Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1988)

The Committee notes that the report submitted by the Government in 2012 is identical to the one which it sent in 2011. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will supply information in reply to the questions raised in its previous observation, which dealt with the points raised below. The Committee notes the observations made by the General Union of Cameroon Workers (UGTC) in a communication dated 29 October 2012, and invites the Government to send any comments in reply to these observations.

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Legislation. The Committee notes that the Government merely reaffirms that it is in the process of completely revising the Labour Code and its implementing regulations and that this revision will incorporate provisions defining and prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination based on each of the grounds listed in the Convention. Noting that the Bill revising the Labour Code has been examined by the Labour Advisory Committee and that it is being examined by the Prime Minister’s office, the Committee trusts that the Government will be in a position to report on the adoption of this text in the near future and that it will contain provisions defining and explicitly prohibiting direct or indirect discrimination based on at least all the grounds listed in the Convention, in all aspects of employment and occupation, including access to vocational training. The Government is also requested to continue to supply information on progress made on the revision of the Labour Code and to forward a copy of the Act revising the Labour Code, once it has been adopted.

Discrimination based on sex. For a number of years the Committee has been urging the Government to take specific steps as soon as possible to implement the process of legislative reform in order to remove from the national legislation the provisions that have the effect of destroying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment for women in employment and occupation, especially the provisions of the Penal Code and the Civil Code and also Decree No. 81-02 of 1981, which gives the husband the right to object to his wife working by invoking the interests of the household and the children. The Committee notes that the Government merely indicates that these provisions will be removed. Furthermore, as regards the progress of the Bill concerning the prevention and suppression of violence against women, the Government indicates that this is being examined by the Ministry for Women and the Family. The Committee is therefore bound to repeat its request and urges the Government to adopt without delay: the necessary measures to ensure that provisions that have the effect of discriminating against women in employment and occupation are removed from the legislation; and specific measures to combat stereotyping and prejudice regarding the respective roles of women and men in society so as to remove obstacles to the employment of women. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to report on the adoption of the Act concerning the prevention and suppression of violence against women and discrimination based on sex, and requests the Government to provide a copy of this text, once it has been adopted.

Article 2. National equality policy. The Committee recalls that the primary obligation of ratifying States is to declare and pursue a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating any discrimination in respect thereof, and that specific, targeted measures need to be adopted to achieve this objective. These measures should make an effective contribution to the elimination of direct and indirect discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment for all categories of workers, in all aspects of employment and occupation, and in respect of all the grounds of discrimination covered by the Convention (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 841–847). Recalling that no society is completely free from discrimination, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures as soon as possible to formulate and implement a national equality policy including programmes of action and specific measures to promote equality of opportunity and treatment without any distinction as to race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin and to take steps to address discriminatory practices in employment and occupation. The Government is requested to provide information on progress made in the formulation and implementation of this policy and on the results achieved.

The Committee further notes that the report does not contain any reply to its previous comments, which read as follows:

Discriminatory job offers. The Committee notes the communication of 9 September 2011, in which the General Union of Workers of Cameroon (UGTC) alleges that some companies continue to advertise gender-based job vacancies. The Committee points out that job vacancies addressed solely to men or to women are discriminatory unless the requirement for a man or a woman is inherent in the job (Article 1(2)), and that such exceptions must be interpreted narrowly to avoid restricting the protection afforded by the Convention unduly. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in reply to the UGTC’s allegations, specifying in particular whether labour inspectors have dealt with instances of discriminatory employment vacancies addressed solely to men or to women, indicating any action they may have taken in such instances, for example, the penalties imposed.

Discrimination based on race, colour and national extraction. The Committee recalls the comments made by the General Confederation of Labour-Liberty (CGT-Liberté) concerning the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), alleging that certain enterprises apply wage differentials on the basis of ethnic origin. The Government indicates in its report that the Labour Code prohibits wage discrimination and that it is up to victims and trade unions to take legal action. In this respect, the Committee notes from the PAMODEC survey that the provisions in force regarding the system of the burden of proof with respect to discrimination make it very difficult for workers to prove that they are the victims of pay discrimination. This document adds that this is one of the reasons why, despite the fact that discrimination is felt to be widespread, legal action against discrimination is rarely seen. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on all the measures taken to guarantee the effective application of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment without any distinction on the basis of race, colour or national extraction, including the measures taken in law and in practice to help workers to prove the existence of discrimination.

Article 5. Special measures of protection for women. The Committee notes the observations of 20 September 2010 by the UGTC alleging that some jobs and occupations are reserved for one or the other sex, a case in point being the firefighters of the firm ASECNA, which recruits only men. The Committee refers to its previous comments on the need to revise the list of jobs prohibited for women set forth in Order No. 16/MLTS of 27 May 1969, and notes the Government’s statement that the revision of the Labour Code now under way will provide an opportunity to revise the list of jobs prohibited for women. Recalling that measures of protection for women must be restricted to maternity protection and must not be based on stereotypes regarding women’s professional abilities and their role in society, which confine women to certain jobs, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to amend the list of jobs prohibited for women in the light of these principles and to take measures to eliminate the obstacles to women’s employment in practice. Please provide information on the measures taken to this end and send a copy of the Order as soon as it has been revised.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary measures in the near future.

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

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2014.]