Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Norway (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the observations of the Norwegian Confederation of Unions for Professionals (UNIO), which were submitted with the Government’s report, and the observations of the UNIO and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), which were submitted with the Government’s report under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100). It also notes the further observations submitted by the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE) on 1 October 2020. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government and the social partners this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

Article 1(1)(a) and (b) of the Convention. Legislative developments. The Committee notes the adoption of the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act (EADA), which entered into force on 1 January 2018, replacing the four previous Acts on gender equality and anti-discrimination: the Gender Equality Act, the Ethnicity Anti-Discrimination Act (ethnicity, religion and belief), the Anti-Discrimination and Accessibility Act (disability) and the Sexual Orientation Anti-Discrimination Act (sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression). It also notes the amendments to the Working Environment Act (WEA, already amended in 2015), which entered into force on 1 January 2019, and the amendments to the EADA, as well as to the Act relating to the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud Act, EAOA), which entered into force on 1 January 2020. Section 6 of the EADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, leave in connection with childbirth or adoption, care responsibilities, ethnicity (which includes national origin, descent, skin colour and language), religion, belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or combinations of these grounds. In addition to information on the development of the new legislation, the Committee, in its previous comments, had requested information on any guidance and educational materials designed to promote its implementation. It notes that the Government did not provide information on the latter in its report. Noting the concerns of UNIO and LO that the 2015 amendments to the WEA – which purported to help give employees and employers greater flexibility and opportunities to find local solutions to secure more working hours for part-time positions and more full-time employment – would impair gender equality and protection in the working environment, the Committee also asked the Government to provide specific information on the impact of these amendments on the participation of men and women in the labour market and their employment status and conditions of work. In this regard, the Government indicates that a four-year research project was set up to monitor the effects of the amendments to the WEA. According to the Government, its findings indicate that the share of temporary employment has remained stable with a slight increase for young workers (the group where it is the highest) in the last three to four years. The gender disparities are also stable over time, with women more likely to be in temporary employment than men. In this regard, the Committee notes the UNIO’s observations that persistent pressure on working time arrangements, in particular shift-work with long working hours and night work, are having health-related consequences that are not taken into account, especially in the health sector where female workers predominate. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measured impact of the new legislation and its implementation in practice. Please also provide information on any guidance and educational materials designed to promote its implementation.

Article 1(1)(a). Sex. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the upholding of the prohibition of sexual harassment was exclusively reserved to the ordinary courts of justice until the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal was also given this mandate as of 1 January 2020. The Government provides information on the 11 cases registered by the Tribunal as of 3 July 2020. The Committee also notes that, in reply to its request to provide information on the implementation of the action plan against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression 2017–2020, in the area of employment and occupation, the Government indicates that the relevant measures have not yet been implemented but that they will be by 2020. The evaluation report should be available by March 2021. The Government started to work on a new action plan covering the next four years. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the cases of sexual harassment, in employment or occupation, brought before the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal and their outcomes. It also reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the implementation of the action plan against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression 2017–2020, in so far as it involves action against discrimination and harassment in employment and occupation (including a copy of the evaluation report). Please also provide a copy of the new action plan.

Article 1(1)(a). Social origin, race and colour. In its previous comment, the Committee encouraged the Government to include explicit protection against discrimination related to “social origin” and “colour” in any new consolidating legislation for the purposes of clarity and conformity with Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. It notes with interest that section 6 of the new EADA explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of “ethnicity” and specifies that it “includes national origin, descent, skin colour and language”. However, the legislation still does not explicitly provide for the prohibition of discrimination based on social origin. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the reference to the prohibition of discrimination on “other essential aspects of a person” (in section 1 of the EADA) also covers ‘social origin’ and its reiterated opinion that “social origin is mostly covered by the provision against discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, which also includes descent”. The Committee recalls, once again, that discrimination based on “social origin” refers to situations in which an individual’s membership of a class, socio-occupational category or caste determines his or her occupational future (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 802). Thus, there may be instances where the concept of “social origin” extends beyond “descent” and “ethnicity”. The Committee notes the information provided on cases handled by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. In view of the above, the Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on any cases handled by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal specifically addressing discrimination related to social origin within the meaning of the Convention, including information on the number, nature and outcome of such cases. Please also provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to prohibit explicitly discrimination based on social origin.

Discrimination on the basis of political opinion. The Committee previously hoped that the Government would be in a position to report the concrete steps taken to ensure that all domestic workers were protected against discrimination on the ground of political opinion and to report any new measures adopted to this end. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is currently examining the necessary amendments to the legislation in order to be able to ratify the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), and that protection against discrimination is part of the review. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any progress made towards ensuring that all domestic workers are protected against discrimination on the ground of political opinion.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on: (1) the steps taken to address gender discrimination related to pregnancy and the Ombud’s recommendations; (2) the significant measures taken to address the promotion of gender equality in employment and occupation, including entrepreneurship; (3) the specific measures taken to address the vertical and horizontal dimensions of labour market gender segregation and their impact, including statistical information; and (4) any complaints, decisions and rulings by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal concerning gender discrimination in employment, in particular based on the ground of pregnancy. The Committee notes: (1) the Government’s indication, on the one hand, that women only hold 25 per cent of the positions in the executive committees of the 200 largest companies in Norway, that 86 per cent of their CEOs are men, and that, in 2017, only 30 per cent of entrepreneurs were women, and, on the other hand, that the newly adopted EADA provides strong protection against discrimination for pregnant women and parents who use their rights to parental leave; (2) a number of initiatives put in place to achieve a less gender-divided education and labour market in the near future such as additional points given to the under-represented gender in university applications, and projects such as “Men in Healthcare” or “Girls and Technology”; and (3) the information provided in the report on cases handled by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal established by the EAOA as well as by their predecessors. Regarding the statistical information provided by the Government, the Committee notes that, in 2019, women represented 70 per cent of employees in the public sector and only 36 per cent in the private sector. They represented 80 per cent of workers in human health and social work activities and only 9 per cent in construction. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the initiatives taken to promote gender equality in employment and occupation and to address the vertical and horizontal dimensions of labour market gender segregation. Please provide information, including labour market statistical information, on the progress achieved. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide information on any complaints, decisions and rulings by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal concerning gender discrimination in employment.

