Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights discusses draft general comment on the Right to just and favourable conditions of work

Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights

16 June 2015

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today held a half-day general discussion on a draft General Comment on Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the right to just and favourable conditions of work.

The discussion focused on the various parts of the draft General Comment, notably related to 1) the normative content, 2) obligations and 3) violations.

Opening the general discussion, the Chairperson of the Committee, Waleed Sadi, underlined that Article 7 discussed a very important aspect of the Covenant, namely  the right to just and favourable conditions of work.

Article 7 states that “States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work which ensure, in particular: (a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with: (i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work; (ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant; (b) Safe and healthy working conditions; (c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence; (d) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.”

The general discussion was led by the two Committee Rapporteurs, Maria-Virginia Bras-Gomes and Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leao, who introduced the draft General Comment.  The ensuing discussion included submissions by States, non-governmental organizations, international organizations and other relevant stakeholders.

The second draft of the draft General Comment, which will be the outcome of this discussion, will be read at the following session of the Committee, in September 2015.

The Committee will next meet in public on Friday, 19 June at 3 p.m., to adopt its concluding observations on the reports of Kyrgyzstan, Venezuela, Mongolia, Thailand, Ireland, Chile and Uganda, which were reviewed during the session, before closing the fifty-fifth session.  

General Discussion

MARIA VIRGINIA-BRAS GOMES, Co-rapporteur of the Committee for the Consideration of the Draft General Comment on the right to just and favourable conditions of work (Article 7), stressed that the economic crisis was not favourable to the creation of employment and growth and recent years had seen the just and favourable conditions of work undermined, due to the austerity and the general weakening of working conditions, including labour contracts.  Therefore, it was suggested to draft a General Comment on the right to just and favourable conditions of work (Article 7).  Ms. Gomes drew attention to the gender implications of Article 7 of the Covenant.  The aim of the discussion was to gather specific observations and proposals on the General Comment as currently drafted.  The Comment would then be reviewed during a second or third reading, if necessary, before being adopted the following year.

RENATO ZERBINI RIBEIRO LEÃO, Co-rapporteur of the Committee for the Consideration of the Draft General Comment, stated that the draft General Comment at this stage contained four parts dedicated to the introduction, the normative content (which covered specific implementation issues), obligations and violations (of the rights contained in Article 7).

International Trade Union Confederation congratulated the two Co-rapporteurs for the draft General Comment, and asked for a clarification of some of the text.  He particularly referred to the minimum wage issue, where it ought to be clarified that what was meant by it was a minimum living wage which allowed workers to enjoy a standard of living, in line with the International Labour Organization Convention 131.  The General Comment should also clarify what was meant by "fair wages"; such wages should be subject to collective bargaining. Instead of “realistic wage,” it was suggested that the General Comment talk about “adequate salary”.

Autistic Minority International indicated that he represented the first organization of autistic defense led by people with autism.  Autism was a neurological condition, both genetic and hereditary, he stated, adding that it affected one percent of the world’s population. Autistic individuals spent their lives overcoming obstacles that non-autistic people could not even perceive.  The fear of discrimination in the workplace was the first reason why autistic individuals did not speak of their illness.  He then expressed satisfaction that the draft General Comment, as currently drafted, stated that disabled people were discriminated against.  He drew attention to the fact that many autistic individuals were not paid, or received lower wages.

Clean Clothes Campaign said that the non-governmental organization was an international network aimed at improving the working conditions in the garment industry.  Over the previous 26 years, they had found that working conditions in that industry were increasingly difficult and that workers' rights were violated.  While the Draft General Comment presented by the Committee was good, a clarification should be made regarding the issues of salary, building safety (safety at work), and corporate responsibility (including when supply chain companies were concerned).  In particular, the minimum wage should provide a worker with an income on which he could live.

Greece emphasized that it would be a mistake to think that progress in terms of respect for international labour standards had been reached.  That was why that discussion was particularly relevant and why the promotion of each of the provisions of Article 7 of the Covenant was needed.  In the view of the current Greek Government, the promotion of the labour law was a prerequisite for any sustainable growth.

International Commission of Jurists urged the Committee to revise the wording of the first paragraph of the draft General Comment, in order to emphasize that the text did not only aim to assist States in preparing their periodic reports.  The General Comment should also emphasize that the enjoyment of the right to just and favourable conditions of work did not depend on whether the worker was employed in the public sector or the private sector.

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights endorsed paragraph 3 of the draft General Comment regarding the existing wage gap between men and women. The text should nonetheless refer to the general trend of inadequate salaries, including for the working poor, even before talking about wage differences.  It should also have a specific paragraph on the working conditions of migrant workers, she added.

Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that all women engaged in various economic activities contributed not only to their household income but also to the national wealth.  They spent much of their time and energy to ensure food security (subsistence) for the members of their family, but those vital contributions were undervalued and unrecognized, and considered insignificant from an economic point of view.  It had to be ensured that the majority of women with a minimum wage were entitled to minimum living conditions.  Beyond the “de jure,” there was also the question of “de facto” equality in the enjoyment by women of their economic, social and cultural rights.

International Disability Alliance said that the organization represented about one billion persons with disabilities worldwide and stressed the importance of the draft General Comment for the inclusion of those people into the labour market.  Too often, persons with disabilities were granted merely a subsistence wage because they were considered less productive than others.  There should be an awareness campaign aimed at employers so that they would become aware of all their duties towards persons with disabilities.  Workers should not be discriminated against because of their proximity to persons with disabilities, such as disabled children.

Make Mothers Matter drew attention to the penalties suffered by women due to maternity in particular.  The family choices that women made (such as maternity leave, career breaks part time jobs, self-employment) were often not real choices, and hindered their financial income.  It was therefore appropriate to allow men and women to have career breaks, especially in order to be able to care for their children.  Those issues should be addressed in the text of the draft General Comment.

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development called attention to the problem of sexual harassment at work and suggested that that problem be stressed in the draft General Comment, so that it would influence the adoption of international norms on the question.  Another representative suggested that the Draft General Comment refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and the question of sexual identity and related discrimination.

A Committee Expert stressed the importance of ensuring equal pay for equal work for women and men; that was an immediate right rather than a progressive realization right, she observed.  

Greece said that in Greece the minimum salary had been reduced by more than 20 percent, and was today below the poverty line, so that it did not constitute a decent salary.

In their concluding comments, the Committee Co-rapporteurs stated that the draft General Comment had its own contribution to mitigating socio-economic inequality.  As for the issue of obligations of States and private actors, there was always a difference in the language used for States vis-à-vis that used for private parties.  Regarding the suggestion to review the wording of the first paragraph of the draft General Comment as currently drafted, Ms. Bras Gomes emphasized that that was the usual wording of the first paragraph of any General Comment of the Committee.  The Co-rapporteurs assured participants that all contributions would be taken very seriously.
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