Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Netherlands (Ratification: 1973)

The Committee notes the communication of the Netherlands Trade Union Federation (FNV).

Discrimination based on social origin. The Committee recalls that social origin does not figure among the prohibited grounds of discrimination set out in the Equal Treatment Act and that the Government considers that this ground is covered by article 1 of the Constitution prohibiting discrimination “on any grounds whatsoever”. The Government also indicated previously that discrimination based on social origin was sufficiently covered by indirect discrimination based on other grounds such as race, nationality, religion or personal convictions, gender or civil status, covered by the Equal Treatment Act. The Committee also noted, however, that an explicit inclusion of social origin in the equal treatment legislation would lighten the burden of proof for persons alleging direct discrimination on the basis of social origin. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that since the Netherlands is a party to Protocol No. 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the express prohibition of discrimination based on social origin contained in these instruments has been incorporated into Dutch law, thereby removing the need for its explicit inclusion in the Equal Treatment Act. The Committee asks the Government to examine the prevalence of direct and indirect discrimination based on social origin in employment and occupation, including whether effective complaints mechanisms and legal remedies exist to address it and to provide specific information in this regard. Please also indicate whether the Equal Treatment Commission (ETC) is competent to handle cases of direct and indirect discrimination based on social origin in employment and occupation and, if so, provide information on any cases handled by the ETC and the courts addressing discrimination based on this ground.

Equality of opportunity and treatment (ethnic minorities). The Committee previously noted that the Government was undertaking a number of projects and initiatives aimed at removing impediments faced by “non-Western minorities” in the labour market but that, despite positive trends, the labour force participation of non-Western minorities continued to be precarious and that discrimination inhibited their access to the labour market and their ability to secure permanent employment. In this context, the FNV had indicated that clear government policies and measures to eliminate discrimination were lacking and had requested data on the quality and sectors of employment with a view to assessing the effectiveness of the measures taken.

The Committee welcomes the detailed statistics provided by the Government on the quality and level of employment of non-Western minorities and native Dutch in 2009. It notes that according to the data the unemployment rate of non Western minorities continued to be 7 per cent higher than that of native persons, and for men and women belonging to non-Western minorities, the gap with male and female native persons was 7.8 and 6.1 per cent respectively, with Moroccan men and Turkish women having the highest unemployment gap. The employment rate of non-Western minorities was 14.4 per cent lower than native persons (54.7 per cent against 69.1 per cent) and their share in flexible jobs was 7.4 per cent higher than for native persons. The number of Turks and Antilleans/Arubans working in flexible jobs was particularly high (16.8 and 17 per cent respectively) with almost 22 per cent of the employed Turkish women working in a flexible job (against 8 per cent of the employed native women). The share of non-Western minorities working on an elementary or lower occupational level was 47 per cent compared to 28 per cent for native workers, with the highest gap for Turkish and Moroccan workers (55 per cent) and lowest for Surinamese workers (38 per cent). The Committee notes that the share of non-Western minorities aged 15–64 years with an educational level not higher than the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 2 was 49 per cent compared to 30 per cent for native Dutch. About 60 per cent of the Turks and Moroccans had an educational level not higher than ISCED level 2. Turkish and Moroccan women had the highest education gap. With regard to sectors of economic activity, almost 20 per cent of the workers of non-Western origin are in the hotel and catering industry – with an over-representation of “other non Western minorities”, whereas Moroccans and Turks are over-represented respectively in the business sector (temporary employment agencies) and manufacturing, except construction.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that some of the obstacles faced by non-Western minorities are directly related to their origin including discrimination and a below average command of the national language. The Government also states that the employment gap between non-Western minorities and native Dutch grew in 2009 and that factors behind the unemployment of people from ethnic minorities include poorer educational qualifications, inadequate knowledge of the language, traditional male–female roles and demographics (many young people have flexible employment contracts). The Committee notes that the Government continues to take various initiatives targeting young people and women from ethnic minorities, as well as refugees. It notes the employment plans for vulnerable young people in large cities, the creation of promotional teams to improve the image of young persons among employers and the Youth Unemployment Action Plan set up in 2009 to lessen the effects of the economic crisis, and which includes explicit activities for young people from ethnic minorities. With regard to ethnic minority women, the Committee notes the initiatives involving local authorities to improve employment participation of women belonging to ethnic minorities, including the “1001 Kracht” (1001 Power) approach designed to encourage women in this group to participate more actively in society and the labour market through voluntary work, the pilot schemes to encourage women from ethnic minorities to move from voluntary work to work, and a Guide based on these initiatives developed in 2008, as the basis of training courses with and for 23 local authorities. The Government also provides information on the projects aimed at assisting refugees in finding employment (Refugees job offensive and securing jobs offensive (2010–11)) and the “status-holders project”. The Committee notes that the FNV, while acknowledging the measures taken during the period 2008–10 to increase the employment of young people from ethnic minorities, considers that specific targets are often lacking as well as instruments to measure the effectiveness of the programmes.

The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, on the results achieved of the various measures to improve the employment situation of non-Western minorities, and in particular workers of Turkish and Moroccan origin, and to address the underlying causes of the high unemployment rates of these groups. Please also indicate any measures taken or envisaged to seek cooperation with the social partners to set specific targets in the context of projects and programmes aimed at eliminating discrimination on the basis of race, colour and national extraction, and to measure the effectiveness of these programmes.

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