Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to its previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the following matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

The Committee also notes that a new Constitution was adopted on 26 January 2010, article 39 of which establishes the right to equality without discrimination based on gender, colour, age, disability, nationality, family ties, language, religion, political and philosophical opinion, social and personal situation. The Committee asks the Government to provide information regarding the implementation of the new Constitution as it relates to non-discrimination in employment and occupation.

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Sexual harassment. With reference to its observation, the Committee recalls the Government’s indication that the Labour Code is being amended so that sexual harassment is a criminal offence carrying a severe penalty. It notes that, in the context of the programme Cumple y Gana on the strengthening of labour rights, the Government has prepared a manual on the rights of women at work (Manual de los derechos laborales de las mujeres), which recalls that the Labour Code prohibits employers from engaging in acts in relation to workers which may be considered as sexual harassment, from encouraging this type of behaviour and also from failing to intervene in such circumstances (section 47(9)). The Committee recalls that it previously requested the Government to consider including in the Labour Code an explicit prohibition of sexual harassment, taking into account its general observation of 2002. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the occasion of the legislative reform to introduce into the Labour Code an explicit prohibition of all forms of sexual harassment, including quid pro quo harassment and harassment due to a hostile working environment and asks the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in amending the provisions of the Labour Code in this regard. It again requests the Government to provide information on the scope of those protected by section 47(9) of the Labour Code.

Equal access for men and women to employment and occupation. Further to its previous comments concerning women workers in export processing zones, the Committee notes that the Government’s report is confined to indicating that it is making efforts to ensure that the greatest number of active persons have access to the labour market, including through the Employment Promotion Programme. However, it notes the development of a strategic plan on gender for the period 2008–13 by the Department for Gender Equality and Equity of the Secretariat of State for Labour (PEG–SET), the principal objective of which is to reinforce the work of the Secretariat of State through the integration of gender mainstreaming, and to contribute to creating conditions of equity and equality of opportunities for women and men. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on labour force participation in the various sectors, information on the measures adopted to promote the participation of women outside the sectors in which women are predominant, and in positions of responsibility. It also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the Strategic Plan on Gender on improving women’s access to employment and occupation and also to provide information on the number of complaints lodged for discrimination on the ground of sex.

Equal access for men and women to vocational training. Further to its previous comments concerning the essential role of education in promoting equality, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, at present, the number of female students has increased by 60 per cent in relation to the number of male students. The Government adds that training is provided to men and women by the Technical Vocational Training Institute (INFOTEP) on an equal footing and that the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo has established childcare facilities for the children of student mothers. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted and the initiatives undertaken to ensure that women are able to gain access to vocational training at all levels, particularly in branches in which men are predominantly employed, and especially any information on the strategic plan referred to above and its impact. It also requests the Government to provide information, for example through statistical data disaggregated by sex, on the impact of these measures on the number of enrolments for the training courses provided in the country. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether the childcare facilities at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo are also available to male students with children.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 101st Session and to reply in detail to the present comments in 2012.]