Equality irrespective of race, colour or national extraction. Previously, the Committee asked the Government to identify policies and other steps taken to improve education levels, access to skills development and employment opportunities for men and women of Roma, Tater/Romani and immigrant backgrounds, and to indicate how gender equality concerns are specifically taken into account in the formulation and implementation of any such measures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Norway does not keep registers on the basis of ethnicity and therefore cannot measure levels of employment according to ethnic origin but that a white paper concerning national minorities will be presented to Parliament in 2020. The Committee also notes the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the United Nations Human Rights Committee (CCPR) and the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), in which they indicated that they remained concerned that: (1) unemployment rates of persons belonging to ethnic minorities or with migrant backgrounds remain high (11.2 per cent) and the unemployment rate among immigrants is more than three times as high as the general population, with immigrants from Africa having the lowest employment rates; (2) there is a lack of clear guidelines on preventing discrimination in recruitment processes; and (3) there is a persistence of, and an insufficient focus on, the harassment and discrimination faced by ethnic minorities and persons of immigrant background in the workplace. The CERD requested the Government to ensure that the new action plan against racism and discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and religion or other related action plans or studies provide for the investigation of and address harassment and discrimination faced by ethnic minorities and persons of immigrant background in the workplace (CERD/C/NOR/CO/23-24, 2 January 2019, paragraphs 17-18, CCPR/C/NOR/CO/7, 25 April 2018, paragraphs 8 and 9, and E/C.12/NOR/CO/6, 2 April 2020, paragraph 20). The Committee further notes the Government’s pledge to prioritize investment in education, qualification and skills in its ‘integration strategy’; to strengthen its efforts to prevent segregation and exclusion; and to amend the integration schemes in order to obtain better results. It notes that in July 2019, the Government introduced changes to provide increased opportunities for education and that it simplified the wage subsidy scheme. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measured impact and progress achieved in relation to: (i) the integration strategy; (ii) the white paper concerning national minorities; and (iii) the action plan against racism and discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and religion. It reiterates its request to the Government to indicate how gender equality concerns are specifically taken into account in the formulation and implementation of such measures.

General observation of 2018. With regard to the above issues, and in more general terms, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to its general observation on discrimination based on race, colour and national extraction which was adopted in 2018. In the general observation, the Committee notes with concern that discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes based on the race, colour or national extraction of men and women workers continue to hinder their participation in education, vocational training programmes and access to a wider range of employment opportunities, resulting in persisting occupational segregation and lower remuneration received for work of equal value. Furthermore, the Committee considers that it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tackling the obstacles and barriers faced by persons in employment and occupation because of their race, colour or national extraction, and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for all. Such an approach should include the adoption of interlocking measures aimed at addressing gaps in education, training and skills, providing unbiased vocational guidance, recognizing and validating the qualifications obtained abroad, and valuing and recognizing traditional knowledge and skills that may be relevant both to accessing and advancing in employment and to engaging in an occupation. The Committee also recalls that, in order to be effective, these measures must include concrete steps, such as laws, policies, programmes, mechanisms and participatory processes, remedies designed to address prejudices and stereotypes and to promote mutual understanding and tolerance among all sections of the population.

The Committee draws the Government’s attention to its general observation of 2018 and requests the Government to provide information in response to the questions raised in that observation.

Articles 2 and 3. Collective agreements and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in reply to its previous request, including the fact that the Advisory Committee on Labour Market and Pension Issues, a tripartite body, discusses regularly the topic of gender equality (with a subgroup on working life) with a view to promoting activities geared towards gender equality in business undertakings and knowledge-sharing.

Enforcement. The Committee previously asked the Government to report on the work undertaken to strengthen the enforcement system. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that this system was reorganized in 2018: the handling of complaints was transferred from the Ombud to the new Tribunal whose statements and decisions can be challenged in the court system. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Tribunal may award redress only in cases regarding employment but that, notwithstanding a conclusion that a violation has been committed, it will award redress (for non-monetary losses) only if the plaintiff has submitted a claim to that effect. In most cases, the claim for financial loss must be pursued before a court of law. The Committee also notes that: (1) the CERD, in its concluding observations, emphasized that, while there is an active reporting duty set out in the EADA requiring employers to take active measures to promote equality, there are no penalties for failure to do so, and asked the Government to ensure that the EADA includes penalties for lack of compliance (CERD/C/NOR/CO/23-24, paragraphs 17 (e) and 18 (e)); (2) UNIO, in its observations, regrets that the duty to account for measures taken to promote equality is weakened for gender equality in the new consolidated legislation; (3) LO does not consider that a gender neutral law represents a strengthening but welcomes the 2020 revision of the EADA and the EAOA (strengthening the employers’ obligation to promote equality and transferring the individual complaint mechanism in cases of sexual harassment from the courts to the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal); and (4) NHO and IOE underline the need for procedural rights with regard to the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal procedure, namely a fair assessment of evidence and secure basic principles. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on cases handled by the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, other than those reported under the grounds above, including those who may have been challenged in court, and the outcome of such procedure. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to enforce the duty of employers, under the EADA, to report on their active promotion of equality, and the results achieved.