Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

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

Article 1 of the Convention. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. The Committee previously noted that section 7(2) of the Labour Code of 2007 covered all the prohibited grounds of discrimination set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, except for the ground of colour. Section 7(2) also included a number of additional grounds, as envisaged in Article 1(1)(b) of the Convention (including age, physical disability, tribe and membership in a public association). The Committee notes the adoption of the new Labour Code on 30 November 2015, in particular section 6(2), which includes the grounds of origin, social, office and property status, sex, race, nationality, language, religion, convictions, domicile, age, physical disability, or association with civil society organizations. However, it notes that “colour” has not been added as a prohibited ground of discrimination. The Government previously indicated during the discussion in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (May–June 2014) that race was generally understood to be inseparable from skin colour, but that further consultations would be held with representatives of the central state authorities and with the social partners with a view to resolving the issue of colour as a ground of discrimination. The Committee recalls that, when legal provisions are adopted to give effect to the principle of the Convention, they should include at least all the grounds of discrimination enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the reasons for the omission of the ground of colour in the legislation and to take the opportunity of any future revision of the Code to include this ground explicitly in the list of the prohibited grounds of discrimination in section 6(2) of the Labour Code of 2015. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to ensure, in practice, effective protection against discrimination based on the grounds enumerated in the Convention, including colour.

Articles 1 and 2. Exclusion of women from certain occupations. In its previous observations, and following up on the discussion in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (May–June 2014), the Committee commented on the potential discriminatory nature of sections 186(1) and (2) of the Labour Code of 2007, regarding jobs for which it was prohibited to engage women and the maximum weights for women to lift and move manually. The Committee notes that section 26(2)(4) of the new Labour Code of 2015 continues to prohibit the employment of women at jobs with hard or hazardous working conditions as per “List of jobs where women cannot be employed”, and that pursuant to section 16(26) of the new Code, the Authorized Agency for Regulation of Labour Relations shall approve the list of occupations prohibited for employment of women, and weight transport limits for women. The Committee recalls that Resolution No. 1220 of 28 October 2011 specified the weight limits for manual lifting and moving by women and contained an updated list of 299 occupations prohibited for women, some of which included operation of weightlifting machines and bulldozer machines. The Government had indicated in this regard, that the prohibitions did not restrict employment but served to protect motherhood and women’s health, in particular taking into account that the level of automation in manufacturing in the country was lower than in the rest of Europe. The Committee notes that in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the persistence of some forms of harmful practices and traditions and patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, in particular those portraying women as caregivers (CEDAW/C/KAZ/CO/3-4, 10 March 2014, paragraph 16). The Committee recalls that women should have the right to pursue freely any job or profession and the Committee points out that exclusions or preferences in respect of a particular job in the context of Article 1(2) of the Convention, should be determined objectively without reliance on stereotypes and negative prejudices about men’s and women’s roles (General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 788). While noting the Government’s desire to protect the health and safety of women, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to guarantee equal opportunities and equal protection of health and safety for both men and women, and to review the current list of occupations prohibited to women with a view to ensuring that protective measures on women’s employment are limited to maternity protection in the strict sense, and are not based on stereotypes regarding women’s professional abilities and role in society and the family. The Committee also requests the Government to include information on the measures taken to consult workers’ and employers’ organizations in this regard and the results of such consultations.

Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment and occupation. The Committee previously noted that in the first quarter of 2014 women represented 48.6 per cent of the employed population, and 56.2 per cent of the unemployed. Women’s participation was 54.6 per cent in the civil service, 31 per cent in industrial production, 26 per cent in construction, 47 per cent in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 60 per cent in finance and insurance, 50 per cent in the professional, scientific and technical sectors, and 74 per cent in education, showing considerable occupational gender segregation of the labour market. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any of the requested information on the measures taken to implement the national law and policy with a view to promoting and ensuring, in practice, equality between men and women in employment and occupation. The Committee urges the Government to provide detailed information, including statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the specific measures taken, particularly in the framework of the Law of 2009 on State Guarantees on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Men and Women, the Strategy for Gender Equality 2006–16 and the “Roadmap for employment to 2020” to promote and ensure, in practice, equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation in a wide range of jobs, including high-level jobs and those with career prospects. The Committee also requests the Government to include information on the distribution of women and men in the various vocational training courses and in education.

Equality of opportunity and treatment of national, ethnic, and religious minorities. In its previous observation, the Committee requested the Government to indicate the specific measures taken to promote equality of opportunity in employment and occupation of minorities and improve the representation of non-ethnic Kazakhs in the public service. Noting with regret that the Government’s report once again does not contain a reply on this matter, the Committee recalls that the national equality policy required under Article 2 of the Convention should cover all segments of the population, including national, ethnic and religious minorities. The Committee urges the Government to provide information on the measures taken to this end, including information on the occupational requirements of the public service, in particular the language requirements. The Committee further requests the Government to take the necessary steps to collect and analyse data on the distribution of men and women belonging to minorities in the public and private sectors disaggregated by branch of activity and occupation, as well as their participation levels in vocational training and education.

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