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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Estonia (Ratification: 2005)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. The Committee recalls its previous comments regarding the protection against discrimination in the Equal Treatment Act of 2008 based on national extraction, social origin and political opinion, and with regard to all aspects of employment, including education and social protection. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the prohibited ground of “nationality (ethnic origin)” in the Equal Treatment Act of 2008 covers distinctions based on place of birth, ancestry or foreign origin, and that the Ministry of Social Affairs has initiated the amendment of the Equal Treatment Act to strengthen the legal protection of discrimination under all grounds mentioned in the Act equally. The Government further indicates that, in light of the adoption of Directive 2014/54/EU on 16 April 2014 by the European Parliament and the Council on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers to ensure better application at the national level of EU citizens’ right to work in another Member State, the Equal Treatment Act of 2008 will be amended to include “EU citizenship” as a protected ground of discrimination under section 1(1) of the Act. With respect to the public service, the Committee notes that section 13 of the Public Service Act of 2012 only provides in general terms that the authorities have to ensure protection against discrimination of the persons who apply to take up the service and of those who are employed in the service, follow the principle of equal treatment and promotion of equality. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the progress made in amending the Equal Treatment Act, both in relation to extending the scope of protection to all aspects of employment and all the grounds of discrimination set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, as well as in relation to the inclusion of “EU citizenship” as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Please provide information on the practical application of the protection against discrimination on all grounds enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, including national extraction, political opinion and social origin, in the public and private sectors.

Article 1(2). Inherent requirements of the job. Language requirements. The Committee recalls its previous comments concerning the Language Act of 2011 which makes Estonian language proficiency a legal requirement for employees in the public and private sectors. Regarding language proficiency in the public sector, the Government indicates that such proficiency is required from employees of the public sector only at a level that is necessary to perform their employment duties (section 23(1)). With respect to the private sector, the Government refers to sections 2(2) and 23(2) of the Language Act which provide for the establishment of language proficiency requirements, if justified in the public interest, and which provide that requirements should be justified and proportional to the objective being sought and not distort the nature of the rights that are restricted. The Government further indicates that the language proficiency levels required for various categories of employees is regulated under Regulation No. 84 which provides that language requirements are determined in accordance with the nature of work and the language situations of the job or position. The Committee recalls that the language inspectorate can request employees who do not meet the proficiency levels to take the language proficiency examination (section 6(2) of the Language Act). In this regard, the Government indicates that the examination required of employees is directly related to the level of proficiency necessary for the job. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government on assessments conducted by the language inspectorate in 2014 indicating that most inspections were conducted in the public sector and that 84.6 per cent of the total cases assessed were violations of the Language Act. Recalling that, under the Language Act, long-term and repeated violations of the language proficiency requirements were punishable by a fine (section 26-4), the Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that on 1 January 2015, an amendment to the Language Act entered into force, following which the language inspectorate has started to implement only non-punitive measures upon inspecting language proficiency of employees. While noting that language proficiency requirements are set at the level required for specific jobs, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to indicate measures taken to ensure that workers from ethnic and national minorities are protected, in practice, against discrimination in employment and occupation as a result of such requirements. In this context, the Committee encourages the Government, in cooperation with the social partners, to undertake an investigation into the effect of language proficiency requirements on ethnic and national minorities’ access to employment and occupation, and to continue to provide information on the enforcement of Regulation No. 105 of 2008 under the Language Act, including the number and nature of cases in which sanctions were imposed for non-compliance, as well as any recourse or remedial procedures provided for in the cases of violation. The Committee further asks the Government to indicate how the effect of language proficiency requirements on ethnic and national minorities is being taken into account in the new Integration Strategy (2014–20).

