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

Legislation. Prohibition of discrimination. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that under the Constitution of Pakistan, all citizens have equal opportunities in private and public employment and that the labour legislation was being applied equally to all workers, without discrimination. The Government adds that no complaints of discrimination in any industrial or commercial undertaking had been recorded. The Committee notes that the Convention aims at the protection against discrimination in employment and occupation of all workers, both citizens and non-citizens. The Committee also recalls that constitutional protection alone, while being important, may not be sufficient in terms of granting effective protection from discrimination in employment and occupation, and that the mere absence of discriminatory provisions in the legislation does not amount to a prohibition of discrimination, nor does it generally provide an appropriate legal basis for discrimination complaints to be brought.

The Committee recalls that the Convention aims at the elimination of discrimination as defined in Article 1 of the Convention through the adoption and implementation of a national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment (Article 2). Under Article 3(b), Pakistan has undertaken to enact such legislation as may be calculated to secure the acceptance and observance of such national policy. The Committee also recalls that, in its 2008 General Report, it stressed the importance of adopting non-discrimination and equality legislation in order to give effect to the Convention. In this context, the Committee refers to its comments under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), in which it notes that the Government has prepared a draft Employment and Service Conditions Act which contains a provision on equal remuneration for men and women. The Committee trusts that the Government will give due consideration to introducing into the legislation non-discrimination provisions prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, and any other ground determined after consultations with workers’ and employers’ organizations, as provided for under Articles 1(1)(a) and 1(1)(b) of the Convention. The Committee recalls that where provisions are being adopted to give effect to the Convention, they should, as a minimum, cover discrimination on all the seven grounds explicitly listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. It is equally required by the Convention that equality of opportunity and treatment is ensured with respect to selection and recruitment, all terms and conditions of employment, as well as termination. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken with a view to including provisions on non-discrimination and equality in employment and occupation in the draft Employment and Service Conditions Act and to provide a copy of the Act as soon as it is adopted.

Sexual harassment. With regard to its previous comments concerning the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace and the ongoing efforts to address it, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that the Ministry of Women’s Development has prepared two draft bills which comprehensively address sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The Committee understands that since the Government submitted its report, the bills were approved by Cabinet on 9 February 2009 and are now pending in Parliament. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in adopting legislation on sexual harassment in the workplace, and to provide a copy of the new legislation as soon as it is adopted.

Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee notes that according to the Labour Force Survey 2007/2008, the labour force participation rate (refined) was 69.5 per cent for men and 19.6 per cent for women, whereas the corresponding figures for 2001–02 were 70.3 per cent for men and 14.4 per cent for women. While welcoming the progress made with regard to women’s participation in the labour force, the Committee observes that the gender differential, as regards labour force participation, continues to be high. The Committee also notes that women’s participation rate increased in rural areas, whereas it actually decreased in urban areas. With regard to the employment status of men and women, the Committee notes from data established for 2001–02 and 2007–08, that the percentages of women being employees and own-account workers significantly decreased, combined with a gradual increase of women in the category of unpaid family workers (from 46.9 to 65 per cent). Women remain concentrated in unskilled elementary occupations or skilled agricultural work. In this context, the Committee notes the observations made by the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) in their communication dated 21 September 2008, stressing the need for measures to enable women to move from the informal to the formal economy, including through extending social security and minimum wages, and training and education for rural women.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to the Committee’s comments regarding gender equality in employment and occupation. The Government indicates that the Ministry of Women’s Development is implementing a National Gender Reform Plan (GRAP) which provides for measures to increase women’s employment in the public sector, including through improvements of office facilities to provide for restrooms and day care facilities. The Government also continued to implement a 10 per cent quota for women in government employment at the federal level; efforts are under way to increase the quota to 20 per cent. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the implementation of the public sector quota system, including statistical information on the current distribution of men and women in the different government departments, jobs and positions. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to promote and ensure women’s equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation beyond the public sector, as well as statistical information indicating the progress made in enhancing their participation in the labour market, both in rural and urban areas. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific measures taken:

(i)    to promote gender equality in the private sector; and

(ii)   to enable women to move from the informal to the formal economy.

