Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the observations of the Federation of Parastatal Bodies and Other Unions (FPBOU) and of the Mauritius Employers’ Federation which were attached thereto. The Committee notes that the Employment Rights Act, 2008 was adopted on 22 August 2008, replacing the Labour Act of 1975. It notes further that the Employment Relations Act was also adopted on the same date, replacing the Industrial Relations Act, 1973. However, copies of these Acts have not yet been made available to the Committee. The Committee asks the Government to supply copies of the Employment Rights Act and the Employment Relations Act.

Article 1 of the Convention. Legislative developments. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, section 4 of the Employment Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment and occupation on the ground of age, race, colour, caste, creed, sex, sexual orientation, HIV status, religion, political opinion, place of origin, national extraction or social origin. The Committee notes that section 4(2) provides for an exception to the prohibition of discrimination in the case of a distinction, exclusion or preference in respect of the inherent requirements of a certain job. It also notes that, pursuant to subsections 3 and 4, specific conditions, requirements or practices can be imposed on a person when this disadvantageous treatment is “reasonable”, taking into account circumstances set forth in subsection 4. The Committee further notes the Government’s intention to introduce the Equal Opportunities Bill in the near future. The Committee hopes that the exceptions to the prohibition of discrimination provided for in section 4 of the Employment Rights Act will be strictly limited to particular jobs based on the inherent requirements thereof. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 4, including copies of any relevant judicial decisions concerning the application of subsections 2-4. Recalling its previous comments on the shortcomings of the Equal Opportunities Bill, the Committee also reiterates its hope that the Government will take the necessary steps to amend the Equal Opportunities Bill so as to ensure that it will prohibit discrimination on the grounds of political opinion and social origin, in line with Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Please provide information on any developments in this regard.

Scope of application. The Committee understands from the Government’s report that public officers, workers of local authorities and workers of parastatal bodies are not covered by the Employment Rights Act, with the exception of the provisions concerning violence at work. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured that these categories of workers enjoy the same protection against discrimination as the workers covered by the Employment Rights Act.

Sexual harassment. Further to its previous request, the Committee notes that the Government lacks information about the number of employers who are actually using the “Guidelines for an Anti-Harassment Policy”. It, however, notes that the Mauritius Federation of Employers was requested to encourage its members to adopt an anti-harassment policy. The Committee also notes the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment and the Sex Discrimination Division (SDD) with a view to raising public awareness about sexual harassment at the workplace. The Committee further notes the judgement delivered by the Industrial Court on a case of sexual harassment and it notes that during the biennium 2006–07 the SDD received approximately 30 complaints concerning sexual harassment while the labour inspection services recorded four such cases. The Committee encourages the Government to gather and submit information on the application of the anti‑harassment policy at the enterprise level and to continue its efforts to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, including through sensitization and awareness-raising campaigns, in cooperation with the social partners. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the enforcement of the legislation on sexual harassment.

Discrimination on the basis of political opinion. Recalling its previous comments on the widespread practice of recruiting workers for middle management and clerical posts on the basis of their political opinion, the Committee notes the Government’s intention to examine the recommendations on this point set out in the study on “Discrimination practices in the Mauritian labour market” with a view to identifying the measures needed to eliminate these practices. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to eliminate such discriminatory recruitment practices and ensure that no discrimination on the ground of political opinion takes place in the public and private sectors.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Committee recalls its previous comments on the occupational gender segregation existing in Mauritius’s labour market. It notes from the Government’s report that various workshops, career guidance and counselling on working opportunities available in the fields traditionally dominated by men, are provided to women and girls with a view to addressing the current situation. While noting the Government’s indication that some progress is being made in this regard and that women have access to posts once exclusively held by men, including in the police force, the Committee notes from the statistics provided by the Government that in 2007 women held only 35.6 per cent of the managerial positions in the government services, while holding approximately 72 per cent of the clerical posts. It also notes that women represented only 10 per cent of the ministers and 17 per cent of the Members of Parliament. From the statistics, it also emerges that in 2007 women accounted for approximately 14 per cent of the workers in the transport sector, 30 per cent of the workers in agriculture, hunting and forestry, approximately 56 per cent of the workers in the education sector and 52 per cent of the workers in the health sector. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in respect of employment and occupation and address the horizontal and vertical occupational sex segregation still existing in the labour market. In this context, please provide information on measures taken under the Action Plan for the National Gender Policy (2005–15) and any other measures taken as a follow-up to the recommendations included in the abovementioned study on discriminatory practices, and their impact. Please also continue to supply statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the different economic sectors, occupational categories and positions.

Access to vocational training and education. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that there has been a general increase in women’s participation in the technical courses offered by the Industrial and Vocational Training Board (IVTB). It also notes that women’s participation is mainly directed to the courses offered by the School of Design (in 2007, women represented approximately 49.5 per cent of the total number of participants) and the Hotel School (42.7 per cent), while enrolment rates in the other courses remain very low. With regard to the enrolment in the full-time vocational programmes provided by the High Institute of Technology, the Committee notes that while women’s rates of enrolment were almost the same as men’s in
2006–07, they dramatically decreased in 2007–08. The Committee also notes that almost no women took the final exam envisaged in these programmes. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote women’s enrolment in training courses and to foster their participation in a wider range of technical courses, including courses which have so far been dominated by men. The Committee also invites the Government to analyze the underlying causes for the decrease in women’s participation in the education programmes offered by the High Institute of Technology as well as their failure to complete these studies, and to take measures accordingly to address these causes.

Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour and national extraction. Further to its previous request, the Committee notes that the Code of Conduct for a Conflict Free Workplace (2003) will be revised following the adoption of the Employment Relations Act. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that the national policy of equality of treatment for all would prevent the Employment Service from “discriminating positively” against ethnic groups and, in particular, from adopting measures to promote access to employment of members of the Creole community. The Committee wishes to emphasize that by ratifying the Convention, the Government has undertaken to take measures to eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, including on the grounds of race, colour and national extraction. These may include affirmative action measures to overcome past and persisting discrimination. The Committee also stresses that in the absence of such measures, persons belonging to ethnic groups may, in practice, maintain a disadvantaged position in the labour market and thus not be able to exercise the right to equality of opportunity in respect of employment and occupation. The Committee requests the Government to:

(i)    take proactive measures to address ethnic discrimination and occupational stereotyping in the labour market and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment of all ethnic groups in Mauritius, including members of the Creole community;

(ii)   provide information on any inputs provided in this regard by the Labour Advisory Council according to section 65 of the Employment Rights Act mandating this body to promote the implementation of the Convention; and

(iii) provide a copy of the revised Code of Conduct for a Conflict Free Workplace, once adopted.

Article 4. Measures affecting an individual suspected of activities prejudicial to the security of the State. The Committee notes that no complaints were received concerning the application of Article 4. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the application of Article 4.

Article 5. Special measures. Recalling its previous comments concerning the special measures for the transport of women under the Labour Act, applied in particular in the sugar industry, the Committee hopes that any limitations affecting female workers under the newly adopted legislation will be limited to protecting maternity, and will not limit women’s equal access to employment and occupation.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the complaints received by the Human Rights Commission concerning human rights violations by public officers or public bodies as well as the information concerning cases of gender discrimination dealt with by the Sex Discrimination Division (SDD). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on any cases relevant to the application of the Convention handled by the Human Rights Commission and the SDD. Please also provide information on any relevant violations detected by the labour inspection services, the sanctions imposed and the remedies provided. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged following the findings and the recommendations included in the Study on “Discriminatory practices in the Mauritian labour market”.