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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Tajikistan (Ratification: 1993)

Article 2 of the Convention. Access of women to employment and occupation. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to indicate the measures taken to improve access of rural women to employment and to address prevailing stereotypes on the role of women in the family and society. It also requested the Government to provide statistical information on the situation of men and women in the labour market. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that a system of grants under the Government Committee on Women and Families has been established, focusing on women in rural areas. The Committee further notes that, according to the 2014 report of the Agency on Statistics “Women and men of the Republic of Tajikistan”, there were 583,000 men and 482,400 women in the labour market in 2013. The Committee refers in this regard to its comments under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), regarding the persistence of vertical and horizontal gender segregation in the labour market. Furthermore, the Committee notes that in its concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), noted that some 80 per cent of women were working in the agricultural sector but that only 12 per cent of dekhkan (private) farms were run by women. CEDAW also expressed concern at the persistence of adverse cultural norms, practices and traditions, as well as patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society (CEDAW/C/TJK/CO/4-5, 29 October 2013, paragraphs 15 and 25). The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken to improve access of rural women to employment and particular occupations, including as managers of farms. Please also provide further information in relation to the impact of the system of grants under the Government Committee on Women and Families on the situation of women working in rural areas. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to address prevailing stereotypes on the role of women in the family and society. It further asks the Government to continue to provide up-to-date statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution of men and women in the various sectors of the economy and occupations.

Access of women to education and vocational training. The Committee recalls its previous comments, in which it asked the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken and the results achieved to improve women’s and girls’ educational opportunities, and to provide statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various levels of education and training courses. The Committee notes that in its concluding observations, CEDAW expressed concern at the low enrolment rate of girls and at the high drop-out rates among girls at the secondary and higher level of education and at the persistence of gender segregation in education, in particular in vocational education, where girls and women remain predominant only in non-technical areas (CEDAW/C/TJK/CO/4-5, 29 October 2013, paragraph 23). The Committee further notes from the abovementioned 2014 report of the Agency on Statistics, that in 2013, there were 98,900 boys and 97,700 girls in primary school, 70,900 boys and 60,400 girls at the secondary level of education, and that 29 per cent of the students at the university were women. Noting the absence of any further information provided by the Government on this point, the Committee urges the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to improve women’s and girls’ enrolment in secondary and higher levels of education and to encourage their participation in a wider range of vocational training courses including in technical areas, and the results achieved. Please continue to provide statistical information disaggregated by sex on the participation rates of men and women in the various types and levels of education and training courses.

Article 3(d). Civil service. The Committee notes that section 2 of the Law on Civil Service No. 223 of 5 March 2007 provides that “citizens shall have equal rights to be recruited by the civil service, irrespective of the nationality, race, gender, language, religion, and political views, social and proprietary status”. The Committee notes that the provision does not include the ground of “colour” and only covers recruitment. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that there were 64,800 men and 35,200 women in the public sector. Recalling that the Law No. 89 of 2005 provides for guarantees ensuring equal opportunities for men and women in the civil service, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on its application in practice, including the measures to promote equal opportunities between men and women in the civil service with respect to all aspects of employment, and the results achieved. The Committee also once again asks the Government to provide information on how the observance of the national policy of equality of opportunity and treatment with respect to grounds other than sex is being ensured with respect to employment in the civil service. Please indicate whether any consideration is being given to insert the ground of colour in section 2 of the Law on the Civil Service and to extend the protection provided beyond recruitment. The Committee further requests the Government to provide additional statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various occupations and grades in the civil service.

The Committee further notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to its previous comments. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee had previously noted that section 7 of the new Labour Code prohibits discrimination in employment on the grounds set forth in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate the manner in which section 7 of the Labour Code has been implemented in practice to protect workers from discrimination in employment and occupation within the meaning of Article 1(3) of the Convention, including access to vocational training, access to employment and to particular occupations, and terms and conditions of employment.

Sexual harassment. Recalling that sexual harassment is a serious form of sex-based discrimination, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to prevent and address sexual harassment at work, in accordance with its 2002 general observation on the Convention.

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Article 2. National policy with respect to grounds other than sex. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the steps taken or envisaged to adopt and pursue a national policy on equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation addressing the other grounds protected by the Convention, namely race, colour, national extraction, religion, political opinion and social origin, as required by Article 2 of the Convention.

Article 3(a). The Committee requests the Government to describe the nature and extent of its activities in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations to ensure and promote the observance of the national policy on equality.

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Article 3(e). Vocational training and guidance and placement services. Other grounds. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the Republican Employment Centre and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in vocational training and occupational guidance with respect to all groups protected by the Convention, including ethnic, national and religious minorities, and the manner in which the placement services provided ensure the application and observance of the national policy.

Article 4. Persons suspected of, or engaged in, activities prejudicial to the security of the State. The Committee requests the Government to provide full information on the manner in which Article 4 of the Convention is applied in practice and on the specific procedures establishing the right of appeal available to persons affected by this provision. Please also supply information on all measures taken or contemplated to ensure that persons are not subjected to discrimination in their employment and occupation on the basis of their political opinion or ethnic origin.

Article 5. Protective measures. The Committee notes that the Labour Code provides for special measures of protection and assistance. Section 160 prohibits employers from hiring women for underground work, heavy work and work in harmful conditions, as well as for work involving manual lifting in excess of the maximum permitted amounts. Section 161 prohibits employers from recruiting women for night work, except in certain sectors. The Committee also notes that section 3 of Law No. 89 of 2005 provides that special measures undertaken to protect the health of men and women are not considered discrimination. The Committee recalls that protective measures regarding women’s employment should be strictly limited to protecting maternity, and that those aimed at protecting women because of their sex or gender, based on stereotyped assumptions, should be repealed or amended.  The Committee requests the Government to indicate the prohibited industries, sectors, jobs and occupations referred to in sections 160–161 of the Labour Code, and to provide information on any steps taken to assess whether the protective measures concerned are strictly related to maternity.

Enforcement. The Committee understands that a Coordinating Council on Gender Problems has been established in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the State Labour Inspectorate to monitor discrimination against women in the labour market. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the Coordinating Council on Gender Problems to monitor sex-based discrimination. Please also provide information on the number of inspections carried out during the reporting period, the number of violations found relevant to the Convention, and the corrective action taken or sanctions imposed. With regard to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Government is requested to supply specific information on the activities of this office in ensuring compliance with the Convention. It also requests the Government to supply copies of any decisions issued by courts of law or other tribunals involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention.