Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Eritrea

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 2000)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 2000)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

Convention No. 111 – National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1, 2 and 3 (b). Discrimination in employment and occupation. Legislation. The Committee notes with deep regret that, despite its repeated requests, no amendments to the Labour Proclamation No. 118 of 2011 have been adopted to explicitly protect all workers from discrimination on the ground of national extraction, nor has the draft Civil Service Proclamation been revised to prohibit discrimination on all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. In its report, the Government once again indicates that legislative reform is progressing and that the amendments will be transmitted to the Office once finalized. The Committee further notes the Government’s intention to amend the Labour and Civil Service Proclamations to align them with the Convention, including explicit definitions of direct and indirect discrimination. According to the Government, the draft amendment defines discrimination as “any distinction made through direct or indirect act of the employer on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation”. The Committee wishes to point out that workers should be protected from discrimination not only by employers and their representatives, but also from colleagues and even clients of enterprises, or other persons in the work context. In this context, the Committee notes that the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea has reiterated that the institutional and legal framework remains inadequate to protect and uphold fundamental human rights, and that there is still no National Assembly to adopt laws. (see A/HRC/56/24, 7 May 2024, para. 34; and A/HRC/59/24, 12 May 2025, para. 35). The Committee urges the Government once again to make every effort to: (i) ensure that the labour legislation is amended so as to include explicit definitions of direct and indirect discrimination in employment and occupation; (ii) take the necessary steps in consultation with the social partners to ensure that amendments to the Labour Proclamation are adopted rapidly so as to provide explicitly for the protection of all workers against discrimination based on national extraction; and (iii) take concrete steps to ensure that the draft Civil Service Proclamation includes a clear prohibition of discrimination on the basis of at least all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, including national extraction and social origin.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Article 1and 2. The principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Definition of remuneration. Legislation. While taking note of the Government’s assurances that amendments to the Labour Proclamation are being prepared, the Committee notes with regret that, despite its earlier explanations, the Government continues to maintain that section 41(1) of the Labour Proclamation No. 118/2001, which provides for “equal starting wages for the same type of work”, aligns with the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Moreover, the Government once again indicates that amendments to section 3(15) of the Labour Proclamation are in progress to broaden the definition of “remuneration” in line with Article 1(a) of the Convention.The Committee urges once again the Government to: (i) give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in the revised Labour and Civil Service Proclamations, so as to provide not only for equal remuneration for “the same type of work” but also address situations where men and women perform different work that is nevertheless of equal value overall; and (ii) to make every effort to ensure that the revised provision of the Labour Proclamation encompasses all components of remuneration set out in Article 1(a) of the Convention.

Finally, noting that it has been raising these issues for more than two decades, the Committee urges the Government to expedite the process of amendment of the Labour Proclamation and the finalization of the draft Civil Service Proclamation.

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