REDUCED WORK HOURS FOR WOMEN: ADVANTAGE OR

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001239

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG - LAWRENCE AND DRL/IL - DEMARIA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016
TAGS: SOCI ELAB PGOV PHUM TS
SUBJECT: REDUCED WORK HOURS FOR WOMEN: ADVANTAGE OR
DISCRIMINATION?

REF: A. TUNIS 666


B. TUNIS 338

C. 04 TUNIS 2236

Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM HUDSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In March 2006, President Ben Ali announced
that his 2004 election proposal to allow women to work for
half the hours for two-thirds the pay would be enacted in

2007. According to press reports, the draft law will apply
to women working in the public sector with children under
sixteen years or those with handicapped children. Designed
to allow Tunisian women to balance family and professional
life, the proposal may also reduce unemployment, as more
Tunisians can be employed in existing positions. While
presented as another step towards professional and social
equality for Tunisian women, others claim that the proposal
actually reverses women's rights, which are historically
strong and effective in Tunisia. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The reduced working hours system is one of
twenty-one initiatives included in President Zine el Abidine
Ben Ali's "Program for Tomorrow's Tunisia", which was
announced during the 2004 presidential elections (Ref C).
Ben Ali announced that "to make it easier for women to
reconcile their family life with their professional
commitments," a new system would allow women to work half the
hours for two-thirds the salary, while retaining their
retirement and social security rights. During his speech
marking the fiftieth anniversary of Tunisian independence
(Ref A) on March 25, Ben Ali announced, "the promulgation, in
the near future, of the law concerning implementation of this
decision. This law will take effect starting January 1,
2007."


3. (U) After much speculation about which women would be
eligible, on May 22, one local newspaper published the text
of draft law. The law stipulates it will apply only to women
working in the public sector who request to participate in
the program and receive the approval of their employer's
administrative director. Only women who have at least one
child under the age of sixteen (the final year of mandatory
public education) or have a handicapped child are eligible to
participate. If approved, the employee may work half the
hours for two-thirds the salary for a period of three years,
which may be renewed once for a total of six years. The
Cabinet approved the draft law in mid-May, and it will now be
reviewed - and likely approved as drafted - by the Chambers
of Deputies and Advisors.


4. (SBU) Some observers believe that Ben Ali's proposal will
in part reduce Tunisian unemployment (currently the official
rate nears 14 percent),as more workers can fill the same
positions. This is particularly true in primary and
secondary education, where staggered teaching hours mean that
more employees would be needed to teach all classes.
However, the proposal is unique in a country that prides
itself on women's achievement and empowerment. Women are
present in almost all fields, and statistics show women
represent nearly fifty percent of primary and secondary
school teachers, 42 percent of medical professionals, 32
percent of engineers and 31 percent of lawyers. Tunisian
women also enjoy a wide variety of rights in the workplace,
from anti-discrimination laws to limits on the type of work
and working hours. Maternity leave is generous, with mothers
granted two months paid leave, plus an additional one hour a
day leave for the first year after returning to work.


5. (C) Although the proposal was received with interest by
Tunisia's working mothers, some view the new work hour
proposal as a step backwards for women's rights. On April
24, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD, Ref
B) announced its opposition to the proposal, arguing it is "a
deep blow to the principle of equality between the sexes and
non-discrimination" and also suggests "the women's place (is)
in the home." The ATFD also noted its surprise that Ben Ali
had made this announcement during the period in which Tunisia
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Personal Status
Code, which in 1956 provided Tunisian women with rights which
are still lacking in much of the Arab world, such as equal
rights to divorce and the banning of polygamy. Additionally,
despite Ben Ali's assurances, a woman who chooses the program
will lose some of her retirement benefits, which are based on
total salary compensation.


6. (C) However, the General Union of Tunisian Workers, the
single labor confederation in Tunisia, had a more balanced
interpretation. Assistant Secretary General Mohammed

Trabelsi told Laboff that the law was a positive recognition
of the additional burden working mothers face in meeting her
professional and family expectations. Tunisian working
women, said Trabelsi, still remain more involved in household
management and child-rearing than their spouses. Trabelsi's
only concern about the law was that the same benefits were
not applied to working fathers. In addition to being a form
of discrimination, Trabelsi said some families could be
disadvantaged if the father earned less than the woman as it
would be more economical for the father to take a pay cut
than the mother who earns more.


7. (C) COMMENT: The proposal is interesting, as it seeks to
address a social issue - balancing work and motherhood - with
which far more developed countries are still grappling.
Pragmatically, for Ben Ali, it could help boost employment
figures and also appeal to conservative religious groups, who
would prefer a more traditional society. Social critics
charge, probably correctly, that it will reduce women's
standing as competitive members of the work force, while
practical observers contend that only a very few women would
be able to accept even a thirty percent pay cut. END COMMENT.
HUDSON