RESPECT fOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ TRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS

1 5 4 I N D I G E N O U S T R I B A L P E O P L E S ’ R I G H T S I N P R A C T I C E – A G U I D E T O I L O C O N V E N T I O N N O . 1 6 9 Even where they continue to live in their traditional territories, indigenous people may be taking up new economic activities as primary, secondary or tertiary occupations. For example, a shifting cultivator may take up ishing or wage labour during the dry season after his swidden crop has been harvested and before the next cropping cycle starts. 2 There is a general lack of reliable data and statistics about indigenous peoples’ particular situation with respect to employment. However, where evidence is available, it indicates that indigenous peoples are being discriminated against and are disproportionately represented among the victims of forced labour and child labour. Some of the barriers and disadvantages they face in the national and international labour markets are: Many indigenous workers are not able • to compete on an equal footing, as their knowledge and skills are not appropriately valued, and they have limited access to formal education and vocational training. Indigenous workers are often included in the • labour market in a precarious way that denies their fundamental labour rights. Indigenous workers generally earn less • than other workers and the income they receive compared to the years of schooling completed is less than their non-indigenous peers. This gap increases with higher levels of education. 2 Raja Devasish Roy, “Occupations and Economy in Transition: A Case Study of the Chittagong Hill Tracts”, in Traditional Occupations of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, ILO, Geneva, 2000, pp. 73-122. Labour exploitation and discrimination affect indigenous men and women differently, and gender is often an additional cause of discrimination against indigenous women. Many indigenous women: Have less access to education and training • at all levels; Are more affected by unemployment and • under-employment; Are more often involved in non- • remunerated work; Receive less pay for equal work; • Have less access to material goods and • formal recognition needed to develop their occupation or to obtain access to employment; Have less access to administrative and • leadership positions; Experience worse conditions of work, for • example related to working hours and occupational safety and health; Are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse • and harassment and traficking, as they often have to seek employment far away from their communities; Are limited by discriminatory cultural • practices, which, for example inhibit the education of the girl-child or prevent women from inheriting land or participating in decision-making processes. 3 3 Eliminating Discrimination against Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Employment and Occupation – a Guide to ILO Convention No. 111, ILO 2007.