Report on ratified conventions

R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2018 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) As described in the previous report, in August 2018, the Government approved and sent to the Parliament a draft amendment to the Gender Equality Act (GEA), aimed at increasing pay transparency. The planned amendments would have given the Labour Inspectorate the mandate to monitor the implementation of the equal pay requirement for women and men and the right to oblige employers to carry out equal pay audits in the public sector. Unfortunately, due to expiry of the mandate of the Parliament in February 2019, the draft was dropped from the proceedings. From April 2021 Estonian Government has supported the proposed EU Pay Transparency Directive aimed at increasing pay transparency and empowering employees to enforce their right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through a set of binding measures on pay transparency. Amendments of the GEA are planned to be introduced in line with the transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. In 2019 amendment of GEA entered into force that specified the employment agency’s restraint enquiring the information about pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, performance of family obligations or other circumstances related to gender. The provisions of the GEA specifying the employees right to request opportunities for reconciliation of work and family life, the duty and timeframe for employer to provide an explanation when the person’s application has been refused or postponed and the provision of care for a person with serious medical reason as base of direct discrimination were amended in April 2022. Equal pay disputes before courts, Labour Dispute Committees and the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner We are not aware of court decisions made in cases of discrimination based on gender regarding remuneration where the issue of equal pay for the same work or for the work of equal value would have been substantially discussed. According to the public database of court decisions, the number of cases regarding gender-based discrimination in court remains low – most of them are related to discrimination in professional life connected to maternity or family obligation. In recent years there have also been proceedings on sexual harassment in professional life. 1 The number of complaints related to gender filed to the Commissioner for Gender Equality and Equal Treatment (the Commissioner) has been between 135 up to 239. Table: The number of complaints related to gender and of those related to employment filed to the Commissioner, 2018-2021 Year 2018 2019 2020 2021 Gender 137 160 135 239 Of those related 65 66 52 41 to employment Source: The Commissioner for Gender Equality and Equal Treatment The number of labour dispute proceedings of the Labour Disputes Committee related to unequal treatment from 2017-2020 was 17-25 cases per year. Most cases are related to discrimination on the basis of family obligation or harassment. In 2017 Labour Dispute Committee ruled occurrence of discrimination on the basis of equal pay and severance pay was sentenced. Statistics Estonia’ gender pay gap remains one of the highest in the EU – in 2020 gender pay gap was 21,1% according to Eurostat, compared to the EU average 13%. In the comparison of EU countries, Estonia's pay gap has undergone the largest decline, comparing the date since 2014. According to Statistics Estonia1, in 2021, the gross hourly earnings of female employees were 8,48€ and the gross hourly earnings of male employees were 9,97€. The gap was highest in financial and insurance activities (25.7% in 2021; in 2017 it was 38,2%), followed by wholesale and retail trade (24.2%, in 2017 28,1%), human health and social work activities (23.8%, in 2027 27,9%) and information and communication (23.5%; in 2017 25,2%). Table: Gender pay gap by economic activity, 2018-2021, % 2018 2019 2020 2021 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 18,5 15,8 7,2 7,6 Mining and quarrying 28,9 26,5 26,1 17,0 Manufacturing 26,9 24,3 21,6 21,4 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 12,3 16,0 11,0 9,5 Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 5,0 8,9 5,4 6,6 Construction 11,1 15,7 3,0 11,4 1 Statistics Estonia and Eurostat use different methodologies to calculate the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap published by Statistics Estonia takes into account the indicators of enterprises and institutions with at least one employee; it also includes the earnings of employees in agriculture, forestry and fishing and in public administration and defence. 2 Wholesale and retail trade 28,6 28,7 23,0 24,2 Transportation and storage 1,3 -4,7 -6,2 -5,2 Accommodation and food service activities 15,8 11,5 15,9 5,8 Information and communication 23,4 23,9 24,1 23,5 Financial and insurance activities 33,2 27,1 29,4 25,7 Real estate activities 15,0 20,8 17,5 15,0 Professional, scientific and technical activities 15,7 8,1 12,1 7,3 Administrative and support service activities 11,3 15,5 18,2 15,2 Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 7,5 8,2 5,2 6,9 Education 16,7 17,0 16,7 17,0 Human health and social work activities 28,7 23,1 24,0 23,8 Arts, entertainment and recreation 21,0 15,2 12,6 9,6 Other service activities 13,0 18,8 17,1 11,3 Source: Statistics Estonia Policy measures Strategy and policy measures to promote gender equality and equal opportunities (on other grounds) are planned through the Welfare Development Plan 2016-2023. The current “Welfare Development Plan for 2016-2023” has four sub-goals, one of which is gender equality, thereby creating the first ever governmental level wide-scale strategy for gender equality. The achievement of this sub-goal is supported by other development strategies. Measures planned in the development plan and the gender equality programme vary from awareness raising to legislative initiatives, including both special measures to promote gender equality and activities that support the implementation of gender mainstreaming. To reduce gender inequality, prevent its resurgence, and achieve gender equality in different spheres of life, attention is paid to reducing gender stereotypes that cause gender inequality and their negative impact; reducing gender segregation in education and the labour market; supporting the economic independence of men and women, therein reducing the gender pay gap; achieving a gender balance on the decision-making levels of society; enhancing the protection of rights; and ensuring institutional capacity, including the analysis and management capabilities necessary for the promotion of gender equality. Implementation of the development plan and the programme is monitored through indicators. Table: Welfare Development Plan gender equality programme indicators Indicator Initial rate 2019 2020 2021 Reference level 2023 3  The number of 14,1 14,2 15,2 - 14,8 women who (2018/2019) received a degree (ISCED 5–6) in mathematics, science, and technology per one thousand women aged 20–29* (source: Statistics Estonia) Proportion of 64% (2016) - - 54% - residents who (reference consider the gender was 74%) pay gap to be a big or a major problem, % (source: Gender Equality Monitory) Gender equality 59,8 59,8 60,7 61,6 63,3 index (source: EIGE) (2019)** * The indicator compares the number of women who completed tertiary education in public or private educational institutions in the observed academic year, i.e. those who completed the curriculum at the first and subsequent levels of higher education (ISCED 2011 levels 6-8) with the average annual population of women of the respective age ** Gender Equality Index indicator published in 2019, which is mainly based on date from 2017, following indicators follow the same pattern. The strategy "Estonia 2035" (approved by the Parliament in 2021) sets five long-term goals that are based on the base principles. The goals were agreed upon at discussions that took place across Estonia over a period of two years and based on opinion gathering (almost 17,000 people have contributed). Strategic goals are value- based goals that are the basis for making the country’s strategic choices and to the implementation of which all Estonian strategic development documents contribute. They are also taken into account in the state budget strategy and in the preparation of the government’s action programme. One of the base principles is ‘Everyone must have equal opportunities for self-fulfilment and participation in society, regardless of their individual characteristics and needs, belonging to different social groups, their socio-economic capacity, or place of residence’. The base principles are monitored by 9 indicators one being the gender equality index. The new Welfare Development Plan 2023-2030 will be proposed to the government by the end of 2022. The strategy will have five sub-goals, one being gender equality and equal opportunities. During the reporting period several factors have been contributing to the decrease of the pay gap. The minimum wage has increased 52% comparing the 2016 and 2022. 4 The increase in the minimum wage has also helped to reduce the gender pay gap and has had a positive effect on reducing the gender and age pay gap in the lowest wage groups. Moreover, successive governments have taken steps to ensure adequate wages in female-dominated sectors, such as education. There has been a pan-party political commitment to raise the (average) salaries of basic school and upper- secondary school teachers over the last years, with an aim to reach 120% of the average salary in Estonia. Their salaries have almost doubled during the last eight years, although actual salaries of both primary and secondary school teachers still need to increase to reach the OECD average. In order to improve implementation of gender mainstreaming, i.e. that gender, age, special needs and other aspects would be taken into account in policy-making, in 2021- 2022, the Ministry of Social Affairs is implementing a pilot project together with other ministries. The aim of the project is to find the most efficient (both resource and result- wise) and sustainable solution for co-ordinating, supporting and implementing gender mainstreaming in national policy-making. Results of this project will be presented, together with further policy and practice proposals, to the Government in 2023. Similar project on the municipal level is planned to take place in Ida-Viru region. The project also aims to improve guidance materials and tools for municipalities in other regions. Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Competence Centre for the use of the Cohesion Policy Funding continues to provide knowledge-based, effective, and motivating support for promoting gender equality and equal opportunities, to implementers of projects financed from the European Structural and Investment Funds. Gender pay gap In 2021 the earnings application was upgraded by Statistics Estonia together with the Commissioner, University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology, and the Social Insurance Board (SIB). The earnings application shows differences in the monthly gross earnings of full-time employees by sex, county, and occupation. As part of the application update, more occupational groups, comparison of men’s and women’s monthly earnings, and earnings and pension projections were added to the application, to increase the usability and usefulness of the application for comparing gender pay statistics. In 2019 labour market application was commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The labour market application allows customised analysis of data of the Estonian Labour Force Survey. It is possible to combine employment, unemployment, inactivity, and educational indicators with different background characteristics, including gender, age, nationality, citizenship, disability, presence of children in the household etc. One can observe changes in the labour market over time and compare population groups. The analysis results can be downloaded as graphs or data tables. From January 2019 to 2022 research project REGE – “Reducing the Gender Wage Gap” was carried out with an aim to decrease the still unexplained part of the gender pay gap by clearing up further reasons for it through linking together different existing databases, adding qualitative analysis, and using simulation and prognosis models to 5 design evidence-based policy scenarios. The project also aimed to create a low- administrative-cost database for up-to-date data on gender pay gap. Based on the analysis, user-friendly digital awareness-raising features have been developed. The project was co-financed from the Regional Development Fund through RITA programme managed by the Estonian Research Council. The research showed that linking together different existing databases enabled to explain significantly larger part of the gender pay gap – 40% instead of previous 15%. Individual level characteristics, such as level of education, labour market status, age, and nationality, explain only marginal share of the pay gap, while the average salary paid, and the share of women employed by the employer play more substantial role. Occupation and sector of economic activity are moderately important in explaining the gap. The results also show that in the lowest income quintile men earn approximately 5% more than women and almost all the pay gap can be explained, mostly by individual characteristics (age, nationality, education, mother tongue) and characteristics of the employer. With the parametrics included in the analysis, whilst almost all of the pay gap could be explained with the low-wage earners, only half could be explained for the medium-wage earners and only a fractions for high-wage earners. The research also showed that in Estonia women with children earn almost 25% less than women without children - the average working income of mothers is still less 7 years after giving birth than before the birth of the child. In addition to the research and the digital tool development the project also contributed to the awareness raising with different art projects, digital game development and media appearances. Research results and policy proposals from this project are used for future policy plans. Based on the prototype of a tool called “Pay Mirror” developed in the REGE project in collaboration with Statistics Estonia, in the coming years, the tool is further developed to make it available to employers to increase the number of organisations analysing relevant data from the perspective of gender pay gap and the principle of equal pay, and making informed decisions based on this. The main aim is to make the identification and analysis of the pay gap as easy and accessible as possible for the employer, without increasing the administrative burden, and to increase employers’ awareness about pay inequality and pay gap. The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for developing this prototype further and the actual tool should be published and in use by 2024. From 2019 to 2020 the project InWeGe (Income, Wealth, Gender) coordinated by the Commissioner’s Office was carried out. The project provided an innovative and statistics-based web application primarily for women to allow them to make decisions and better choices in the labour market. The project monitored the gender gap in income and wealth over the life cycle of people with the help of economists, and it also analyses the gender-based differentiation in income and pension assets, focusing on trends dominating in Estonia. The analysis also uses comparative data from other European countries. Women’s wages, assets, and pensions are under examination. As a result of the research, a web application for gender differences in income and 6 wealth was developed. The web application can be used by anyone who wants to make a job-related decision based on the current level of wages (currently prevalent in the market), given one’s educational background, gender, and other data. Horizontal segregation From 2017-2019 the Commissioner's Office together with Estonian Public Broadcasting, Tallinn University, SA Innove, Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson of Lithuania and the Centre for Gender Equality in Iceland carried out cross-media project BREAK!. The project was mainly funded by the European Commission. The aim of the BREAK! cross-media project was to influence the audience in the direction of open-mindedness regarding gender role stereotypes - to empower (young) people and help them overcome stereotype-based barriers concerning occupational choices. During the project TV series “Miks Mitte?!” (Why not?!) and radio shows, which aired on Estonian Public Broadcasting channels, were produced and a photo exhibition was created. Also, study materials for teachers were created and trainings for teachers and career counsellors took place. To tackle gender segregation in education and the labour market, two 18-months applied research projects have been implemented. Both projects are concentrating on finding new possibilities to use nudging for promoting gender equality and are co- funded by the Estonian Research Council from the European Regional Development Fund, and the Ministry of Social Affairs. Project “Glass Walls and Ceiling in the Estonian ICT Sector” was finalised in the first half of 2021. It had a specific aim to ascertain nudges to increase the share of women among ICT sector students and employees. Nudges were developed and tested for three target groups – high school students, employers, and public/parents. Project “Nudging to Support Stereotype-free Career Choices and Working Conditions” was finalised in spring 2022. The aim of the research project was to help find ways to support teachers and career advisers in promoting career choices that are free of gender stereotypes, and to support employers in ensuring equal and fair working conditions and stereotype free recruitment and promotion. Nudges were developed for three target groups: teachers at general education schools, career specialists and employers. The biggest barriers to dealing with gender stereotypes at school and in work life (as determined by the qualitative survey) were taken into consideration when developing the nudges. The total of three nudges where piloted with the help of volunteer partners. The main conclusion of the pilot is the pressing need for a more systematic approach in tackling stereotypes although nudges can be used as an additional measure. Results of these two projects are laying the groundwork for the next steps and measures aimed at decreasing the gender segregation in education and labour market, with a special focus on increasing the share of women in STEM, including ICT. Promoting women’s and girls’ choices of non-traditional fields of education, such as STEM and digital technology, is one of the main objectives in a set of measures that 7 address structural problems in the Estonian labour market. These measures and activities include decreasing gender-stereotyping and increasing co-operation between schools, vocational training institutions, recruitment agencies and employers. Preparations for these activities started in 2022 and will be implemented in 2023-2029, with co-funding from the Structural Funds. Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Competence Centre has produced guidance materials for teachers supervising afterschool activities in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The guidance material aims to raise awareness on gender biases and stereotypes and promote choices that are free of gender stereotypes. Also, a booklet was produced for parents. Several initiatives by private and third sector actors, as well as state-initiated activities, aim to increase girls’ interest towards ICT. These initiatives include HK Unicorn Squad (developed as a private initiative), aiming to increase girls’ (aged 7-14) interest towards technical fields, robotics and STEM fields; Tech Sisters (third sector initiative), aiming to increase girls’ and women’s interest towards IT and technology; Digigirls, developed for girls (grades 7-12), is a series of events, mostly as workshops, to introduce ICT fields, designing apps, web environments etc. To mention some other initiatives in 2018, a two-year programme/information campaign “ICT is everywhere” was initiated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. It was directed at young people aged 15-29 years, targeting primarily girls and young women aged 15-19 to inspire them to study IT-related fields. The programme tried to overcome the stereotypes linked with careers in the ICT-sector. A special focus of the campaign was on informing girls on various job opportunities involving ICT in order to encourage them to consider studies or jobs in digital economy. Another aspect of the campaign was to highlight female role models, as the lack of them is one of the factors why many women do not choose a career in the ICT sector. During the two-year campaign, 50 media events took place in spring and autumn in schools around Estonia and, in cooperation with the non-profit organisation Tech Sisters and various technology companies, 10 separate workshops were organised. For the campaign the ministry partnered with, among others, Idea Group, Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications, TalTech University, NGO Community Tech Sisters and the educational programme “Enterprising School”. Another project, “Choose IT!” is being carried out together with Estonian IT companies and enables postgraduates to learn a new profession and become software developers. The programme involves a 6-week training course followed by an 8-week internship in a company. While this project is not specifically targeted at women, around 62% of the project participants during 2017-2020 were women. Vertical segregation In 2018-2019, a project “The Role of Women and Men in Local Governments and Councils”, co-financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, was carried out by a think tank Praxis. The aim of the project was to give an overview of the role of women and men in shaping the local life by collecting and analysing data of the education level, age, 8 pay and occupation of the employees of local governments. The results were published in 2019 as a policy brief which can be used to improve the situation of women in local governments in the future. According to the analyses, 31% of Estonian local government council members are women and 69% are men. 75% of vice-chairperson and 83% chairperson are men. Only 25% of vice-chairperson are women and 17% of the chairpersons are women. Among local government employees there are almost three quarters (73%) of women. At the same time, men are dominating in the elected positions - 71% of men and 29% of women are deputy mayors / deputy rural municipality elders and as many as 83% and 17% of women among mayors / rural municipality elders. As of December 2021, women account for 26% of members of Parliament (26 women and 75 men. Among the 52st Government of the Republic of Estonia there are 7 female ministers (including the Prime Minister) and women account for 47% of ministers. In 2019-2020, the think tank Praxis implemented a project “Nudging Women to Power”, financed from the European Commissions` Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, with a co-financing from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the National Foundation of Civil Society and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The general objective of the project was to improve women’s access to high-level political decision-making. This project helped to increase knowledge, awareness and understanding of the importance of gender equality in public policy making and how the media as well as political organisations can help to empower women in achieving higher positions as well as increase their visibility and credibility in public domains. Based on existing literature, experiences of politicians, and behavioural insights, recommendations and practical tools were developed to support women's wider participation in politics and high-level decision-making. Table: Share of women in managerial positions, 2016-2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Female managers 36,2 38,5 36,1 37,1 37,4 41,1 Source: Statistics Estonia Table: Share of men and women in managerial positions in private sector, 2017-2021 Management positions in private sector 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 men, % 66% 68% 67% 67% 64% women, % 34% 32% 33% 33% 36% Source: Statistics Estonia, Labour Force Survey. 2017 result is based on Estonian Labour Force Survey old methodology. 2018-2021 results are calculated with new methodology. Gender equality in academia 9 In 2021, a report titled “Current situation of gender equality and ways of improvement in Estonian science” was completed by the Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS) of the University of Tartu. The report concluded that the proportion of women in science and technology has not increased much over the years; that the number of men and women among academics is practically equal, however there are large differences between professions (women are less likely to be in senior positions than men); and there are fears that gender mainstreaming is at odds with supporting the most competent people, which impedes the discussion on gender-sensitive measures in academia. One of the activities of the Estonian RDI Strategy and Entrepreneurship Strategy 2021–2035 to ensure the basic capacity of the research system, is to support research institutions and universities in developing and implementing an academic career model that offers flexible, equal opportunities (incl. gender equality), diversity and greater stability. The Estonian Research Agency contributes to the promotion of gender equality in several ways. In 2020, a gender equality plan was adopted (renewed in December 2021), which raises gender awareness among its staff and members of its collections and commissions, pays additional attention to the principles of equal treatment, strives for greater gender balance in collections, commissions and other experts, and grants, awards and among applicants and beneficiaries. Additional attention is paid to gender awareness in communication activities and to equal treatment and opportunities for the institution's staff. To increase the visibility of female researchers, Estonia participates in the AcademiaNet project: in cooperation with positively evaluated Estonian research institutions, recognized researchers are nominated annually to the AcademiaNet portal of top researchers. There are also two Horizon 2020 projects promoting gender equality: GEARING-Roles and Gender-Net Plus to exchange experiences with partners from other countries. The first “Women in Science” day was celebrated in 2021 (an initiative of the University of Tartu and the Estonian Young Academy of Sciences), another initiative includes the yearly scholarship l'Oréal Baltic for Women in Science Programme. Gender equality in family matters During the reporting period project Parents@Work focused on work-life balance best practices and recognising discriminatory practices in the workplace. The project developed a Code of Conduct for the supportive team, information booklets for employers and parents and gathered best practice from different Estonian organisations. Materials are available online: toetav.ee. In 2020-2022 the Commissioner’s Office in Estonia coordinated and implemented a project ‘Towards gender equality through increased capabilities for work-life balance’. The project is co-financed by the European Commission. The aim of the project was 10 to promote gender equality and increase the capacity of women and men to balance their work-life by developing several innovative and interactive tools. These tools help to increase equality by improving everyday practical skills, changing attitudes, and reducing gender stereotypes. One of these innovative tools is a strategic learning game, with both a physical board game and a digital version of the game having been developed. The learning game was designed for use in schools, workplaces and by the public. The learning game can be used in parallel with a series of short films which aired also on Estonian Public Broadcasting channels as well as several public and private streaming channels. Besides the game and series project output was a series of easily understood guidelines supporting balance between work-life for people with family responsibilities, their co-workers, employers and employees, local government, educational institutions, policy makers and contractors. During 2018-2022 the Ministry of Social Affairs has amended the parental leave and benefit system with the aim to encourage more parents to combine work and family life and especially fathers to increase their share in care responsibilities. The parental leave and benefit reform has been implemented in several parts. From 1st March 2018 parents may earn parental benefit as well as income and the parental benefit will be reduced only when the monthly income exceeds 1.5 times Estonian average salary. From 1st July 2020 all fathers will have an individual right for paternity leave and benefit for 30 days and 19 months of parental benefit and leave can be used in one part or in several parts at any time until the child turns three years old. The fathers may use their right 30 days before the due-date of the child and until the child turns three years old. After using the individual right, the parents may use the sharable parental leave and benefit. These changes have had a positive effect on increasing women’s participation in the labor market. The proportion of fathers receiving parental benefit is increasing, amounting to 16% of all recipients of parental benefit in 2021. In 2017 the share of fathers receiving parental benefit was 8%. The number of parental benefit recipients, who receive income from work has also increased from 9% to 20% during last five years, which means that the parents are increasingly using the possibilities to combine work and family life. The second part of the amendments (came into force 1st April 2022) allow for more flexible forms to reconcile work and family life. The changes allow both parents to be on leave and/or receive parental benefit up to 60 days. When parents use this option together, the overall period will be reduced proportionally by the days used together. Also, according to the law amendments parents may stop and re-start receiving the benefit daily until the child turns three years old. This enables both parents to share the care responsibility and work part time. The maternity leave period is shortened from 140 days to 100 days and the parents will have a longer period of paternal leave and benefit, which is shareable by both parents. 