Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Paraguay

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 1964)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 1967)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine the Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

Convention No. 111 – National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1(1)(a), 2 and 3(b). Prohibited grounds for discrimination. Legislation. National extraction. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, according to which section 9 of the Labour Code establishes that discrimination based on national extraction is a prohibited ground for discrimination. The Committee notes that, under this provision, ethnicity, nationality, sex, age, religion, social status, and religious, political or trade union preference are specified as prohibited grounds for discrimination. In this regard, the Committee observes that national extraction is not expressly covered. Recalling that the ground of national extraction is not expressly covered by the provisions of the national legislation providing protection against discrimination for workers in the private sector, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure effective protection for workers in that sector against discrimination in employment and occupation based on national extraction, and to examine the manner in which the national legislation could be supplemented in order to expressly include this ground. The Committee urges the Government to provide information in this respect.

HIV and AIDS. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that, in the context of the education and prevention actions conducted by the National Centre for Addiction Prevention and Treatment (CENPTRA), a training and refresher workshop on Act No. 3940/09 was held in April 2023, with the aim of promoting the respect, protection and guarantee of the human rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS. The Committee also notes that the Government has published General Secretariat Decisions Nos 440/2018 “creating the national HIV/AIDS response council (CONASIDA)”, and 439/2018 “creating the technical committee for the national response to HIV and other STIs”. The Committee notes this information which addresses its previous request.

Sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Government’s indications, according to which “while the law regulates sexual violence in general, it does not do so with regard to work, more specifically Act No. 5777/16 does not cover sexual harassment at work, which is evident from a comprehensive analysis of the Act, including its regulatory decree”. The Government also indicates that Decision No. 388/2019 of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MTESS), creating the Office for the provision of assistance and prevention of work-related violence, and establishing procedures within enterprises to address cases of work-related violence, mobbing and sexual harassment in the workplace, includes hostile work environment sexual harassment. In this regard, the Committee observes that no reference is made to quid pro quo sexual harassment. The Committee emphasizes that sexual harassment is an attack on the physical and moral integrity of individuals and that the full application of the Convention can only be secured where the fundamental rights of individuals are respected. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure the effective protection of workers, in both the public and private sector, against sexual harassment at work, and to examine the possibility of including, in national legislation, provisions that protect against hostile work environment and quid pro quo sexual harassment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect.

Article 5. Special measures. Persons with disabilities. The Committee welcomes the promulgation of Act No. 6808/2021 “creating disability secretariats in the governorates and municipalities”, which aims to promote the provision of assistance for persons with disabilities, in each respective governorate and municipality, while providing the possibility to use the Inclusion Financing Fund for training, skills development and technological adaptation projects that facilitate access to employment. In turn, the Committee notes that the Government: (1) has developed the “Guidelines for the Workplace Inclusion Plan for Persons with Disabilities”, intended to provide guidance for public and private institutions on the implementation of inclusive policies that facilitate the labour integration of persons with disabilities; (2) has implemented the “Inclusive Training Programme”, aimed at improving the employability of persons with disabilities or a visual impediment through the provision of guidance, training for labour integration and support for microenterprises, from which 2,438 persons (including 1,397 women) benefited between 2022 and 2023; (3) is working together with the Mbarete Interinstitutional Network and is developing the Kuña Mbarete Project, which promote the economic inclusion of subsistence entrepreneurs – with a focus on persons with disabilities –, and the sociopolitical and socio-economic inclusion of women with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of Act No. 6808/2021 and the other measures adopted to promote access to and retention in employment for persons with disabilities.

Articles 1 to 3. National policy on equality of opportunity and treatment. Race, colour and national extraction. Indigenous peoples. The Committee notes with interest Act No. 6279/2019 “establishing the obligation to incorporate persons belonging to indigenous communities into public institutions”, as an affirmative measure to establish a minimum quota of one per cent for the hiring of persons belonging to indigenous communities. The Committee notes: (1) the various training courses delivered by the National System for Vocational Education and Training (SINAFOCAL), which were attended by 715 persons from different indigenous communities in four departments in the country; and (2) the creation of the Regulatory Board for Act No. 6940/2022 “establishing mechanisms and procedures to prevent and punish acts of racism and discrimination against persons of African descent”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of Act No. 6279/2019, and the aforementioned initiatives.

