Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Access of women to the civil service. For a number of years, the Committee has been pointing to the persistent occupational segregation of women in the lower categories of the civil service and the slow progress in achieving an equitable balance between men and women, particularly in higher level posts. It has questioned the effectiveness of some of the measures indicated by the Government to address this phenomenon, and has pointed out that where seniority is a determining factor for purposes of promotion into higher level posts, the equitable application of this criterion should not lead to indirect discrimination against female civil servants. Consequently, the Government had been requested to review whether the weight given to the criterion of accumulated knowledge and years of experience to access higher level posts in the civil service has had a discriminatory impact on women’s possibilities to access such posts, and to take more proactive measures to address the occupational gender segregation within the civil service. The Committee notes with regret that the Government continues to affirm that the Civil Service Statute provides women and men with equal opportunities to access all posts without restrictions, without providing further details on any measures taken to review whether the application of the criterion of accumulated years of experience and knowledge is not leading, in practice, to indirect discrimination against women. The Committee wishes to point out that, under the Convention, the Government has the obligation to address both direct and indirect discrimination based on sex, with respect to employment and occupation in the public service. The Committee, therefore, urges the Government to take effective steps to address the occupational gender segregation within the civil service, including the taking of measures to overcome the problem of women having an insufficient number of accumulated years of experience and knowledge, and to promote women to higher level posts. Please also provide detailed and up-to-date statistics on the distribution of male nd female employees in all posts of the civil service.

National policy on equality of opportunity and treatment with respect to other grounds. The Committee notes with regret that the Government once again fails to provide information on the measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation with respect to grounds other than sex, and to address de facto inequalities which may exist based on race, colour, national extraction, religion, political opinion or social origin with respect to training, employment and conditions of work. The Committee urges the Government to take concrete measures, in accordance with Article 3(a)–(e) of the Convention, to guarantee the effective application of the Convention, in law and in practice, with respect to the grounds of race, colour, national extraction, religion, political opinion and social origin.

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