Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Peru (Ratification: 1970)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (CONFIEP) communicated with the Government’s report, as well as the observations of the Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Peru (CATP), the Confederation of Workers of Peru (CTP), the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) and the Single Confederation of Workers of Peru (CUT-Perú), received on 1 September 2021. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Article 1 of the Convention. Discrimination on the basis of sex, colour and race. With reference to its request to evaluate the consequences of the differences of legislative treatment and of indirect discrimination in the special labour regimes (in agriculture, domestic work and micro-enterprises), the Committee notes with satisfaction that the agricultural sector is now governed by Act No. 31110 on the agrarian labour regime and incentives for the agrarian sector and irrigation, agricultural exports and agro-industry (published on 31 December 2020) and its Regulations, and that section 6 of the Act prohibits discrimination and acts of violence or harassment and establishes protection measures for pregnant and nursing workers. With regard to domestic work, the Government also refers to the adoption of Act No. 31047 on women and men domestic workers (published on 17 September 2020) and its Regulations, which also prohibit any act of discrimination and establish measures to protect maternity and prevent and punish sexual harassment. The Committee notes that the CGTP, CUT-Perú, CTP and CATP indicate in their observations that: (1) the adoption of new laws on the agricultural sector and domestic work is encouraging, as they remove certain differences of legislative treatment and introduce mechanisms to combat discrimination; (2) the new regime for the agricultural sector has equalized most terms and conditions of employment, but certain differences in treatment persist which are not related to the specific characteristics of agricultural work, such as coverage by life insurance; (3) there are no tripartite evaluation mechanisms to assess whether differences of treatment are appropriate or involve structural discrimination, and the measures adopted are still inadequate to ensure the enforcement of existing standards; and (4) information is lacking on the situation of women in agriculture and stock-raising and in domestic work. The Committee also observes that the Government has not provided information on the regime governing micro- and small enterprises, and that the workers’ organizations indicate that, according to the Sectoral Strategy for Labour Formalization 2018–21 and the National Decent Employment Policy, this regime has only limited coverage and has not had a significant effect on reducing levels of informality. In this context, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or to be adopted with a view to identifying and addressing any element of the special regime for micro- and small enterprises that may lead to indirect discrimination against women and indigenous peoples in access to employment and conditions of employment, which would be contrary to the principle of equality and non-discrimination in employment and occupation. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the application of Acts Nos 31110 and 31047 respecting the agricultural sector and irrigation, agricultural exports and agro-industry, and domestic work, respectively, including information on: (i) measures taken to provide training to labour inspectors and awareness-raising among domestic workers and workers and employers in the agricultural sector; and (ii) any cases dealt with by the labour inspection, courts or any other competent body, the sanctions imposed and the remedies granted.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. In reply to its previous request on the measures adopted under the Sectoral Plan for Equality and Non-discrimination in Employment and Occupation 2018–21, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the 2020 evaluation is currently being carried out and that joint and coordinated action has been undertaken by the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE), the National Labour Inspection Superintendent Authority (SUNAFIL) and labour inclusion programmes in the field of equality and non-discrimination with a view to: (1) the preparation of technical documents, including two projects to promote formal and productive self-employment for women, six technical and normative documents and the report on labour statistics based on data from the National Household Survey of Living Conditions and Poverty (ENAHO) 2018, including the employed economically active population by gender updated to 2018; (2) the training of 4,358 women in vocational skills for dependent employment, as well as diverse measures regarding the certification of labour skills, employment placement, temporary employment and productive and formal self-employment targeting women and other specially protected groups, without indicating the specific number of women beneficiaries; and (3) the strengthening of capacity-building in relation to equality and non-discrimination through ten awareness-raising campaigns, as well as capacity-building for 305 persons in the civil service. The Government also refers in its report to the formulation of the National Decent Employment Policy, approved in 2021, which includes items 5.1 “implementing effective measures to combat sexual harassment at work and gender discrimination among the working population”, 5.2 “implementing incentives and normative measures with cultural relevance for the recruitment of groups suffering discrimination or vulnerable groups” and 5.4 “strengthening the skills of vulnerable groups or those in a vulnerable situation to improve their employability”. The Committee also notes the reference by the Government in the national report for the Beijing+25 Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995, to: (1) the National Gender Equality Policy, adopted in 2019, which includes in item 4.3 “strengthening the formal labour market inclusion of women”, measures for the certification of labour skills, skills training to improve employability and labour market integration, training and technical assistance in enterprise management and productivity, and financing for women heads of undertakings and enterprises; and (2) the Intergovernmental Committee for Gender Equality and Vulnerable Populations was created in 2019 to articulate and implement policies, strategies and action for the reduction of the gender gap.

The Committee notes the indications by the CGTP, CUT-Perú, CTP and CATP that: (1) the trade union confederations have not been called upon to participate in the evaluation of the Sectoral Plan; and (2), according to the 2019 data of the National Statistics and Information Technology Institute (INEI), differences in the activity rate between women and men have remained practically unchanged since 2009, the unemployment rate of women has been higher than that of men in all years and, even though the income gap has been reduced, its underlying causes have not been the target of specific public policy measures. The Committee recalls that it is essential to follow up the implementation of plans and policies in terms of their results and effectiveness, and that employers’ and workers’ organizations can play an important role in their formulation, promotion and evaluation.

The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the progress made in the process of evaluating the Sectoral Plan for Equality and Non-discrimination in Employment and Occupation, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations, and particularly their impact on the prevention of gender-based discrimination in employment and occupation and the challenges that have been identified in their implementation; and (ii) the specific measures adopted within the framework of the National Decent Employment Policy and that National Gender Equality Policy, including the number of beneficiaries of these measures disaggregated by sex.

With reference to the transition to a single employment regime in the civil service, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to the approval of Directive No. 001-2021-SERVIR-GDSRH “Orientations for the transition of a public body to the Civil Service employment regime”, and its indication that as of June 2021, a total of 506 public bodies had commenced the process of transition to the new civil service employment regime. In this regard, the Committee notes the indication by the CGTP, CUT-Perú, CTP and CATP that incorporation into the civil service employment regime lacks political support (as the process was completed between 2014 and 2020 by only seven out of a total of 3000 bodies), and that Act No. 31131 adopting provisions for the eradication of discrimination in the employment regimes of the public sector (published on 9 March 2021) is the subject of an appeal to the Constitutional Court. The confederations also reiterate that the three employment regimes can give rise to indirect cases of discrimination when women are in feminized sectors of the public sector in which the public careers regime is predominant, under which wages are low and employment conditions are precarious. The Committee trusts that the Government will take measures to guarantee progress in the transition towards a single employment regime in the civil service and requests the Government to provide full information in this regard.

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