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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 1999)

Article 1 of the Convention. Prohibition of discrimination. The Committee recalls that section 7(2) of the Labour Code of 2007 covers all prohibited grounds listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, except the ground of colour. It also recalls that section 7(2) includes a number of additional grounds, as envisaged in Article 1(1)(b) of the Convention (such as age, physical disability, tribe and membership in a public association). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of section 7(2) of the Labour Code, including information on any activities undertaken to make the legislation known and information on the number, nature and outcome of discrimination cases dealt with by the courts or the labour inspectorate. The Committee again recommends that the prohibited ground of colour is added to section 7(2) of the Labour Code.

Article 2. Exclusion of women from certain occupations. The Committee recalls that the list of jobs for which it is prohibited to engage women and the maximum weights for women to lift and move manually pursuant to section 186(1) and (2) of the Labour Code shall be determined by the state labour authority in agreement with the health authorities. The Committee recalls that protective measures applicable to women’s employment which are based on stereotypes regarding women’s professional abilities and role in society, violate the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment and occupation. Provisions relating to the protection of persons working under hazardous or difficult conditions should be aimed at protecting the health and safety of both men and women at work, while taking account of gender differences with regard to specific risks to their health (General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 840). The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the list referred to in section 186 of the Labour Code for examination by the Committee, and to indicate how it is ensured that any measures limiting women’s employment are strictly limited to maternity protection.

Equality of men and women in employment and occupation. The Committee recalls that the Law of 2009 on State Guarantees on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Men and Women provide for gender equality in labour relations and in education and training, among others. It also recalls that the objectives of the Strategy for Gender Equality 2006–16 include: (i) achieving equal representation of men and women in the executive and legislative bodies and in decision-making positions; and (ii) developing women’s entrepreneurship, and increasing women’s competitiveness in the labour market. The Committee again asks the Government to provide full information on the practical application of the Law of 2009 on State Guarantees on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Men and Women, as well as on all the measures taken to implement the Strategy for Gender Equality 2006–16, and on the results achieved, including statistical information disaggregated by sex.

The Committee also recalls that sections 194 and 195 of the Labour Code grant paid leave to adoptive parents and unpaid childcare leave to parents until the child reaches the age of 3, which are available for women and men on an equal footing. However, the Committee also recalls that section 187 of the Labour Code requires written consent of women with children under the age of 7 years and other persons bringing up children under the age of 7 years without a mother in cases of night work, overtime work, business trips or rotation work. Under sections 188 and 189, fathers have the right to child-feeding breaks and to part-time work only in respect of children without a mother. The Committee recalls that when legislation reflects the assumption that the main responsibility for family care lies with women or excludes men from certain rights and benefits, it reinforces and prolongs stereotypes regarding the roles of women and men in the family and in society. The Committee considers that, in order to achieve the objective of the Convention, measures to assist workers with family responsibilities should be available to men and women on an equal footing (General Survey, 2012, paragraph 786). The Committee asks the Government to amend sections 187–189 of the Labour Code, so as to grant the entitlements on an equal footing for women and men. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the extent to which the entitlements under sections 194 and 195 of the Labour Code are being used by men and women.

Practical application. The Committee notes that the Government has adopted the Employment Programme 2020, which seeks to foster employment opportunities and to provide subsidized trainings to self-employed, unemployed and poorer people, as well as to facilitate entrepreneurship in rural areas. It also notes the Government’s indication that in order to tackle the financial crisis, it has adopted a package of measures to stimulate the economy, including the regional employment and managerial training strategy. As a result of financing US$2.3 billion to this strategy in 2009 and 2010, 258,600 jobs in 2009 and 132,000 jobs in 2010 were created. In addition, 200,000 persons from targeted groups were placed in temporary, state-subsidized jobs and 150,000 persons received training for new jobs. The Government also indicates that the unemployment rate fell from 6.6 per cent in 2008 to 5.4 per cent in 2011. The Committee further notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in its concluding observation of 6 April 2010, noted that, while ethnic groups represented about 36.4 per cent of the population in 2010, more than 84 per cent of public servants as a whole and more than 92 per cent in central government bodies were ethnic Kazakhs; the CERD recommended that the Government takes effective measures with a view to improving the representation of minority groups in state bodies and public services and preventing and combating all forms of discrimination in the selection and recruitment process in the central and local administration (CERD/C/ KAZ/CO/4 5, 6 April 2010, paragraph 12). With regard to enforcement, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has set up a monitoring and social protection committee in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and local monitoring and social protection departments in all regions. The Committee asks the Government to provide the following:

• (i) detailed information on the specific measures taken to promote and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men in employment and occupation, including measures to promote women’s access to occupations and employment in areas where they are currently under represented, including within the civil service;
• (ii) the impact of the measures taken to tackle the financial crisis, including statistical information on the participation of men and women, disaggregated by sex, in the labour market (private and public sectors), branch of economic activity, occupational group and status of employment;
• (iii) information indicating how the principle of gender equality has been integrated into the programmes and measures to promote employment, including in the context of the Employment Programme 2020, including statistical information on the number of women who have benefited from employment promotion measures;
• (iv) statistical information on the position in the labour market of men and women belonging to ethnic or religious minorities, including information on their participation in employment in the civil service, as well as the measures taken to increase the representation of ethnic or religious minorities in the civil service;
• (v) information on the measures taken to plan and implement activities to raise awareness of the principle of equality, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, as envisaged under Article 3(a) and (b) of the Convention; and
• (vi) information on the training provided for law enforcement officials concerning the principle of the Convention.