Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

República Centroafricana

Convenio sobre igualdad de remuneración, 1951 (núm. 100) (Ratificación : 1964)
Convenio sobre la discriminación (empleo y ocupación), 1958 (núm. 111) (Ratificación : 1964)

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.

Firstly, the Committee notes that the Government refers, in its report on these two Conventions, to the elaboration of a draft revised Labour Code. Recalling that in October 2023 the Office provided technical assistance within the framework of this exercise, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made towards the adoption of the new Labour Code.

Convention No. 111 National policy on equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1(1)(a), 2 and 3(b). Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Legislation. Sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Government’s affirmation, in its report, that sections 17 to 19 of the draft revised Labour Code will effectively implement equality of opportunity and treatment. With regard to sexual harassment, the Government indicates the importance it accords this issue is clear from the September 2021 ratification of the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), which was followed by an awareness-raising campaign aimed at socio-economic actors and various communities in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged, including within the framework of the revision of the Labour Code, to: (i) define and explicitly prohibit both quid pro quo and hostile work environment sexual harassment; (ii) ensure that victims are protected against retaliation and provide for sanctions against perpetrators thereof; and (iii) adopt practical measures to prevent sexual harassment, in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Article 1(1)(b). Other grounds for discrimination. Disability and HIV status. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the draft Labour Code reinforces protection of persons living with HIV/AIDS. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) all practical measures taken, in collaboration with the employers and workers’ organizations, to prevent discrimination and stigmatization based on disability in employment and occupation; and (ii) implementation in the private sector of the requirement for employers employing more than 25 persons to employ five per cent of workers with disabilities that fulfil the recruitment criteria (section 265 of the Labour Code).

Articles 1 to 3. National policy for equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. Indigenous Peoples. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that activities have been organized in collaboration with the social partners and civil society organizations. The Government cites the seminar held in May 2024 by the National Authority for Good Governance on the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), which made recommendations aiming at ensuring the implementation of promotional strategies for these vulnerable groups in various areas through a committee established for this purpose and the creation of an observatory on the issue. In this connection, the Committee notes the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons following her visit to the country in November 2023, which are aimed at combating the trafficking of persons belonging to minorities and Indigenous Peoples for purposes of exploitation, in particular forced labour and slavery-like practices (United Nations Human Rights Council, A/HRC/56/60/Add.2, 15 May 2024, paras 66 and 113(aa), (gg) and (jj)). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to ensure protection from discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment of the Indigenous Peoples, including the Mbororos and the Aka Pygmies, in education, vocational training and employment, and as regards the exercise of their traditional activities.

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

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a). Principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication in its report that the drafting of section 10 of the draft revised Labour Code contains the terms “equal pay for work of equal value”. However, the Government gives no information on the text of section 222 of the Code, on which the Committee had made earlier comments. The Committee hopes that the reforms of the Labour Code will take its comments into account.

Articles 2(2)(c), and 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. Awareness-raising measures and collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the draft Labour Code provides for the establishment of a National Council for Social Dialogue (CNDS) to replace the Standing National Labour Council which lack of resources prevented from functioning correctly. The Government maintains that this new tripartite structure will provide a better framework for relevant social issues such as the revision of certain collective labour agreements that are outdated or not adapted to social and economic realities. The Committee requests the Government: (i) to take concrete measures to raise the awareness of employers’ and workers’ organizations on the issue of wage disparities between men and women and of the way to reduce such disparities; (ii) to indicate the manner in which collective agreements take up the issue of equal remuneration for men and women, by communicating a copy of the relevant provisions of the agreements; and (iii) to provide information of the resources to be provided to the CNDS for the performance of its duties.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In response to its previous comment, the Committee notes that the Government refers to the preparation of a standard guide for the classification and evaluation of jobs in the public sector and indicates that for the private sector, titles and classification of jobs and evaluation methods are fixed by collective labour agreements or enterprise agreements. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) publication of the standard guide for the classification and evaluation of jobs in the public sector (please supply a copy); and (ii) other concrete measures taken or envisaged to encourage the development and use of objective methods of job evaluation, especially during the negotiation of collective agreements or enterprise agreements in the private sector.

Conventions Nos 100 and 111 – Application in practice

Enforcement. Labour inspection and specialized bodies. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning: (1) the activities of the labour inspectorate; and (2) the adoption in 2017 of a national strategy for the development and modernization of the labour administration and inspectorate aimed at strengthening their capacities and enlarging their scope of operation better to protect workers, in particular workers from the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and to combat child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the prevention and enforcement activities conducted by the labour inspectors specifically with regard to combating discrimination and promoting equality in employment and occupation. It again requests the Government to specify whether the mandates of the National Commission for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and of the National Equality Observatory include the task of preventing and combating discrimination in employment and occupation based on the grounds listed in the Convention.