Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - El Salvador (Ratification: 2000)

Article 2 of the Convention. Workers covered. Since 2006, the Committee has repeatedly requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to benefit temporary workers with family responsibilities. The Committee notes that in its report, the Government simply indicates that the labour legislation in force applies to temporary workers without distinction. However, in the light of the fact that workers with family responsibilities are particularly vulnerable to discrimination in employment and occupation, especially temporary workers who can be at risk of not having their contract renewed, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that such workers can assert their right to work without being subject to discrimination on the basis of their family responsibilities. Please provide information on any relevant judicial or administrative decisions in this regard.

Article 3. National policy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in drawing up a national policy for workers with family responsibilities. The Government reports that, while no specific policy has been adopted in that respect, a range of measures have been adopted. Firstly, the Government indicates a range of legislative measures, including: (i) section 29 of the Labour Code of 1972 which establishes two days of paid leave per month, with a maximum of 15 days per year to meet family obligations, in relation to the death or serious illness of a spouse, ancestor or descendant; (ii) the amendment in 2013 of section 29 of the Labour Code which includes three days’ paid paternity leave for private sector workers on a birth or adoption; in the same year, the same measure was established for public sector workers, in addition to section 9 of the Act providing for holidays, public holidays and time off for public sector workers; (iii) section 113 of the Labour Code prohibiting dismissal during pregnancy and maternity leave; (iv) section 246 of the Penal Code of 1998, prohibiting acts of labour discrimination due to pregnancy; and (v) laws offering protection in the public and private sectors for breastfeeding (the 2013 Act on the promotion and support of breastfeeding, the 2013 Act on the comprehensive protection of childhood and youth, and the 2010 General Act on the prevention of risks in the workplace). In addition to these legislative measures, the Government adds that it has adopted: (i) a 2014–19 Five-Year Development Plan, setting out measures to promote gender equality, including the need to set up a care programme for children between 0 and 3 years, elderly persons and persons with disabilities; (ii) a 2011–14 National Policy on Women, establishing care as a shared responsibility between the State, families and the private sector. The National Policy on Women includes measures such as the creation of a national care system, the promotion of shared care by mothers and fathers through labour policies in public and private companies and extending the coverage of initial childcare for children between 0 and 3 years, in accordance with parents’ working hours; and (iii) a National Policy on Social Co-responsibility for Care. The Government notes that it has included family co-responsibility in various government policies and other measures are expected to be adopted. Finally, the Government reports that, in 2015, the Inter-Sectoral Monitoring Committee was set up to adopt the policy, and was composed of several governmental agencies, with technical assistance from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and international cooperation agencies. The Committee notes the general and institutional measures adopted for workers with family responsibilities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical measures implemented within the framework of the 2014–19 Five-Year Development Plan and the 2011–14 National Policy on Women, in order to ensure that persons with family responsibilities who are engaged or wish to engage in employment can assert their right to do so without being subject to discrimination and, as far as possible, without conflict between their family and occupational responsibilities; and also on the adoption of the National Policy on Social Co-responsibility for Care.

Articles 4 and 7. Equality of opportunity and treatment. The Committee previously requested the Government to continue providing information on the implementation of the National Employment Plan, the National Employment Policy and the Act on equality, equity and the elimination of discrimination against women in terms of the application of the Convention and, in particular, on the specific measures adopted to enable workers with family responsibilities to be able to enter and remain in the labour force, and to return to the labour force following an absence due to those responsibilities. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the various programmes and measures aimed at promoting gender equality in relation to the objective of the Convention. Accordingly, in 2013, action was taken to promote care enterprises, through the formulation of legal and institutional reforms for the implementation of measures for the sharing of family responsibilities between men and women, so that women entrepreneurs can develop their skills and businesses. Centres were also set up to provide care for children and elderly and dependent persons in order to alleviate women entrepreneurs’ burden of care work. The Committee welcomes the measures taken and requests the Government to continue to provide information on the specific measures taken or envisaged to ensure that workers with family responsibilities can enter and remain in the labour force, and return to the labour force following an absence due to those responsibilities.

