Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Legislation. Scope of protection against discrimination. Referring to its observation, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate how it ensures protection against discrimination of workers excluded from the scope of Act No. 13/2009 of 27 May 2009 regulating labour in Rwanda, other than public service employees, such as family members working in agriculture, stock-raising and commercial and industrial activities (section 3).

The Committee notes that Act No. 13/2009 has been published in three languages: Kinyarwanda, English and French. It notes that there are substantial differences between the English and French versions of this Act, particularly with regard to the translation of its key provisions to which the Committee refers in its observation and in its comments on the application of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100). The Committee fears that these discrepancies are a source of confusion and could lead to inconsistencies in the application of the Act. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to align the different translations of Act No. 13/2009 issuing the labour regulations in the manner which is most compatible with the provisions of the Convention and to provide information on the measures taken to that end.

Article 2 of the Convention. Equality between men and women. Implementation of the National Gender Policy. The Committee notes that the objective of the National Gender Policy adopted in 2004 is to “ensure that women, particularly those in rural areas, and men, boys and girls have equal access to and control over economic opportunities such as employment and credit”. It also notes that, according to the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2008–12), particular attention will be paid to the access of women to paid employment and measures will be taken to increase the professional opportunities offered to women and to eliminate gender-based pay discrimination. Welcoming the Government’s efforts to combat gender-based discrimination, the Committee requests it to provide information on the concrete measures taken or envisaged, particularly in the context of the implementation of the National Gender Policy, to encourage the access of women and girls to education, particularly to secondary and higher education, vocational training and employment, and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation.

Furthermore, referring to its previous comments concerning section 206 of the Civil Code, which provides that “the husband is the head of the household”, and its negative impact on equality between men and women in employment, the Committee notes the Government’s commitment to amend this provision as soon as possible and requests it to indicate any progress made in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in examining the proposals contained in the document identifying the legislative texts which are discriminatory with regard to gender produced in January 2009 by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion.

The Committee notes the communication of the Association of Christian Trade Unions (UMURIMO), according to which the Government initiated the procedure for the ratification of the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), and the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), at the end of 2007. Emphasizing the importance of these two Conventions with regard to equality between men and women, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the progress made with regard to the ratification procedures.

Article 3(d). Public service. The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comments concerning the Public Service Commission, the Government indicates that this Commission was created by Act No. 06/2007 of 1 February 2007 and that it is operational. It notes that the Commission is entrusted with the task of organizing a candidate selection system which is objective, impartial, transparent and equal for all and with conducting research on all matters relating to personnel development and management. The Committee also notes that public service employees are excluded from the scope of the 2009 Act No. 13/2009 regulating labour in Rwanda and that the 2002 general conditions of service of public servants and its implementing texts, which govern their conditions of employment and work, do not contain provisions expressly prohibiting discrimination. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on:

(i)    the activities of the Public Service Commission relating to recruitment and development of personnel;

(ii)   the measures taken to ensure effective protection of these employees against any act of discrimination on the basis of any of the seven grounds listed in the Convention (race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin), not only during their recruitment but also in the course of their employment (possibilities for promotion and advancement);

(iii) the measures taken or envisaged, particularly under the National Gender Policy, to promote the participation of women in all sectors of the administration, at both the central and local levels, and to encourage the access of women to managerial posts on an equal footing with men.

Measures to promote equal access of the Batwa to education, training and employment. In the absence of a reply from the Government on this matter, the Committee is bound to repeat its previous request for specific information on the measures taken by the Government to improve the access of members of the Batwa community to education, including vocational training, employment and occupation, as well as information on the impact of these measures on the overall socio-economic situation of this community. The Committee also requests it to provide any statistics available on the school enrolment rate of Batwa children and the employment situation of members of this community in the private and public sectors.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. Statistical information. The Committee notes the first company census report in Rwanda, carried out in 2008 by the Rwanda Private Sector Federation and submitted by the Government. The report constitutes the first step towards a better understanding of the country’s economic fabric, but does not, however, contain sufficient data disaggregated by sex to obtain an overview of the employment situation of women. The Committee also notes that, in July 2009, the Gender Observatory, created in 2009, organized, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the National Institute of Statistics, with support from UNIFEM, a workshop to consider best practices and the challenges relating to the collection and analysis of statistics disaggregated by sex, which resulted in the adoption of an action plan in this regard. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be able to provide as detailed as possible statistics on the employment of men and women in the private sector, according to economic sector and job level, and in the public sector, including in managerial posts, in order to assess the impact of the measures taken to combat discrimination on the basis of sex and promote equality of opportunity and treatment. The Government is also requested to provide information on any cases of discrimination in employment and occupation dealt with by labour inspectors, the National Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Ombudsperson or the courts.