Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2016, publiée 106ème session CIT (2017)

Convention (n° 111) concernant la discrimination (emploi et profession), 1958 - Serbie (Ratification: 2000)

Autre commentaire sur C111

Observation

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The Committee notes the observations by Education International (EI) and the Teachers Union of Serbia (TUS), dated 8 September 2015.

Articles 1 and 3(d) of the Convention. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. Retirement age of women in the public sector. The Committee notes the observations made by EI and the TUS alleging that section 20 of the Law on Maximum of Employees in the Public Sector, adopted in July 2015, is discriminatory because it obliges women workers in the public sector to retire at the age of 60 years and six months, whereas there is no such restriction for male workers who can work up to the age of 65. EI and the TUS emphasize that the law was adopted without consultation with trade union organizations, and that an estimated 3,500 women in the education sector were forced to retire when the law entered into force on 12 October 2015. EI and the TUS further maintain that section 20 contradicts provisions in several others acts, including: (i) section 175(2) of the Labour Law of 2005, which stipulates that labour relations shall be terminated when an employee turns 65 and has a minimum of 15 years in retirement insurance; (ii) section 19(a)(1) and (2) of the Law on the Pension System, which provides that women can voluntarily retire at the age of 60 and six months in 2015, and at the age of 61 in 2016; and (iii) section 15 of the Constitution regarding gender equality. The Committee recalls that differences in retirement age between women and men can be discriminatory where the amount of the pension is linked to the length of contributory service, as women will receive a lower pension than men, and that earlier retirement ages for women can have a negative impact on women’s career paths and access to higher level positions (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 760). Recalling that pursuant to Article 3(d) of the Convention the Government is required to ensure the observance of a national equality policy in respect of employment under the direction of a national authority, the Committee asks the Government to reply to observations made by EI and the TUS and to take the necessary measures, in cooperation with the social partners, to ensure that there is no direct or indirect discrimination based on sex with respect to the age of retirement in the public sector, and that the working life of women is not shortened in a discriminatory manner.

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