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Ranabir Ray Choudhury

IN RECENT times, the fate of the Women's Representation Bill has shown very clearly indeed that, in India at least, in the field of politics, gender discrimination is not only rampant but is also encouraged and protected by powerful political lobbies which are dominated by males. If the political sphere is treated as an area of work of a type, it is clear that there is no `equality at work' in politics.

It is against this background (at least in India) that the International Labour Office's latest study on the subject of discrimination in the workplace, "Time for Equality at Work", should be seen, the Indian experience in the world of politics and electoral representation suggesting strongly that such discrimination is rampant in the country in other, more conventional, areas of work, despite the presence of a whole host of legal devices geared to checking this particular malaise.

What exactly is the nature of this malaise and how does it affect the society where it is present? To take the first point first, the ILO report says: "Discrimination occurs in the world of work every day, throughout the world. There is discrimination every time a worker is shunned or preferred because of the colour of his or her skin, or when a competent woman manager is denied a seat in the boardroom or paid less than a male colleague with equal productivity. There is discrimination every time a pregnancy test is required for a woman to be considered for a job, or when a mineworker is dismissed because of perceived or actual HIV/AIDS status. And there is discrimination every time a business licence is denied to an entrepreneur because of her or his religion, or when a woman is required to obtain the approval of her spouse to get a bank loan."

Secondly, how does discrimination affect society? At the level of the individual, the report says that the elimination of discrimination "is essential if all individuals, irrespective of their physical or cultural traits and beliefs, are to be able to choose freely the direction of their professional paths and working lives, to develop fully their talents and capabilities and to be rewarded according to merit." At the social and economic level, the report says: "The waste of human talent and resources (consequent on discrimination in the workplace) has a detrimental effect on productivity, competitiveness and the economy; socio-economic inequalities are widened, social cohesion and solidarity are eroded and political stability comes under threat". The report says that the elimination of discrimination at work is "central to social justice" and is also "an indispensable part of any viable strategy for poverty reduction and sustainable economic development".

Why is elimination of discrimination at the workplace so very important from the point of view of the larger campaign against discrimination of all sorts and types — including discrimination in the political sphere? The report argues: "The workplace — be it a factory, an office, a plantation, a farm or the street — is a strategic entry point to free society from discrimination." This is because, "When the workplace brings together people with different characteristics and treats them fairly, it helps to combat stereotypes in society as a whole. It forces a situation where prejudices can be defused and rendered obsolete." The report says that "A socially inclusive world of work helps to prevent and to redress social fragmentation, racial and ethnic conflict and greater inequalities".

And what happens if the campaign against discrimination in the workplace is not run effectively? The report says that in that event, "it will be more difficult to face the challenges arising out of increases in internal and external migration, unprecedented technological change, transition to market economies with their rapidly shifting groups of winners and losers, and the need to accommodate and reconcile a variety of languages, cultures and values".

Underscoring the importance of the entire exercise, the report says that "This may well be the most challenging task of contemporary society, and it is essential for social peace and democracy". Two more issues remain — what is being done to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and what precisely are the plans for the future? The report draws attention to the fact that "the principle of the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation is a distinct feature of ILO standard-setting and permeates much of the ILO's technical cooperation activities". Indeed, there are a whole lot of aspects of discrimination that have been addressed by a number of ILO Conventions, the moral being that "no single policy instrument suffices to address all discrimination in employment and occupation and, consequently, a combination of policies is required".

The report says that one of the "main pillars" of ILO action in this field is the assistance provided in "drafting and implementing labour legislation that bans discrimination and promotes equality at the national level". This apart, there is the job of `the development of manuals and other tools to ensure that labour law drafting is consistent with the principle of non-discrimination", in which the ILO plays an important role.

What of the future? As the report says: "When societies move from ignorance or denial of different forms of discrimination to awareness of them, they seek to remedy the situations that they have identified. Societies identify discrimination through the prism of their conceptual framework, based on knowledge available to them and on prevailing attitudes.

To remedy (the situations), they use the institutions and mechanisms available for addressing discrimination, and they harness political will and social mobilisation to provide the necessary impetus to reach the target of eliminating discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity at work".

Specifically, the report has focussed on three areas as forming the core of any plan of action that will finally be adopted by the ILO Governing Body to fight better the scourge of discrimination in the workplace. The first is "building, expanding, updating and disseminating the knowledge base on discrimination and equality of opportunity". The second is the requirement of "a coherent and sustained information and awareness-raising policy...to counter the negative images and suffering of groups who are discriminated against". The third is to establish "a regulatory framework...to define discrimination, thus contributing to recognition of it when it occurs," and also to draw up "guidelines to ensure it is eliminated".

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