Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Peru (Ratification: 1970)

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application and grounds of discrimination. The Committee has been referring for many years to the need to assess whether Act No. 26772 on job offers and access to education and training affords sufficient protection against discrimination in all aspects of employment, including recruitment and terms and conditions of employment. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided comments in this regard. The Committee also notes the adoption of the Civil Service Act, No. 30057, of 3 July 2004, which provides for equality of opportunity without any discrimination whatsoever on grounds of origin, race, sex, language, religion, opinion, economic situation or of any other nature. The Committee notes that the Act does not include the grounds of colour and national extraction and recalls that when legal provisions are adopted to give effect to the Convention, they must include as a minimum all the grounds of discrimination set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether Act No. 26772 or any other legal provision that is in force affords adequate protection in relation to all aspects of employment, including access to employment and terms and conditions of employment. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured that persons employed by the civil service are protected in law and practice against discrimination on grounds of colour and national extraction.

Sexual harassment. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the specific measures adopted to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace and to indicate the authority responsible for examining complaints of sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the “Guide on action at the workplace to combat sexual harassment”, which is under preparation, is designed to provide guidance to employers for the adoption of prevention measures, the eradication and punishment of sexual harassment at the workplace. Act No. 27942, as amended by Act No. 29430, establishes the administrative and judicial mechanisms in force to address complaints and the responsibility of the employer to report complaints. The Government adds that many enterprises have internal rules respecting sexual harassment and have undertaken prevention activities. The Committee nevertheless observes that the evaluation of the implementation of the Plan for Equality of Opportunities for Women and Men (2006–10), prepared within the framework of the National Gender Equality Plan (2012–17) (PLANIG 2012–17), emphasizes the need to adopt measures ensuring the imposition of effective penalties for acts of sexual harassment. The Committee requests the Government to take specific measures to ensure that the existing enforcement procedures are effective in addressing complaints of sexual harassment and are allocated the necessary level of funding, and that those responsible for acts of sexual harassment are subject to effective penalties and the sanctions imposed are sufficiently dissuasive. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of complaints of sexual harassment lodged with the various competent bodies, the penalties imposed on those responsible and the compensation granted.

Discrimination on grounds of race and colour. The Committee referred previously to the low level of participation of indigenous peoples in the labour market. According to the CUT, there is no national policy to combat discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided comments on this matter. In this regard, the Committee notes that, in its report “Combating discrimination: Progress and challenges”, the Office of the Ombudsman refers to the complete lack of information on the situation of Afro-Peruvian workers; the establishment in March 2013 of the Technical Committee on Ethnicity for the collection of ethnic statistics in the country; the measures adopted with a view to the inclusion of the needs of the Afro-Peruvian population in education programmes; and the establishment of the virtual platform “Racism alert”. The National Human Rights Plan (2012–16) also envisages action to promote the participation of the Afro-Peruvian population in the national economy. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistical data disaggregated by sex on the labour market participation of indigenous and Afro-Peruvian workers and on their access to vocational training systems. The Committee also requests the Government to conduct an evaluation of the impact of the measures adopted up to now by the Government at the central and local levels on the labour market integration of these workers and to report the results of the evaluation.