Sex. Promotion of gender equality. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, according to which: (1) the intervention strategies for the series of actions undertaken in the public sector were structured around three pillars – social integration, integration into labour and production activities, and social welfare; (2) the National Employment Plan 2022–2026 promotes policies and actions aimed at fostering post-COVID-19 economic recovery and growth, and reducing informality and unemployment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved with regard to the aforementioned strategies, as well as under the National Human Rights Plan, the Fourth National Gender Equality Plan (2018–24) and the National Development Plan 2030.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 to 4. Gender wage gap and occupational segregation. The Committee notes the Government’s indications, according to which the National Care Policy 2030 aims to have a significant indirect impact on the occupational segregation of women and on the promotion of greater equality in the world of work. The Government also indicates that: (1) the Bill “establishing equal pay for men and women in the public and private sector” has been submitted, which seeks to combat wage inequality and discrimination based on gender; (2) the “Gender Atlas” platform developed by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in collaboration with UN Women, aims to highlight the existing gaps between men and women, and facilitate the design and development of public policies; (3) the National Institute of Statistics (INE) has promoted a process to modernize the National Statistical System (SISEN), and has approved the Gender Statistics Strategy for Paraguay 2021–2025; (4) the average monthly income of men in all occupations in 2023 was 25 per cent higher than that of women, which represents a decrease of only one percentage point in comparison with the gap recorded in 2019; (4) between 2019 and 2023, the gender wage gap decreased in the public sector (from 16 per cent to 9 per cent) but increased in the private sector (from 5 per cent to 7 per cent).

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, in 2023, in the private sector: (1) 33 per cent of women in work were in medium- and highly-skilled occupations, compared with 15 per cent of men; (2) 46.1 per cent of women worked in low-skilled occupations such as office workers, service workers and sales assistants, compared with 19.4 per cent of men; (3) 64.9 per cent of men worked in low-skilled occupations such as agricultural workers, labourers, artisans and unskilled workers, compared with 21 per cent of women. The Committee trusts that the measures adopted or envisaged will have a positive impact on the reduction of occupational segregation and the gender wage gap. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information in this respect.

Articles 1 to 3. Application of the principle of equal remuneration. Collective agreements. The Committee notes that, between 2021 and 2024, 22 collective agreements were submitted for approval before the Labour Administration Authority, of which 18 per cent have gender components that ensure substantive equality between women and men workers in terms of remuneration. The Committee takes due note of this information and requests the Government to continue to report on this matter.

Objective job evaluation methods. The Committee notes with interest the submission of the Bill on the public service and civil service careers, which establishes methodologies for the objective evaluation of jobs. The Committee also observes that, with regard to the public sector, and in accordance with section 2 of Decree No. 196/2003, a system for classifying administrative positions and a corresponding table of categories, with job titles and remuneration for central administration agencies, and decentralized state and judicial bodies, were established, with a view to guaranteeing a fair and equitable compensation system for government employees. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in the adoption of the aforementioned Bill and on the application in practice of the objective job evaluation methods with a view to promoting equal remuneration for work of equal value, in both the public and private sector.

Conventions Nos 100 and 111 – Application in practice

Article 4 of Convention No. 100 and Article 3(a) of Convention No. 111. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes that: (1) the National Tripartite Committee for Equal Opportunities was reactivated in May 2024, and is currently developing a national strategy on labour equity, which will focus, among other things, on evaluating the effectiveness of labour policies and laws related to equality of opportunity, proposing and developing new policies and programmes, and promoting education and awareness-raising; and (2) the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) signed a framework agreement with the ILO, and representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations to implement the Tripartite Decent Work Programme 2024–25. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved with the national strategy on labour equity and the activities under the Tripartite Decent Work Programme, and on the outcome and impacts of these and other initiatives to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation.

Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, according to which the MTESS has developed labour dispute settlement mechanisms in order to ensure that women workers in particular have a more in-depth understanding of their labour rights through a comprehensive legal advisory service, and can demand the due fulfilment of their labour rights through the labour complaint system, specifically by providing impartial and transparent procedures for the investigation and resolution of complaints regarding wage inequalities. The Government also indicates that 13,947 workers (68 per cent of whom are women) have benefited from the comprehensive legal advisory service, 6,083 workers (41 per cent women) have been able to demand due fulfilment of their labour rights through the complaints system, and 2,631 labour mediation and conciliation procedures have been carried out (55 per cent of which were for women). The Committee also notes the Government’s indications, according to which, between 2023 and 2024, the General Labour Inspectorate states that no violations of Convention No. 100 were detected, and that no violations involving discriminatory treatment between men and women workers based on sex, race, religion or any other grounds were formally identified. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the matters addressed through the advisory, complaints, mediation and labour inspection services; and (ii) whether the absence of complaints regarding violations of Conventions Nos 100 and 111 may be due to a lack of awareness of rights, lack of trust in the procedures or fear of retaliation.

In addition, the Committee recalls the outstanding comments concerning [the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), previously adopted by the Committee, to which the Government will be invited to respond in accordance with the reporting cycle.