Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Qatar (Ratification: 1976)

1. In previous requests, the Committee noted the Government's reference to the Provisional Fundamental Law, as amended, which provides in section 9 that all persons shall enjoy public rights and shall be subject to equal public duties without distinction on grounds of race, sex or religion. The Committee asked the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated in order to implement a national policy with a view to ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation and eliminating any discrimination not only on the grounds of race, sex or religion but also on the grounds of national extraction, social origin and political opinion, in accordance with Article 1(a) of the Convention.

The Government's most recent report states that no discrimination exists whatsoever as regards access to occupations. The Government adds details regarding the treatment of foreign workers in Qatar.

The Committee takes due note of these indications. It requests the Government to indicate in its next report also any provisions adopted to protect equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation irrespective of political opinion.

2. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that access to employment in the judiciary is guaranteed without discrimination on grounds of sex or religion, and to provide information on the effect of such measures, stating the number and capacity of women and members of religious minorities who exercise judicial functions.

3. Furthermore, the Committee refers to paragraphs 15 and 240 of its 1988 General Survey on Equality of Opportunity in Employment, where it pointed out the positive and continuous nature of the measures to be taken in pursuance of the national policy under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention and the need for detailed information on the various aspects of this continuous action. The Committee requests again the Government to supply in its next report information on all steps taken for the effective promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin and on the results secured with regard to:

(a)access to vocational training;

(b)access to employment and to particular occupations;

(c)terms and conditions of employment.

In this connection, the Government is more particularly requested to indicate the measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment:

(i)in employment, vocational training and occupational guidance under a national authority;

(ii)through legislation and educational programmes;

(iii)in co-operation with employers' and workers' organisations and other appropriate bodies.

4. With regard to access of men and women to vocational training, the Government indicates in its most recent report that training, whether provided in a training centre or in the field, is available to all without discrimination. The Government indicated in its previous report that access to institutions such as the Public Administration Institute, the Regional Training Centre, the Agricultural Training School and the Industrial Training School, to secondary commercial schools and the Institute for Public Health Inspectors is reserved for male students. The Government reiterates in its most recent report that this segregation, a result of religious and social traditions which do not permit mixed teaching, does not mean that women are excluded from vocational training: training, at single-sex schools, is available to both sexes at all levels and consistent with principles of equality. The Government indicates that certain trades do not attract women, such as carpentry, metal forging and building maintenance, but that training centres which provide women with training do exist under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labour and the Health Training Institute. Training in typing, secretarial and computer skills are provided by the Association of the Red Cross of Quatar, Women's Branch and other private centres. Furthermore, the whole national education system is organised on the same basis since there are schools that are open exclusively to boys and others which are only for girls.

With respect to training for health inspectors, the Ministry of Public Health responds that reserving training to men only should not be considered an indication of discrimination against women as it is a result not of law or administrative rules, but of custom that the post of health inspector is occupied by men, because the conditions of work are harsh. In response to the Committee's request for information on the entry of women to other employment sectors, the Government indicates that teaching remains the principal occupation of women. Women have begun to work in other sectors, including the medical professions, radio, television and other media, the postal service and social training. They also occupy administrative and secretarial jobs in industrial and commercial undertakings.

The Committee refers to paragraphs 78, 82 and 97 of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, which discuss the difficulties posed for a policy of equality in employment and occupation by general education and vocational training programmes segregated by sex, and assumptions about which jobs are more appropriately performed by men rather than women. Having noted with interest previously the Government's indication that the Ministry of Education is reviewing the possibility of teaching commercial subjects in girls' schools and other similar efforts, the Committee notes in statistics provided by the Government the participation of the vast majority of active women in the social service sector. The Committee asks what further measures have been taken to ensure equality in vocational training and access to all types of jobs and that educational and vocational training programmes do not lead women only into "women's" jobs.