European Union Statement 

112th International Labour Conference

Committee on Application of Standards

Lao PDR

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)

Geneva, 7 June 2024

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro* and Albania*, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. The EU and its Member States are committed to the respect, protection, and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights. We promote universal ratification and effective implementation of fundamental ILO Conventions and support the ILO in developing and promoting international labour standards and supervising their application.
2. The EU and its Member States have been committed development partners of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), including through the "Everything But Arms" arrangement under the EU’s General Scheme of Preferences, granting duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market, contributing to sustained growth and job creation in the past decades. The trade benefits granted under the EBA arrangement are subject to the condition that Lao PDR respects core international principles, enshrined in core UN and ILO Conventions.
3. Concerning the protection of workers against discrimination, we note the Government’s adoption of a Ministerial Decision on Domestic Workers in 2022, in order to extend protection against discrimination to this category of workers. We encourage the Government to provide information on the content of the Ministerial Decision to the Committee of Experts to ascertain that the decision is fully compliant with the principles set out in the Convention. Recalling that the Labour Law of 2014 excludes civil servants from its application, we encourage the Government to provide further information on the provisions protecting civil servants from employment discrimination.
4. We note the inclusion of a new section in the Labour Law of 2014 that provides for equality between foreign workers and Lao workers and we request the Government to provide more information on this regard, including the measures taken, in consultation with the social partners, to maintain the same level of protection against discrimination based on nationality, age or socio-economic status as previously contained in Labour Law of 2007.
5. We welcome the inclusion of a new section on gender equality in the Labour Law of 2014, and the planned amendment of the law, as indicated in the Government’s Labour Development Plan 2026-2030 and in the supplementary information provided ahead of the International Labour Conference. We are however concerned that the legislation remains non-compliant with Convention No. 111 and therefore urge the Government to clearly define what constitutes discrimination under the Labour Law and explicitly prohibit discrimination on at least all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. We also ask the Government to provide additional information on the content of the new section 96 on gender equality.
6. Concerning sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment, we note with concern the continuing lack of provision of information by the Government to the Committee of Experts and we urge the Government to take the necessary measures to define, prevent and prohibit sexual harassment in employment and occupation and to ensure adequate sanctions and remedies.
7. We also highlight that under current legislation, the sole remedy available to victims of sexual harassment is the possibility to resign. We stress that this measure is not sufficient and adequate to protect victims of sexual harassment. In line with the Committee of Experts, we call on the Government to amend the labour law accordingly. In addition, we would ask the Government to provide information on the application in practice of provisions allowing workers to end their employment in the event of sexual harassment and of provisions which prohibit employers from violating the personal rights of employees.
8. Lastly, we note with concern that the Penal Law of 2017 prohibits a range of activities considered to be detrimental to the security of the State, including so-defined propaganda activities. We also regret the Government’s lack of information on this matter. Recalling that the Committee of Experts has been raising this issue since 2011, we request the Government to provide information on the steps taken to ensure that this legislation does not, in practice, result in discrimination in employment and occupation based on political opinion.
9. Going beyond the case in point, we appreciate that Lao PDR has ratified in 2022 the two new fundamental ILO Conventions Nos. 155 and 187 on occupational safety and health and we look forward to their effective implementation.
10. We recall the importance of the fundamental ILO conventions not yet ratified by Lao PDR, namely Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Right to Organise, No. 98 on Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining and No. C105 on Abolition of Forced Labour, along with the governance convention on labour inspections No. 81.
11. The ratification and effective implementation of these conventions together with other conventions on human rights, environment and good governance will constitute a prerequisite for Lao PDR to apply for becoming a beneficiary of the Generalised System of Preferences Plus trade scheme with the EU once the country graduates from its LDC status.
12. The EU and its Member States remain committed to a joint constructive engagement with Lao PDR with the aim to strengthen the Government’s capacity to address the issues raised in the Committee of Experts’ report.

Thank you Chair.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.