Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - French Polynesia

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Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against discrimination. Grounds of discrimination. Legislation. Public sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication regarding the General Public Service Regulations of French Polynesia, that: (1) it is not opposed to reviewing the list of grounds of discrimination on the basis of the list in the Labour Code of French Polynesia; and (2) the ground of “origin”, mentioned in section 5 of the abovementioned Regulations may refer, inter alia, to a person’s geographical, social, ethnic or cultural origin, thus rendering superfluous the addition of the term “social origin”. The Committee notes that the Government adds that a complete reform of all regulatory provisions is envisaged, which would result in the adoption of a public service code of French Polynesia. The Committee also recalls that the Labour Code of French Polynesia was amended in 2019 to specify that the term “origin” included “social origin”. In order to allow public service workers protection against any discrimination based on their social origin and to enjoy this protection before the competent authorities, the Committee requests the Government to take the opportunity presented by the reform of provisions applicable to the public sector to include “social origin” among the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination so as to cover all the grounds enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. It also asks the Government to envisage, under this reform, aligning the anti-discrimination provisions applicable to the public sector with those applicable in the private sector and, more generally, with the provisions applicable in metropolitan France, which extend workers’ protection against discrimination on many other grounds.

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