Article 2. Measures to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for ethnic and national minorities. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that immigrant women tend to work in positions for which they are over-qualified and that many more immigrant women work in low-paid positions than native Estonian women. The Government provides information on various activities carried out with the aim of promoting equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, including under the “Diversity Enriches” project, which focuses on raising awareness on all grounds of discrimination referred to in the Equal Treatment Act. The Government further indicates that a new Strategy for Integration and Social Cohesion has been drafted for the period 2014–20 and a trilingual web portal was created to inform and engage the wider public. With respect to access to education and vocational training, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Vocational Education Institutions Act entered into force in 2013 and sets the goal of 60 per cent of instruction in all vocational secondary education programmes to be carried out in Estonian by 2020. The Government also indicates that for vocational education and training (VET) purposes, students that lack sufficient Estonian language skills to begin vocational studies are considered to have special educational needs (SEN) and VET institutions are obligated to support their SEN students through measures such as implementing individual curriculums or providing additional language training. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue efforts to address the discrepancies between the employment and income levels between the Estonian and non Estonian population, and to provide information on the rate of participation of different ethnic and national minority groups disaggregated by sex in education and various vocational training programmes and the rate of completion of such programmes. Please indicate whether other steps are being taken to ensure that national and ethnic minority groups enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in relation to employment and occupation, including access to education and vocational training. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on specific measures taken under the Strategy for Integration and Social Cohesion and provide an assessment of the results achieved.

Measures to promote gender equality. Noting the persistent gender-based occupational segregation and prevailing gender stereotypes about the roles of women and men at work and in the family, the Committee requested the Government to continue to take measures to overcome such stereotypes and to promote women’s and men’s access to a wider range of occupations and industries. The Committee notes from the recent statistics included in the Government’s report the continued gender segregation in the labour market and the very large employment gap between men and women with young children in comparison to men and women without children. The Government indicates that a gender equality and work–life balance programme is being implemented between 2012 and 2016, and that the Ministry of Social Affairs is developing an action plan in the areas of social security, inclusion and equal opportunities (2016–23), which includes aspects of gender equality. The Committee also notes that, an assessment of the needs as well as possible options for supporting change in the existing sharing arrangements of care responsibilities between women and men has been addressed in a Green Paper on family benefits, services and parental leave, and that policy proposals based on the Green Paper were submitted to the Government in autumn 2015. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Gender Equality Council in 2013, which is set forth in the Gender Equality Act and functions as an advisory body to the Government on matters relating to strategies for the promotion of gender equality. In 2014, the Council ordered a thorough analysis of the implementation of the Gender Equality Act to be carried out in 2015–16, and presented to the new Parliament recommendations for the Government on promoting gender equality between 2015 and 2018. The Committee emphasizes the importance of reviewing periodically gender equality measures in order to ascertain their impact on gender equality and asks the Government whether efforts have been made to review and assess the impact of the plans and programmes to promote gender equality regarding the gender segregation of the labour market and men’s and women’s access to a wider range of occupations and industries. The Committee also requests information on activities carried out under the work–life balance programme and the action plan developed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the impact thereof. Please continue to provide information on the activities of the Gender Equality Council, and their impact on government actions and policy. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the results of the analysis of the implementation of the Gender Equality Act and on the status of the policy proposals based on the Green Paper on family benefits, services and parental leave.

Enforcement. The Committee notes that the number of complaints and requests for information submitted to the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner (192) was 64 per cent higher than in 2013. Of these 192 cases, 89 concerned discrimination in labour relations, mostly concerning discrimination based on gender but also age, disability and race. Twelve complaints concerned multiple discrimination. Out of all the complaints and requests received, the Commissioner confirmed that 39 cases were based on prohibited grounds of discrimination. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the amount of compensation to victims of discrimination ordered by the Labour Dispute Committee has grown steadily over the years and that in 2014, the total amount of compensation to victims of discrimination was €71,000. Please continue providing information on the number, the grounds of discrimination invoked and the outcome, including the sanctions imposed and remedies granted, of discrimination cases dealt with by the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner, the Chancellor of Justice and the courts. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to indicate whether the labour inspectorate is authorized to supervise the application of section 3 of the Employment Contracts Act of 2008, which provides for the employers’ obligation to ensure the protection of employees against discrimination.