness about the importance of women’s work. The Committee notes that the ILO project on promoting decent work and gender equality in Yemen aims, among others, to assist in the implementation of these objectives, in cooperation with the National Women’s Committee. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved for each of the objectives of the National Strategy on Gender Equality, including with respect to improving the capacity of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour and the social partners to promote gender equality and address sex discrimination in the labour market.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the labour inspection reports confirm that there is no discrimination against women in the workplace. The Committee also notes that the ILO project on promoting decent work and gender equality in Yemen, includes training of male and female officials of the Labour Inspection Directorate to conduct more gender-responsive labour inspections, and activities with the Labour Dispute Directorate to facilitate cases brought by women workers to the Judicial Committee. The Committee hopes that these activities will contribute to a more effective enforcement of the national legislation applying the Convention, and asks the Government to continue to provide information on cases concerning sex discrimination handled by the Labour Inspection Directorate and the Labour Dispute Directorate. Recalling that the Convention also covers discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, national extraction, religion, political opinion and social origin, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any cases dealt with by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, or the courts related to these grounds.