English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
To implement this provision, a number of legal documents were issued. First, the
Decree on Women Labourers provides:
Article 4
The enterprises which employ women laborers have to study and determine the
occupations which are not suitable for women to work till their retirement, and to plan
the training of reserve skills for women laborers as provided for in Article 11, Decree No
90-CP of December 15, 1995 of the Government which details stipulations and
guidance for implementation of a number of Articles of the Labour Code on vocational
training.
Article 11
The enterprise which is employing women laborers in jobs banned to women labourers
as prescribed by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry
of Health, shall have to design a plan to move the women labourers to other jobs as
provided for in Article 113 of the Labour Code, and Item 2, Article 6, of this Decree. In
the course of designing this plan, the enterprise has to take the following measures:
(1) With regard to especially heavy or noxious jobs, the work hours must be reduced in
accordance with the provisions of law;
(2) Measures to improve the working conditions must be applied;
(3) The working time must be arranged appropriately so as to allow women labourers
conditions to learn new trades or improve their professional skills.
Second, the Circular No. 3-LDTBXH/TT of January 13, 1997 Guiding the
Implementation of a Number of Articles of Decree No. 23-CP of April 18, 1996 of the
Government with Specific Stipulations about Women Labour (Circular on Women Labour)
provides:
III. On Training Woman Labourers in Reserve Occupations
A reserve occupation is an occupation different from the one a woman labourer is
practicing which shall be used when she can no longer continue this job until she
reaches retirement age as prescribed by State regulations.
1. Determining reserve occupations for women labourers:
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Basing itself on the field of activity, the production and business conditions of the
enterprise and the particularities of women labour, the enterprise shall discuss with the
trade union to determine what occupations need reserve occupations for women labour
and write them down in the collective labour bargain.
2. Organizing training women labour in reserve occupations
Basing itself on the number of women labourers who need to train in reserve
occupations, the enterprise should pay adequate attention to their job-training desire in
order to draw up a plan for training in reserve occupations. Depending on the specific
conditions of the enterprise, it may organize the training itself or sign training contracts
with job training centers to carry out this plan.
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW