Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 2002)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Job advertisements. The Committee observes that, in its report, the Government provides no information on the concrete measures taken to address the high prevalence of sex discriminatory hiring and advertising practices in the country previously noted, and merely refers to the general provisions of the Employment and Labour Relations Act (ELRA), Cap. 366 2019, and the Employment and Labour Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules, 2007, on prohibition of discrimination in the workplace. The Committee again urges the Government to take without delay, in cooperation with the social partners, all the necessary measures to ensure that the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sex is effectively applied in hiring and advertising practices, including through awareness-raising activities aimed at eliminating stereotyped assumptions by employers of women’s or men’s suitability for certain jobs. It also again asks the Government to communicate updated statistical data on the percentage of job vacancies still containing a sex preference.

Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. HIV Status. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the implementing regulations of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act No. 28 of 2008 were adopted in 2010. It observes, however, that the regulations mentioned by the Government do not concern specifically section 52(m) of Act No. 28 of 2008, which provides that “the Minister may make regulations prescribing the circumstances under which a person may be regarded to stigmatise and discriminate a person living with HIV and AIDS”, but sections 52(a) to 52(e) on counselling and testing, use of antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) and disclosure. In addition, although the Government provides no information on the implementation of the third National Multisectoral Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS for 2013/14 to 2017/18 with respect to employment and occupation discrimination based on HIV and AIDS status in the public and private sectors, the Committee observes that, in November 2018, the Prime Minister’s Office published a new National Multisectoral Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS for 2018/19 to 2022/23, aiming at zero stigma and discrimination against persons living with HIV and AIDS. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that no cases of discrimination on the basis of HIV and AIDS status in employment and occupation were submitted to the labour officers, the courts or any other authority. In that regard, it wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that, where no cases or complaints are being lodged, this may indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, lack of awareness of rights, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals (see 2012 General Survey on fundamental Conventions, paragraph 870). Recalling that the effective application of the Convention is an ongoing process requiring a continual cycle of assessment, action, monitoring, further assessment and adjustment, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) the impact of the measures and initiatives adopted to implement the National Multisectoral Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS for 2018/19 to 2022/23 with respect to employment and occupation discrimination based on HIV and AIDS status, both in the public and private sectors; (ii) its efforts to ensure effective access to remedies for victims of such discrimination, as well as sufficient resources and adequate training for relevant institutions; and (iii) the number, nature and outcome of cases of employment and occupation discrimination based on HIV and AIDS status examined by the labour inspectorate, the courts or relevant equality bodies.

Articles 2 and 3. Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. The Committee notes the general information provided by the Government regarding the provisions of the Employment and Labour Relations Act (ELRA), Cap. 366 2019, and the Public Service Regulations, 2003, on promotion of equality between men and women at the workplace. It observes, however, that the Government provides no information on the specific measures taken to promote women’s economic empowerment and access to formal employment and address vertical and horizontal segregation between men and women in the labour market. In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to the Integrated Labour Force Survey 2020/21 conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Office of the Chief Government Statistician Zanzibar (OCGS), the unemployment rate is significantly higher for women (12.7 per cent) than men (5.8 per cent). Furthermore, the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum shows that women remain disproportionately concentrated in informal employment, as 93 per cent of working women are employed in the informal sector. The Committee also notes, from the Integrated Labour Force Survey 2020/21, the persistent gender occupational segregation of the labour market, with women still being over-represented in sectors such as the household and domestic worker’s sector. In light of the persistent gender stereotypes and occupational gender segregation of the labour market and the absence of substantial progress made in the past years, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to promote effective equality of treatment and opportunity for men and women in employment and occupation, in both law and practice. It asks the Government to provide information on the concrete measures implemented, including in collaboration with the social partners, in order to address both vertical and horizontal occupational gender segregation, for example: (i) by promoting women’s economic empowerment, access to formal employment as well as to decision-making positions; and (ii) by raising public awareness, with a view to combating stereotypes regarding women’s professional aspirations, preferences and capabilities and their role and responsibilities in the family and society. The Committee further asks the Government to provide updated statistical information on the participation of men and women in employment and occupation, disaggregated by occupational categories and positions, both in the public and private sectors, as well as in the informal economy.

Access of women to education and vocational training. The Committee notes the various initiatives taken by the Government to increase the enrolment rate of children and adolescents in education, mainly through the National Strategy on Inclusive Education (2018–2021) and the Secondary Education Improvement Programme (2020-2025). It also notes that, according to 2021 statistics of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the gross enrolment ratio in primary and secondary education was higher for girls (98.99 per cent for primary and 29.81 per cent for secondary education) than boys (95.37 per cent for primary and 27.54 per cent for secondary education). UNESCO data shows, however, that the enrolment in technical and vocational education and training programmes remains lower for women (0.6 per cent) than men (3.1 per cent), and that the gross enrolment ratio in tertiary education is 7.1 per cent for women, compared to an enrolment ratio of 8.5 per cent for men. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it instructed all education administrators to stop the practice of mandatory pregnancy testing of girls as a precondition for admission to lower and upper secondary education. The Government adds that pregnant girls can be readmitted to informal school centres, commonly known as “Open Schools”. The Committee observes, however, that in its Decision No. 002/2022 of 15 September 2022, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) found the United Republic of Tanzania in violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and recommended the Government to immediately prohibit mandatory pregnancy testing in schools, review the Education Regulations by indicating that the moral ground of expulsion should not apply in cases of pregnancy, and immediately readmit schoolgirls who have been expelled due to pregnancy. In this regard, the Committee recalls that mandatory pregnancy testing and discrimination on the basis of pregnancy constitutes a serious form of sex discrimination. The Committee therefore urges the Government to explicitly prohibit pregnancy testing as a precondition for admission to all levels of education and provide information on measures taken (including any sanctions imposed), to ensure that this prohibition is effectively applied in practice, meaning that all students expelled due to pregnancy are effectively readmitted to school. The Committee further reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the measures taken to enhance access of girls and women to vocational training and higher education, in particular to professions where women are under-represented. Please also provide up-to-date information on the number of men and women enrolled in vocational training and education, including information on the share of men and women in the different areas of specialization.

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