11 According to Statistics Estonia (Estonian Labour Force Survey), the employment rate of female by presence of a child less than 2 years old has increased in recent years. In 2018 the female employment rate for such target group was 43% and in 2021 it had increased 4 percent points (to 47%). However, the employment rate of men by presence of a child less than 2 years old has decreased in 2018-2021 from 95% to 93% accordingly. In addition to the media campaign “Grow Together” which was carried out from November to December 2017 calling on fathers to spend more time with their children, including using parental leave, in 2021 the Ministry of Social Affairs, in co-operation with the SIB and the consulting company EMOR, conducted a research on the use of paternity leave and parental benefit. The aim of this research was to map possible restrictions when it comes to the use of paternity leave and the use of paternity benefit. By mapping the necessary information and discovering constraints, the project team developed nudges that would guide fathers to make more use of the opportunity granted to them. In the long scope, the aim was to increase the use of paternity leave and the use of paternity benefit. Long-term care has been on the political agenda during recent years. A special high- level task force that was assembled at the Government Office from 2016 to 2017 developed general policy guidelines and solutions to decrease the care burden. First proposals about reorganisation of LTC in Estonia were approved in 2018 and since then several action plans to the Estonian Cabinet of Ministers have submitted. Changes in long-term care cannot be implemented without preparatory and supportive activities in social welfare and health, as well as support to local governments. In 2017, Estonia started piloting a care coordination project in close cooperation with local governments, family practitioners and regional hospitals. The purpose of this project is to create a person-centered coordination system for people with complex care needs. Project is currently going on in six regions in Estonia. A flexible respite care service for people with a mental disability was launched on 1 st January 2018. The aim of this service is to free up time of family members to support their participation in the labour market. A new leave form (carer leave) entered into force under the Employment Contract Act from 1st July 2018. Employees can use additional leave (5 days per calendar year) to care for an adult family member with a profound disability. The leave allowance is compensated based on minimum wage. In 2022 steps are taken to extend scope of persons who are entitled to this leave. The right to use the carer leave will be linked to the actual need for care of the person cared for, and not by the severity of the disability identified by the SIB as it is today. The paid leave benefit rate will be increased from the minimum wage to the average income subject to social tax contributions. In September 2018, the Dementia Competence Centre (DCC) was founded. The focus areas of the DCC are integration of service provision; training of service providers and stakeholders; supporting people with dementia and their families; coordinating 12 academic research, communication, and social awareness on dementia-related topics. DCC coordinates support groups and provides education and training seminars on various topics regarding dementia. In December 2018, the Ministry of Social Affairs issued an open call to allocate funds for dementia-friendly environmental design in care homes. This open call is envisioned to be working in tandem with the DCC whereby the physical environment is adapted for care needs of people with dementia and the social environment (i.e. knowledge, skills and values of caregivers) is empowered by specialists working at the Dementia Competence Centre via education and trainings. 26 care homes were granted, which resulted in the adaptation of 806 service places for people with dementia (including the adaptation of 682 previous places and the creation of 124 new places). With the support of EU structural funds several projects and other measures have been initiated in recent years to support local governments in their tasks and address regional disparities. A mentoring programme to the North-East Estonian local municipalities was developed in December 2019 to encourage them to design and provide more social welfare services. Local governments, private and third sector service providers have had a possibility to apply for funding to develop social welfare services for persons with disabilities and the elderly. The developed services are for example support person service, personal assistance service, day-care centres, interval-care and home-care service, counselling services and support groups for people with care burden, integrated welfare services and other services that help to reduce care burden and enable labour market participation of carers. In 2021 the Ministry of Social Affairs prepared a bill to change the Social Welfare Act and Family Law Act, which entered into force in the second quarter of 2022. These changes lay foundation for the organisation of long-term care and greater support for people with care burden and are following: Defining a long-term care in legislation for the first time. According to this definition long-term care means providing care for a person who needs help for a longer period in daily activities because of his or her physical or mental or work capacity has degraded. Long-term care includes healthcare services, care services and support services for everyday coping. Local government has to prefer home care services to institutional services. As a first choice, local government has to provide for a chance to live in home and offer adequate support, e.g., domestic service, support person service, personal assistant service. Local government is obliged to identify/asses the need for support for a person with a care burden. While evaluating a person’s need for assistance, local government has to identify a person with care burden, assess his/her need for support and provide appropriate assistance (trainings, services etc.) when it is needed. Second-degree relatives are no longer required to provide maintenance. It means that grandchildren are released from the maintenance obligation towards their grandparents and vice versa in case of adult grandchildren. 