Article 5. Community services. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures compatible with national conditions and possibilities to develop or promote public or private community services (such as kindergartens) to take into account the needs of workers with family responsibilities, and to provide statistical information disaggregated by sex on the availability of such facilities and the number of workers benefiting from them. The Government indicates in its report that the Act on the comprehensive protection of childhood and youth establishes a “national system for the comprehensive protection of childhood and youth” (INSA) which established the Child Welfare Centres (CBI). Those centres provide childcare for children aged 2 to 7 years from vulnerable urban areas for half or full days (11 hours). By the first quarter of 2015, there were 190 centres in the country’s 14 departments, covering 111 municipalities and providing childcare for 4,852 children. Integral Development Centres were also established to provide formal education to children aged from 6 months to 7 years. The centres are usually managed by local government, providing childcare services for the children of municipal market workers and street vendors. In the first quarter of 2015, there were 15 such centres caring for 1,452 children. The Government reports that programmes to reintegrate young mothers into education who dropped out due to maternity include the cost of childcare as a financial incentive. The Government indicates that in the first quarter of 2015, there were 121 public centres providing childcare services for children between 0 and 3 years, and that 59 of them were located in rural areas and 62 in urban areas. There are 2,983 children attending these centres. Two hundred private centres are also registered, six of which are located in rural areas. These centres provide childcare for 4,598 children. In 2013, the Government also adopted the Universal Social Protection System (SPSU) which promotes community services that take account of the needs of workers with family responsibilities, including: (i) a basic universal pension and essential care for elderly persons over 70; (ii) school meals; and (iii) the provision of uniforms, shoes and school materials. The Committee notes, however that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the fact that women continue to spend three times as much time as men on domestic work and that there is a lack of childcare facilities (CEDAW/C/SLV/CO/8-9, 3 March 2017, paragraphs 40(b) and (c)). The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on: (i) the supply and demand for care services and facilities providing care for children and other family members of workers with family responsibilities, who clearly require their care, both in urban and rural areas; and (ii) any other measures envisaged to improve the availability, accessibility, adequacy and quality of childcare and family services and facilities for workers with family responsibilities.

Article 6. Information and education. In its previous comments, the Committee emphasized the importance of the existence of true awareness of the problems confronting workers with family responsibilities and the need to take measures as a basis for establishing effective equality of opportunity and treatment in the labour market. The Committee notes the detailed information provided on the activities and programmes to promote the right to gender equality, as well as institutional coordination mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. The Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations, the Committee for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women recommended the State to raise awareness among women and men of their equal family responsibilities, encourage men to participate equally in child-rearing and household responsibilities and introduce flexible working hours for women and men in both the public and private sectors (CEDAW/C/SLV/CO/8-9, 3 March 2017, paragraph 41(b)). In this respect, the Committee emphasizes the importance of conducting regular awareness-raising and education campaigns in order to improve the public’s understanding of the difficulties faced by workers with family responsibilities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to improve the public’s understanding, by means of information and education, of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for workers with family responsibilities and workers without family responsibilities; and of the benefits of gender equality for society, families and the workplace.

Articles 9 and 11. Collective agreements, work rules, arbitration awards, court decisions, right to participate of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the principle of the Convention has not been widely developed within the framework of collective bargaining, and that it refers to the collective agreement of the El Salvador Social Security Institute as an exceptional case, which includes measures to extend maternity leave, and regulates the right to breastfeed in addition to leave for moving house. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged, in consultation with the social partners, with a view to promoting the inclusion in collective agreements, work rules and arbitration awards of provisions that encourage non-discrimination for workers with family responsibilities.

Practical application. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the possibility that the Secretariat for Social Inclusion and the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses could develop systematic indicators on workers with family responsibilities. In this respect, the Government reports that the 2016 National Policy on Women provides for the collection and systemization of statistical data relating to the Convention. Based on the Time Use Survey, since 2010, assessments of the labour market and women and men’s participation have been made. In addition, the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses has drawn on the Household Survey to produce reports and a range of proposals on labour underutilization and on decent work, the persistence of occupational segregation, widespread lack of protection and informality, particularly for the work performed by women, and overburdening of women who take on unpaid household and care work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the indicators on workers with family responsibilities that were used for the 2016 National Policy on Women. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistical information on workers with family responsibilities disaggregated by sex, age, occupation and sector, and on their participation rate in the labour force, employment rate (full and part-time), unemployment rate, average working hours and levels of pay.