In a new study, the International Labor Office (ILO) notes that in spite of continuous positive advances in anti-discrimination legislation, the global economic and social crisis has led to a higher risk of discrimination against certain groups such as migrant labor.
“Economically adverse times are a breeding ground for discrimination at work and in society more broadly. We see this with the rise of populist solutions”, said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, adding that “this threatens painstaking achievements of several decades”.
The report, entitled Equality at work: The continuing challenge, cites equality bodies which receive increased numbers of complaints, showing that workplace discrimination has become more varied, and discrimination on multiple grounds is becoming the rule rather than the exception.
It also warns against a tendency during economic downturns to give lower priority to anti-discrimination policies and workers’ rights in practice. “Austerity measures and cutbacks in the budget of labour administrations and inspection services, and in funds available to specialized bodies dealing with non-discrimination and equality, can seriously compromise the ability of existing institutions to prevent the economic crisis from generating more discrimination and more inequalities”, the report says.
According to the report, the lack of reliable data in this context makes it difficult to assess the exact impact of these measures. It therefore calls on governments to put into place human, technical and financial resources to improve data collection on discrimination at the national level.
The report also notes that new forms of discrimination at work arise while the old challenges remain at best only partially answered. Among the key findings of the report: Significant progress has been made in recent decades in advancing gender equality in the world of work. However, the gender pay gap still exists, with women’s wages being on average 70-90 per cent of men’s. Sexual harassment is a significant problem in workplaces. Combating racism is as relevant today as it ever was. Migrant workers face widespread discrimination in access to employment, and many encounter discrimination when employed, including access to social insurance programs. Work-related discrimination continues to exist for many of the world’s 650 million persons with disabilities as their low employment rate reveals. Persons with HIV/AIDS can suffer discrimination through mandatory testing policies, or testing under conditions which are not genuinely voluntary or confidential.
