can file complaints with the local competent authorities against employers
who infringe upon the interests of a majority of their members, so as to
effectively prevent the sort of collective, systemic gender discrimination
seen in dress codes.
7.
The NHRC recommends that the government improve the
occupational safety and health conditions of cabin crew.
Article 11, Paragraph 1 of CEDAW requires states to eliminate gender
discrimination in employment. Subparagraph (f) of Paragraph 1 requires
that equal access to health and safety be ensured for women in terms of
working conditions. Paragraph 13 of General Recommendation No. 28 of
CEDAW requires state parties to fulfill their obligation to take appropriate
measures to regulate personal conduct, including in employment, working
conditions, and working standards. Paragraphs 74 and 75 of General
Comment No. 23 of the CESCR require industrial and commercial
businesses to abide by the ICESCR and states that they have the
responsibility to respect and realize the rights (of people) to fair and
favorable working conditions. Article 9 of ILO Convention No. 190
stipulates that states shall, where reasonably practical, require employers
to “take into account violence and harassment and associated psychosocial
risks in the management of occupational safety and health.”
As domestic and foreign studies and the recommendations in Chapter
V, Section 1 show, dress codes are critical to the safety and health of cabin
crew. Ensuring the safety and health of cabin crew is to ensure the safety
of passengers. In other words, dress codes are not only an issue about
whether cabin crew suffer gender discrimination or interference with their
labor rights, but they are also closely related to the public interest.
The NHRC recommends that the Ministry of Labor actively prompt
civil aviation industry enterprises to take measures to prevent occupational
accidents, stop sexual harassment, and minimize fall risks and other
occupational safety and health hazards, thereby jointly creating a genderfriendly, safe, and healthy workplace, as well as effectively ensuring that
female cabin crew have equal access to health and safety in terms of
working conditions.
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