C.
RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT
113.
The respondents were asked about their working experiences including
applying for a job in the public and private sectors. The experiences from the
clients, colleagues, customers and others which include support, violence
and discrimination. The respondents were also asked to share the impact of
the discrimination if any and as whether their current workplace has a policy
that protects the employees from any discrimination based on gender identity,
gender expression and/or sexual orientation.
114.
The right to employment is essential in determining the standard of living and
quality of life for an individual. In this section, the Commission will explore the
right to employment of the transgender persons. To begin with, the Commission
will look at the related legal provisions with regard to the right to employment.
115.
The right to employment is enshrined in article 23 of the UDHR declaration as
shown below:
“(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.”
“(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring
for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if
necessary, by other means of social protection.”
116.
In the ICESCR, the right to work is provided in Article 6(1)102 and (2)103. Decent
work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. According to
International Labour Organisation (ILO), decent work means “it involves
opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security
in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for
personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express
their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their
lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men”104.
In addition to that, it is also stated in Principle 12 of Yogyakarta Principles
provides that “everyone has the right to decent and productive work, to just
and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment,
without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
102 “Article 6(1). The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the
right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will
take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.”
103 “Article 6(2). The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization
of this right shall include technical and vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and
techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive
employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the
individual.”
104 http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/decent-work/lang--en/index.htm accessed on 28 November 2017
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