13 In 2021 the Ministry of Social Affairs also initiated amendment of the Employment Contracts Act and related laws so that employees and officials with caring responsibilities have the right to apply for flexible working conditions (for example, part- time or flexible working hours, teleworking, etc.). In addition, the amendment provides additional protection for employees and officials with caring responsibilities in the event of termination of employment or dismissal, and the reversal of the burden of proof in disputes concerning termination of employment or dismissal. In coming years, the next step is to implement new financing scheme for 24-hour general care service provided outside home. The main aim is to reduce out of pocket payments for care recipients and their families by increasing public funding. A separate financing scheme will be established, according to which the financing of the service would be divided between the individual and the public sector to a greater extent than before. Decisions to receive additional funds for the state budget will be made by the government in autumn 2022. Role of Social Partners From 2019 the Ministry of Social Affairs has started strategic partnerships, which include financial support, as a form of cooperation with civil society. The calls for strategic partnership proposals have specific topics supporting the strategic gender equality goals defined in the Welfare Development Plan. One of the goals of the strategic partnership was to reduce the dependence of NGO funding on short-term projects and increase their economic sustainability, as well as the ability to plan their activities strategically and in the longer term. The first round of calls for strategic partnerships on gender equality took place in 2019 and resulted in two-year contracts with the Estonian Women’s Associations Roundtable and the Estonian Women’s Studies and Resource Centre together with NGO Oma Tuba. The second round of open calls for promotion of gender equality was announced in 2022 and resulted in three-year strategic partnership contracts with the Estonian Women’s Studies and Resource Centre and NGO Oma Tuba (together with Praxis Centre for Policy Studies). In 2019-2022, the Estonian Women’s Associations Roundtable with partners from Norway and Czechia implemented the European Commission's funded Erasmus+ program project Fair Play at Schools, which focused on promoting gender-sensitive education. Training modules for teachers to promote awareness on gender equality and gender sensitive education free from gender stereotypes were developed. The Estonian Women’s Associations Roundtable in cooperation with the Association of Pre-School Teachers in Estonia provided trainings for preschool teachers on gender sensitive teaching and education. In 2021 and 2022 the Association of Estonian Rural Women in partnership with the Estonian Women’s Associations Roundtable organised seminars for municipalities to promote gender mainstreaming, introducing the proposals from local women’s organisation to the development plans of the municipalities. In 2021 a survey on the life of Estonian rural women was carried out. The survey studied the experiences of rural women mainly focusing on the CEDAW 14 Convention areas. The results were disseminated, and suggestions offered in seminars for municipalities mentioned above and in focus group organised for decision-makers. The Estonian Women’s Studies and Resource Centre (ENUT) has been publishing the first and only peer-reviewed journal of women’s and men’s studies (Ariadne Lõng) from 2000-2018. After a short hiatus in 2018, ENUT plans to re-launch it and continue publishing the magazine as a part of strategic partnership agreement with the Ministry of Social Affairs. ENUT also maintains a library for women’s and gender studies and provides support for students interested in gender studies and gender issues in their research field. The NGO Oma Tuba launched a feminist web magazine called Feministeerium in 2015, which has currently approximately 11,000 readers per month. NGO Oma Tuba has raised awareness on various issues regarding gender inequality, gender-based violence and the negative impact of gender stereotypes and has also promoted temporary special measures and a consent-based approach to rape, sexual violence and sexual assault in legislation. The following organizations have been sent copies of the report:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 15  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2018 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) Statistics Table: The number of complaints by characteristic related to work filed to the Commissioner, 2018-2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Gender 65 66 52 41 Age 15 9 10 7 Nationality 10 14 5 7 Disability 9 9 13 5 Another characteristic 12 12 16 29 No characteristic or out of the area of competence 19 27 21 13 Table: Employment rate, unemployment rate and labour participation rate, 2021 by gender and nationality, %. Labour Ethnic Employment Unemployment participation Gender Nationality rate, % rate, % rate, % Men Estonian 70,9 5,4 75 Other Men Nationality 71,4 5,6 75,6 Men Russian 65,1 11 73,1 Women Estonian 67 3,9 69,8 Other Women Nationality 55,4 11,2 62,4 Women Russian 58,5 8,7 64,1 Source: Statistics Estonia, Labour Force Survey Table: Gender pay gap, average salary and ratio to national average salary by county, I quarter 2022 Gender pay Average salary Ratio to national County gap (euros) average salary Harju 18,2% 1805 1,15 Järva 18,0% 1280 0,81 Rapla 13,5% 1246 0,79 16  Lääne 10,4% 1227 0,78 Hiiu 15,6% 1205 0,76 Saare 12,3% 1188 0,75 Pärnu 13,0% 1240 0,79 Viljandi 14,0% 1270 0,81 Jõgeva 14,5% 1194 0,76 Lääne-Viru 15,3% 1221 0,77 Ida-Viru 21,0% 1204 0,76 Jõgeva 14,5% 1194 0,76 Valga 11,3% 1133 0,72 Tartu 14,7% 1547 0,98 Põlva 5,8% 1218 0,77 Võru 14,2% 1193 0,76 Source: Statistics Estonia Policy measures The Equal Treatment Act as currently in force, prohibits discrimination on the ground of nationality (ethnicity), race and colour in employment, in access to the services of social welfare, social security and healthcare, in the area of education or in access to and supply of goods and services, which are available to the public, including housing. The Act prohibits discrimination on the ground of age, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation in employment and vocational education. The Act is currently being amended, widening the protection on the grounds of age, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation to the same level as it is currently on the grounds of nationality, ethnicity, and race or colour. The amendments were approved by the Government in January 2022 and have succeeded the first reading in the Parliament. Currently the amendments are being prepared for the second reading in the Parliament. Nationality In the integration policy development plan “Integrating Estonia 2020” one aim of the measures was to raise organisations’ awareness of the need to reduce ethnic segregation in the labour market. Several activities of the development plan were focused on tackling ethnic segregation in public sector. In 2019, the Ministry of Finance published an analysis entitled “Transmission of public sector employment opportunities to non-native speakers”, which included an action plan. The study emphasised the need to intensify co- operation between public sector organisations and upper secondary schools and universities, to find an opportunity