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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Morocco (Ratification: 1963)

Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment and occupation, including vocational training. The Committee welcomes the carrying out, in 2010, of an assessment of the situation of equality/equity in the employment, vocational training and social protection by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training and the development of the Strategic Medium-Term Programme for the Mainstreaming of Equality and Gender Equity (2011–15) in these areas based on the findings of the assessment. In this respect, the Committee notes that the activity rate of women between 2006 and 2008 decreased from 27.1 per cent to 26.6 per cent. It also notes the existence of significant horizontal and vertical occupational segregation (particularly in rural areas), the importance of women’s employment as family help in rural areas and of unpaid work by women (31 per cent of working women and 84 per cent of women in rural areas) and the high rate of unemployment among women graduates. With regard to vocational training, the assessment undertaken by the Ministry shows a low participation rate of girls from rural areas (22 per cent of trainees), gaps between men and women in relation to training levels, a strong concentration of young girls in a small number of subjects in training, the low diversification of training supply for girls and the difficulties experienced by women who have received vocational training in entering the labour market. The Committee notes that the Strategic Programme, which includes 14 projects, is focused around four main areas: (1) the mainstreaming of equality between men and women, thereby placing this principle at the heart of the preparation, implementation and evaluation of policies, programmes and political decisions; (2) the implementation of measures intended to integrate equality between men and women into the vocational training system; (3) the improvement of knowledge of gender gaps and constraints with a view to the adoption of the appropriate corrective measures; and (4) the promotion of the access of women to positions of responsibility and decision-making bodies. The Committee further notes that it is planned to involve workers’ and employers’ organizations in the implementation of this programme.

In its previous comments, the Committee also referred to the National Strategy for Equality and Gender Equity between the sexes adopted in 2006, the Strategic Plan 2008–12 for the promotion of women’s rights, the gender dimension and equality of opportunities and the National Emergency Plan on Vocational Training, which envisaged numerous measures to combat discrimination based on sex, including measures to combat sexist stereotypes and to promote equality in vocational training and employment.

Welcoming the political will and the efforts made by the Government in relation to equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation, the Committee requests it to provide information on the implementation of the employment component of the National Strategy for Equality and Gender Equity, the Strategic Plan 2008–12, the National Emergency Plan on Vocational Training and the Strategic Medium-Term Programme for the Mainstreaming of Equality and Gender Equity (2011–15). Noting that evaluation mechanisms, including indicators, are planned, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information, including statistical data, on the results obtained and the impact of the measures adopted within the framework of the policies referred to above in terms of the access of women to employment in the public and private sectors, the diversification of employment opportunities, the supply of training and the improvement of working conditions.

Textile and apparel sectors. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the achievements in the textile and apparel sectors of the Decent Work Programme, which was completed in 2008. It notes in particular the production of six guides on the use of the Labour Code for the Moroccan Association of Textile and Apparel Industries (AMITH) and the adaptation of ten training modules based on the provisions of the Labour Code, as well as the training of 60 trade union leaders on globalization, and the reactivation of the Moroccan Joint Textile–Apparel Committee. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which and the extent to which the achievements of the Decent Work Programme have resulted in an improvement in access to further vocational training, working conditions and remuneration for women engaged in the textile and apparel sectors, and particularly to combat precarious forms of employment and all types of discrimination, including wage discrimination. The Government is also requested to continue providing information on the tangible measures adopted to prevent discrimination and, where appropriate, remedy it in the textile and apparel sectors.

Equality of opportunity and treatment with respect to ethnic origin. In its previous observation, the Committee requested the Government to study the employment situation of the Berber (Amazigh) population with a view to ensuring that the Convention is being effectively applied in law and practice to all groups of the population. The Committee notes that the Government, after recalling the legal framework applicable to racial discrimination, states that all studies or examinations of the employment situation in Morocco cover all groups of society, irrespective of their origins, and that the measures adopted in this respect do not exclude any group of the population. In this respect, the Committee notes the concern expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that “some Amazighs continue to suffer racial discrimination in accessing employment [...], especially if they do not speak Arabic” (CERD/C/MAR/CO/17–18, of 27 August 2010, paragraph 11). To enable the Government to take appropriate measures to combat discrimination affecting the Berber (Amazigh) population, the Committee encourages it to gather and analyse data on the situation of this group of the Moroccan population in employment and occupation. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted to ensure that the Berber, and particularly those who do not speak Arabic, do not suffer discrimination in employment and occupation and that they benefit from equality of opportunity and treatment with other groups of the population.

Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Social Responsibility Charter, of which the component on human rights envisages the prevention of any discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity for men and women, and the creation of a “Corporate Social Responsibility” label by the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), attributed to enterprises which respect the principles set out in the Charter. Noting that, according to the Government’s report on the application of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), 29 enterprises have received this label, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted by CGEM and the enterprises concerned to prevent, monitor and address any form of discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity, and to continue providing information on the granting of the “Corporate Social Responsibility” label.

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