As regards the access of women and girls to education and training, the Government states that emphasis is presently placed on increasing participation of girls in secondary school education. The measures taken in this area include scholarships and subsidies for low-income households, revision of the curricula and textbooks to avoid gender stereotypical views and media campaigns to change social attitudes towards girls’ education. The new draft National Education Policy sets the target of achieving gender parity among teachers at all levels of education by 2015. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote equal access of girls to education and training at all levels, as well as updated statistical information in this regard.

Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation of minorities. The Committee notes with interest that by a Cabinet decision of 20 May 2009, the Government introduced a 5 per cent quota for the employment of minorities in federal government employment. The modalities of implementation of the quota have been notified in Office Memorandum No. 4/15/94-R-2, dated 26 May 2009, of the Cabinet Secretariat’s Establishment Division. The Committee notes that the quota is to apply to any person who is “a non-Muslim” as defined in article 260(3)(b) of the Constitution (“a person belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Parsi community, a person of the Quadiani Group or the Lahori Group who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name, or a Bahai, and a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Castes”). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in implementing the 5 per cent quota for employment of minorities in the federal government employment, including statistical information on the number of minority members employed, disaggregated by sex and minority group, and according to government department, jobs and positions.

The Committee further notes that, as indicated by the Government, the National Commission for Minorities, which was formally established in 1993, is non-functional at present, although a proposal to reconstitute it was before the Prime Minister for approval. Chaired by the Minister for Minorities, the Commission is mandated, inter alia, to examine laws and administrative practices alleged to be discriminatory against minorities, to recommend to the Government steps to ensure full and effective participation by minorities in all aspects of national life, and to look into grievances of minority communities. The Committee notes that the Government also implements a development scheme and offers scholarships to minority students. The Committee trusts that the National Commission for Minorities will be reconstituted in the near future and requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard. It also asks the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of schemes and programmes to promote and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment for minorities in training and education, and also to provide information on any other measures taken to promote access of minorities to employment and occupation, including self-employment.

Discrimination based on social origin. The Committee notes that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its concluding observations of 4 March 2009, has expressed concern about the persisting de facto segregation and discrimination against Dalits regarding their enjoyment of economic, civil, political and social rights, and the fact that no specific legislation prohibiting discrimination based on caste has been adopted (CERD/C/PAK/CO/20, 4 March 2009, paragraph 21). Recalling that discrimination based on caste is a form of discrimination based on social origin covered by the Convention, the Committee stresses that ratifying States have an obligation to take effective measures towards the elimination of such discrimination in employment and occupation. In this regard, the Committee recommends that a prohibition of discrimination based on social origin, including caste, be included in the legislation. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, irrespective of caste, through legislation and other appropriate measures.

Discrimination based on religion. The Committee recalls its previous comments concerning certain provisions of the Penal Code relating to offences relating to religion (“blasphemy laws”). Some of these offences single out the members of the Ahmadi minority. For instance, section 298C establishes sentences of imprisonment for up to three years for members of this group who, inter alia, preach or propagate their faith, whether by spoken or written words, or by visible representations. The Committee also recalls that Pakistani passports include a mention of religion and that Muslims applying for a passport must sign a declaration to the effect that the founder of the Ahmadi movement is an impostor, which is designed to prevent members of this movement from obtaining passports identifying them as Muslims. The Committee recalls that the ILO supervisory bodies have expressed concern for many years over the impact of these measures on the enjoyment of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation of the religious minority concerned. The Committee also recalls that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance concluded in 1996 that provisions specifically applying to the Ahmadi minority were questionable, stressing that blasphemy legislation should not be discriminatory and should not give rise to abuse. The Special Rapporteur also recommended that no mention of religion should be included in passports and that the declaration mentioned above be deleted (E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.1, paragraphs 82 and 85). More recently, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about the risk that blasphemy laws may be used in a discriminatory manner against minority groups (CERD/C/PAK/CO/20, paragraph 19). The Committee also notes that during the Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council, the Government announced that “specific steps are being considered to strengthen laws and procedures to reduce incidence of their abuse” (A/HRC/8/42/Add.1, 28 August 2008, paragraph 8). While noting the general explanations provided by the Government in its report regarding the protection of freedom of religion available under the Constitution, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary steps to review the abovementioned measures, and to provide information on any steps taken in this regard, as announced during the Universal Periodic Review.

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