E/C.12/NDL/CO/4-5
party to provide in its next periodic report statistical data on the participation
of women in the workforce, disaggregated by age, wage, part-time/full-time
work and national origin, as well as data on women’s economic independence
and participation in political life.
15.
The Committee expresses concern at the existence of compulsory labour for
detainees in the Netherlands. The Committee is further concerned that detainees work for
private entities for very low wages (arts. 6 and 7).
The Committee urges the State party to take appropriate measures in the
Netherlands so that detainees are not subjected to any form of compulsory
labour, in contravention of article 6 of the Covenant. Moreover, the Committee
recommends that the State party ensure that the conditions of work of
detainees, including wages and social security benefits, are fair and just. In this
regard, the Committee urges the State party to bring its legislation into line
with articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant and International Labour Organization
(ILO) Convention No. 29 concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour.
16.
The Committee notes with concern that unemployment in Aruba and the islands of
the former Netherlands Antilles remains high. The Committee further regrets the lack of
statistical data on underemployment in the State party (arts. 6 and 2, para. 2).
The Committee reiterates its recommendation calling on the State party to
intensify its efforts to combat unemployment, particularly in Aruba and in the
islands of the former Netherlands Antilles. The Committee recommends that
the State party take account of its general comment No. 18 (2005) on the right
to work in the adoption and implementation of its employment policies. The
Committee also requests the State party to provide in its next periodic report
statistical data on unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by
constituent country, sex, ethnic origin and economic and social situation, over
the five years preceding the submission of the report.
17.
The Committee is concerned that, in all the constituent countries of the State party,
domestic workers do not enjoy the same protection as other workers and are in a
disadvantaged position in that their employers do not contribute to the payment of their
health insurance and pensions, as employers do in other sectors (art. 7 and 9).
The Committee calls on the State party to adopt remedial measures, legislative
or otherwise, to bring the rights and benefits accorded to domestic workers in
line with those afforded to other workers, particularly in terms of social
security benefits.
18.
The Committee is concerned that, in the absence of an explicit recognition of the
right to strike in the legislation of the Netherlands, the exercise of that right has been made
subject to the scrutiny of the courts and that in Curaçao and St. Maarten a ban on the right
to strike is still in force (art. 8).
The Committee urges the State party to recognize explicitly the right to strike
with its permissible limits in the legislation of the Netherlands. The Committee
also calls on the State party to ensure that the provisions on the exercise of the
right to strike in the new Criminal Codes of Curaçao and St. Maarten are in
line with article 8 of the Covenant.
19.
The Committee notes with concern the rather low uptake of social assistance by
entitled persons both in the Netherlands and in the islands of the former Netherlands
Antilles (arts. 9 and 11).
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