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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. In its previous direct request, the Committee had noted that no provision referred to by the Government in respect of remuneration appears to include the definition of equal remuneration which is in conformity with the principle of "equal pay for men and women workers for work of equal value" as set forth in the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration is fully applied to the wage as defined in sections 1 and 2 of the Act respecting the payment of wages, namely the basic wage, the additional wage and other incentive and compensatory payments. The Committee reiterates its hope that this principle will be included in the legislation and, more specifically, in the Labour Code which is in the drafting stage (taking account of the comments of the International Labour Office relative to the draft text of this instrument).

2. The Committee notes the Government's statement to the effect that private enterprises and organizations themselves establish collective agreements fixing wage rates and salary scales depending on the complexity of the work and the skills required, in accordance with the standards and assurances envisaged in the general agreement and sectorial agreements. In so far as employees of institutions and organizations financed by the state budget are concerned, wage rates are fixed by Decree issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukraine. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the general agreement in its next report as well as copies of the sectorial agreements containing the standards laid down for the conclusion of collective agreements which fix the wage rates and salary scales in private enterprises and organizations, as well as the Decree issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukraine fixing the wage rate for workers employed in institutions and organizations which are financed by the state budget.

3. The Committee notes the establishment of the National Partnership Council, whose composition is tripartite, responsible in particular for the evaluation of the impact of the Conventions ratified by the Ukraine and requests the Government to provide information in respect of the activities of this council to promote the application of this Convention.

4. The Committee notes that the supervision of the application of the legislation respecting the payment of wages is entrusted to the Ministry of Labour and its institutions, financial institutions, the State Tax Inspectorate and the trade unions and other organizations representing the interests of workers. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide specific information in its next reports in respect of the inspection services whose responsibilities include equal remuneration for men and women, the cases of violation of this principle which may have been observed, as well as the administrative and criminal proceedings resulting thereof.

5. In its previous direct request, the Committee referred to the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the increase of the average monthly wage of female workers relative to that of male workers and the distribution of women in the different sectors of employment and proposed that the reasons behind the narrowing of this gap is the tendency for women to be employed in better remunerated sectors or the decrease in men's wages for economic reasons. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further clarification with regard to these hypotheses and to the current and envisaged trends in employment and the wages of female workers.