to teach professional Estonian in workplaces and to inform potential candidates more actively about their job opportunities through their preferred communication channels. Public sector employers were informed about the importance of equal treatment in personnel policy and the multicultural work team, and young people were introduced 17 to career opportunities in the public sector with the support of the ESF. The project produced web pages, a campaign, videos, and seminars. In the framework of the Interreg Central Baltic Program 2014-2020, the project “Cross- border co-operation in providing mentoring and support services to unemployed low- income permanent residents CROSS CB52” prepared by INSA was approved in 2016. The most important results of the project, which ended in mid-2018, are a thorough meta-analysis of the national and linguistic distribution of Estonian labour market and the piloting of mentoring for the low-integrated unemployed and the mentoring program completed on the basis thereof. In 2020 and 2021, the Integration Foundation implemented an internship program for students with a mother tongue other than Estonian. A total of 21 trainees and 13 state agencies participated in the pilot project. The internship program introduced students to the work of public authorities and encouraged them to apply for positions in the public sector in the future. Internships were available in different areas: recruitment and criminal policy, child-friendly justice, civil society, international cooperation, employment and adaptation. The internship program will continue in 2022 and beyond. In 2020 and 2021 the Integration Foundation offered an in-service (working assignment) language learning project for working people – social work employees, care workers and local government officials with a mother tongue other than Estonian. Employees were provided an opportunity to improve their Estonian language skills at a different, mostly Estonian-speaking, institution during 20 working days and two weekends, a total of 24 days. The aim of the project was to encourage employees and officials to communicate in Estonian at work and take steps to achieve the necessary Estonian language skills. In November 2021, the Government approved the Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2021– 2030. Its general objective is that Estonia is a cohesive and inclusive society. Subobjective of the strategy in the field of integration is the following: Estonia supporting adaptation and integration - Estonian society is cohesive and stable where people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds carry the Estonian identity, participate actively in social life, share democratic values and a common cultural, information and communication space, and feel a sense of unity. One of the key policies of the plan is supporting an innovative and responsible labour market by: improving access to the labour market; services for people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds; supporting the recruitment of potential employees with other native languages in state and local government agencies; improving the ability of employers to cope with a multicultural and multilingual environment. General In 2020 media campaign “Everyone is different but equally human" #samapaljuinimene (English: #equallyhuman) took place. The campaign consisted of 5 short videos and out-door campaign highlights stories of bullying, migrant workers, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and religious beliefs. 18 In 2021 the Ministry of Social Affairs published a series of 10 short (approx. 2-3 minutes) video-lectures with an aim to raise awareness on gender equality, violence against women, including digital violence, equal treatment of minorities and on promoting diversity. From the gender equality perspective, the lectures touched upon topics such as gender segregation of education and labour market, men`s role in promoting gender equality, gender (in)balance in politics, controlling behaviour in intimate relations, gender-based cyberviolence and children as witnesses of (domestic) violence. These so-called micro-lectures were released approximately once a week and were accompanied by a press release and/or blog entry or an entry in social media. Role of social partners Access to the labour market is also promoted through the ministry of Social Affairs’ strategic partnerships with NGOs in promotion of equal treatment. A recent partnership (for years 2022-2024) between the Ministry and the Human Rights Centre as well as LGBT Union focuses among other topics also on supporting vulnerable groups as national minorities, LGBT, refugees etc. on wide range of areas. Since 2012, organisations have had the possiblity to join the Diversity Agreement. By joining, a company, NGO or public sector organisation confirms that it respects diversity and values the principle of equal treatment among its employees, partners and customers. By 2021, 20 public sector organisations, 101 companies and 23 NGOs had joined the agreement. The Diverse Workplace Label model was created in 2016, and the Estonian Center for Human Rights Foundation has been appointed to carry out the implementation of the model through procurement, which has become the leader of the Diverse Workplace project. The Diverse Workplace Label is a quality label that shows that a company is an attractive employer looking to hire talent regardless of gender or background. As of May 2021, 32 organisations have received the label. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 19  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2018 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. Annual reports of work environment can be found here: https://www.ti.ee/en/government-agency-news-and-contacts/statistics/annual-reports- work-environment The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 20  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2018 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 21  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2017 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. Taking into account the relevant comments of the CEACR, we would like to give the following information: The Committee accordingly requests the Government to specify whether provision is made for compensatory rest period in case of total or partial exceptions to the principle of 24-hour weekly rest. The Employment Contracts Act § 52 stipulates that an agreement by which an employee is left over a period of seven days with less than 48 hours of consecutive rest time is void, unless otherwise provided by law. An agreement by which, in the case of calculation of the summarised working time, an employee is left over a period of seven days with less than 36 hours of consecutive rest time is also void, unless otherwise provided by law. There are no exemptions from the weekly rest time regulation. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 22  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2015 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 23  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2015 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention, 1993 (No. 174) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. Taking into account the relevant comments of the CEACR, we would like to give the following information: The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the legislative and practical measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the workers and their representatives are consulted in the preparation of, and have access to, accident reports. According to the paragraph 24 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an employer must investigate all occupational accidents and occupational diseases. The purpose of an investigation of an occupational accident and occupational disease is to ascertain the circumstances of the occupational accident and occupational disease and reasons therefor and to determine the measures for preventing the recurrence of a similar event. A working environment representative or, in their absence, another representative of employees participates in the investigation with the right to vote. Also, during the investigation the investigator, inter alia, takes explanations from persons who have information about important circumstances related to the accident. An employer must register all occupational accidents and occupational diseases and make relevant information, including the investigation results, available to the injured party, working environment specialist, working environment council, working environment representative and other representatives of employees. Also, an employer must draw up a report on the results of an investigation of an occupational disease. A report on the results of an investigation of an occupational accident must be drawn up if the occupational accident resulted in temporary incapacity for work, serious bodily injury or death. The employer must present the report to the injured party or a person representing their interests and the Labour Inspectorate. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 24  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2016 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 (No. 12) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 25  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2016 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925 (No. 19) There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period. Taking into account the relevant comments of the CEACR, we would like to give the following information: Persons who are entitled to Estonian work ability allowance are stated in Work Ability Allowance Act (RT I, 13.12.2014, 1). The section 2 doesn`t make any difference between Estonian citizens residing in Estonia or aliens residing in Estonia, because it is mainly residence based allowance. According to subsection 2 of § 2 residents of Estonia specified in clauses 1 and 2 of subsection 1 of this section whose residence is in several states are entitled to work ability assessment and work ability allowance if they are residents for the purposes of subsection 1 of § 6 of the Income Tax Act or if they reside permanently in Estonia for the purposes of the Aliens Act. According to the Income Tax Act`s subsection 1 of § 6 a person is a resident if a persons`s place of residence is in Estonia or if a person stays in Estonia for at least 183 days during 12 consecutive calendar months. Therefore the citizenship is not important when receiving work ability allowance when working or living abroad, but the key element is residence. Persons with Estonian citizenship or without Estonian citizenship are treated equally when receiving work ability allowance abroad. Work ability allowance is also regulated by EU law - REGULATION (EC) No 883/2004 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems. According to the article 2, the Regulation shall apply to nationals of a Member State, stateless persons and refugees residing in a Member State who are or have been subject to the legislation of one or more Member States, as well as to the members of their families and to their survivors. If the regulation applies to specific case, the citizenship is not important when receiving work ability allowance when working or living abroad, but the key element is whether a person is a subject to the legislation of one or more Member States. Persons with Estonian citizenship or without Estonian citizenship are treated equally when receiving work ability allowance abroad. Citizenship is not important for the payment of work ability allowance because work ability allowance shall be paid according to the request of the person to the bank 26 account of the person in a foreign state at the expense of the recipient ( Work Ability Allowance Act 17(2)). Estonian Unemployment Fund shall provide the statistics on the manner for a year 2021. Below are persons who have received work ability allowance to their bank account numbers abroad: Citizenship number of persons in amount paid to bank 2021 receiving WAA account abroad in 2021 to bank account abroad Estonian 794 2 178 107,00 € citizens Foreigners 185 420 228,00 € total 979 2 598 335,00 € The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 27  R E P O R T, 2022 for the period from September 2020 to September 2022, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) On 28th of March 2022 amendments to the Seafarers Employment Act entered into force, implementing the amendments to the Maritime Labour Code of 2018. The Seafarers Employment Act was amended as follows: § 231. Obligation to pay wages if crew member is held captive (1) An operator whose ship is required to have a maritime labour certificate pursuant to clause 1 of subsection 1 of § 1113 of the Maritime Safety Act or to whom it is issued under subsection 2 of said section is required to continue paying a crew member who is held captive on or off the ship in connection with acts of piracy or armed robbery against the ship wages and other entitlements to which the crew member is entitled under the seafarers’ employment contract, collective agreement or the law. (2) For the purposes of this Act, armed robbery against a ship is any act of violence or illegal detention or any act of depredation, or threat thereof, committed for private ends and directed against a ship or against persons or property on board such a ship, within a state’s internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea, or any act of inciting or intentionally facilitating such acts. (3) For the purposes of this Act, piracy means acts described in subsection 1 of § 110 of the Penal Code and aiding or instigation of such acts. (4) If the operator and crew member had an earlier agreement on payment of wages to the bank account of a third person under subsection 2 of § 23 of this Act, the making of payments to the third person must be continued in the cases referred to in subsection 1 of this section. (5) The obligation provided in subsections 1 and 4 of this section remains effective during the entire period of captivity of the crew member until the crew member is released and duly repatriated according to Subchapter 6 of this Chapter. Where the crew member dies while in captivity, said obligation will remain effective until the date of death of the crew member. § 693. Validity of seafarer’s employment contract if crew member is held captive The validity of a seafarer’s employment contract will be extended while a crew member is held captive on or off the ship in connection with acts of piracy or armed robbery against the ship, regardless of whether either party has given notice to cancel 28 the seafarer’s employment contract or whether the deadline of a seafarer’s fixed term employment contract has passed. The following organizations have been sent its copies:  Estonian Employers’ Confederation  Estonian Trade Union Confederation 29