Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la discriminación (empleo y ocupación), 1958 (núm. 111) - República Democrática Popular Lao (Ratificación : 2008)

The Committee notes the observations of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) and the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) communicated with the Government’s report. It also notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 30 August 2024, which reproduce the statements made in June 2024 before the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards by the Employer spokesperson and national employers’ representatives.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 112 th Session, June 2024)

The Committee notes the detailed discussion which took place at the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2024) concerning the application of the Convention by Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), as well as the conclusions adopted. The Conference Committee noted with concern, that 16 years after the ratification of the Convention, the Government has yet to take the necessary steps to bring its legislation fully into conformity with its provisions. Taking the discussion into account, the Conference Committee urged the Government, in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to take effective measures to:

• clearly define direct and indirect discrimination in law;
• clearly define, prevent and prohibit sexual harassment in both employment and occupation and ensure that protections and adequate remedies for victims of harassment are provided for in law and practice;
• ensure that the Ministerial Decision on Domestic Workers is aligned with Convention No. 111 by expressly listing the grounds for prohibited discrimination in accordance with Article 1(1)(a);
• ensure that the prohibitions of discrimination contained in Article 1(1)(a) apply to civil servants and that those protections as contained in the Labour Law and related legislation cover both employment and occupation;
• amend the 2014 Labour Law to expressly prohibit discrimination in employment and occupation on at least all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, including sex;
• provide information on the application in practice of: (i) article 83(4) of the Labour Law, which allows a worker to bring an end to the employment contract in the event of sexual harassment; and (ii) article 143(4), which prohibits employers from violating the personal rights of employees, including with respect to cases of sexual harassment.

Finally, the Conference Committee requested the Government to provide a detailed report on the measures taken to implement the Convention in law and practice, notably the above-mentioned recommendations, and progress achieved before the deadline of 1 September 2024.

Article 1 of the Convention. Legislative reform. Definitions. Scope of application. In its report, the Government emphasizes that over the past 16 years, it has concentrated its efforts on advancing the nation’s socio-economic development to enhance living conditions for its citizens. This is being implemented through the adoption of a sustainable development strategy aimed at eradicating poverty and positioning the country to graduate from the list of least developed nations by 2030. Simultaneously, the Government has implemented legislative reforms to strengthen the judicial system and legislative institutions, with the goal of fostering effective governance and promoting an equitable and just society. The Government, however, acknowledges the existence of legislative gaps and recognizes the need to improve and adjust its labour legislation framework in alignment with the country’s developmental context and ratified international instruments. The Government informs the Committee that, following the discussion at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, it is planning to amend the current 2014 Labour Law within a timeline spanning 2026 to 2030. The Committee notes that the Government commits: (1) to amend the 2014 Labour Law by clearly stating that discrimination in employment and occupation as defined in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention is prohibited; (2) to define more clearly in the Labour Law direct and indirect discrimination in employment and occupation; (3) to incorporate a clear definition of sexual harassment in employment and occupation, as well as provisions on prevention and prohibition of sexual harassment, including protection of victims; (4) to apply the prohibition against discrimination in employment and occupation set forth in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention to civil servants; and (5) to ensure that the content of the Ministerial Decision on Domestic Workers No. 4369/MOLSW will be amended and aligned with the Convention definition of protection against discrimination enshrined in Article 1(1)(a). The Committee welcomes the Government’s commitment to incorporating the conclusions of the Conference Committee in the Labour Law or other appropriate legislative texts, in consultation with social partners. In this regard, it wishes to recall the importance of: (1) adopting a clear and comprehensive definition of what constitutes discrimination in employment and occupation, aligned with the broad definition contained in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, in order to identify and address the many manifestations in which it may occur, that is in law or in practice, directly or indirectly. The Convention protects against all discrimination based on at least all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) (not only gender), that affect equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation; (2) clarifying that the prohibition of discrimination should apply to all aspects of employment and occupation. Under Article 1(3) of the Convention “employment” and “occupation” include access to vocational training, access to employment and to particular occupations, and terms and conditions of employment (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 743–760); and (3) ensuring that the definition of sexual harassment contains the following two elements: (a) any physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature and other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men which is unwelcome, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient and a person’s rejection of, or submission to, such conduct is used explicitly or implicitly as a basis for a decision which affects that person’s job (quid pro quo or blackmail); and (b) conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating working environment for the recipient (hostile work environment).

Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. In response to the Committee’s request for information on the application in practice of article 83(4) of the 2014 Labour Law, which allows a worker to bring an end to the employment contract in the event of sexual harassment; and article 143(4), which prohibits employers from violating the personal rights of employees, including with respect to cases of sexual harassment, the Government indicates that, in 2023, labour inspectors across the country inspected 2,600 workplaces and mediated 82 cases of labour disputes but no cases of sexual harassment have been referred to them. Should a case of sexual harassment in the workplace be found, it would be processed according to article 179 of the Labour Law (Measures against violators of the Labour Law) and the 2017 Penal Law. On this point, the Committee notes that the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Lao PDR, 2022–2026, emphasizes that sexual harassment remains a serious issue in workplaces and envisages the development of a sexual harassment policy and anti-harassment committees. The Committee recalls that it considers that legislation under which the sole redress available to victims of sexual harassment is termination of the employment relationship, while retaining the right to compensation, does not afford sufficient protection for victims of sexual harassment, since it in fact punishes them and could dissuade victims from seeking redress. Furthermore, it wishes to highlight that the absence of complaints regarding sexual harassment does not necessarily indicate that this form of sex discrimination does not exist; rather, it is likely to reflect the lack of an appropriate legal framework, the lack of awareness, understanding and recognition of this form of sex discrimination among government officials, and workers and employers and their organizations, as well as the lack of access to or the inadequacy of complaints mechanisms and means of redress, or fear of reprisals. It therefore reiterates the importance of providing for adequate sanctions and remedies. On these matters, the Committee refers the Government to its general observation adopted in 2002 and its 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 789–794).

The Committee asks the Government to report on any progress achieved to bring its legislation fully into conformity with the provisions of the Convention by ensuring that all the grounds formally prohibited by the Convention in its Article 1(1)(a) are incorporated in the revised Labour Law, and urges it to initiate this process without delay. Pending the implementation of the forthcoming legal reforms, the Committee urges the Government: (i) to enhance the capacity of the competent authorities, including judges, labour inspectors and other public officials, to identify and address cases of discrimination on at least the prohibited grounds specified in the Convention (race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin); (ii) to assess whether the applicable substantive and procedural provisions, in practice, allow claims to be brought forward successfully; and (iii) to communicate information on any court or administrative decisions regarding the enforcement of non-discrimination legislation, as well as on any relevant complaints reported to or violations detected by the labour inspectorate. Noting the Government’s commitment to apply the prohibitions on discrimination outlined in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention to civil servants, the Committee seeks clarification on whether it also plans to amend the Law on Government Officials No. 74/NA of 2015, in addition to the 2014 Labour Law. Please provide information on the formulation of a sexual harassment policy, as mentioned above.

Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. The Committee recalls that the 2014 Labour Law no longer prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality, age or socio-economic status, which were previously included in the 2007 Labour Law and that it had expressed its concerns that, upon the adoption of new labour legislation, previously available protection against discrimination based on additional grounds has been withdrawn. As regards foreign workers, it notes that during the discussion before the CAS, the Government stressed that it does its best to provide equal labour rights and benefits to foreign workers and underlined that the rights and benefits of these workers are protected under article 8 of Ministerial Decision on the Permission of Foreign Employees Working in Lao PDR No. 3667/MOLSW (adopted on 27 September 2023). However, the Committee observes that Article 8 content is quite similar to Article 69(1) of the Labour Law and notes with regret that the Government has not provided information regarding protection against discrimination on the grounds of age and particularly “socio-economic status”. This latter is very close to the concept of “social origin” as understood in the context of the Convention and, in some cases, may be used interchangeably with it (see in this regard, the 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 802–804). In the context of the legislative reforms mentioned above, the Committee asks the Government to consult employers’ and workers’ organizations, with a view to look into the possibility of maintaining the same level of protection against discrimination on the basis of grounds previously contained in the 2007 Labour Law with respect to all aspects of employment and occupation.

Article 4. Activities prejudicial to the security of the State. The Committee notes with deep concern that, during the discussion at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, the Government has merely reiterated that, under article 39 of the 2015 Constitution, “Lao citizens have the right to work and engage in occupations which are not contrary to the laws”, and not provided any information on the practical application of article 117 of the new Penal Law (2017) which establishes a very broad prohibition of activities considered to be prejudicial to the security of the State. As a consequence, the Committee reiterates its previous requests andurges the Government: (i) to take the necessary measures to communicate information on the application in practice of article 117 of the 2017 Penal Law; and (ii) to indicate the steps taken to ensure that these provisions do not, in practice, result in discrimination in employment and occupation on the basis of political opinion, including information on any complaints made by employees or extracts of any court decisions in this regard.

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