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The Committee notes the detailed information in the Government's report and the attached documentation.

1. The Committee notes with interest that a general revision of legislation concerning equality of treatment being undertaken is aimed at combining existing legislation with provisions on indirect discrimination, burden of proof, sexual harassment and social security issues into an autonomous piece of legislation concerning equality of treatment. It also notes that, following the advice of the Council on Equality of Opportunity between Men and Women, the Government initiated in 1996 a two-year project entitled "From classification to remuneration", with the aim of analysing good practices in the area of equal opportunity in a number of European countries and examining whether these practices could be introduced in Belgium. Focusing on protection and prevention, the Committee notes the Government's indication that certain conclusions drawn from this exercise concerning the judiciary and job classifications have been inserted in the draft legislation concerning equality of treatment. Noting the Government's indication that draft legislation would be presented to Parliament in 1998, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the status of this draft legislation, and a copy upon its adoption.

2. The Committee notes with interest the political and legal measures taken to protect and promote equal treatment of men and women workers, especially with regard to improvement of job classification systems. The Committee notes that a study, commissioned in 1996 by the Ministry of Employment and Work, showed that from amongst the 141 sectoral job classifications in existence in Belgium, only 16 per cent had an analytical base. The non-analytical classification schemes were not considered to be gender neutral. The study came to the general conclusion that modernization of sectoral classification schemes was urgently required. The Committee requests the Government to provide it with a copy of this study, as well as information on the manner in which the use of unbiased analytical classification schemes are promoted. The Committee also notes the inclusion, through Royal Decree of 19 December 1996, of the term "classification of occupations" in section 128(1) of the Act on Economic Reorientation (1978), so that it is covered by section 127 of the Act which prescribes equality between men and women with regard to conditions of work. The Committee requests the Government to provide it with information concerning any judicial decisions referring to this new element in section 128(1).

3. The Committee notes the indication in the 1998 Belgium Plan of Action "Investing in People and Employment", which is based on a number of EU Directives on employment, that women work in a restricted number of sectors and jobs and that an important cause of inequality in remuneration can be attributed to outdated job classification schemes which do not take into account the value of female qualifications and attributes. It notes that the social partners have undertaken to review the classification system in those sectors where this system leads to inequality between men and women. It also notes that the Government envisages the introduction of financial incentives for those sectors and companies that introduce a revision of their classification system. The Committee further notes that, in 1996, a campaign was launched, entitled "The salary you deserve -- Towards a correct remuneration of your job", with a view to raising awareness of the social partners in relation to the problems attached to equality of opportunity and job classification schemes. This included the dissemination of a training manual, as well as free training for interested parties, aimed specifically at social conciliators and sector negotiators. With reference to Article 4 of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed on measures taken or envisaged to include the social partners in the protection and promotion of equality between women and men. In this respect, the Committee notes that, within the framework of the implementation of the recommendations contained in the good conduct code for job assessment, 14 sectors have so far adopted new job classification schemes, while such introduction is being studied in one other sector. The Committee asks the Government to provide it with detailed information on these new job classification schemes, including information on the criteria and methods used, particularly for jobs predominantly occupied by women.

4. The Committee notes that, within the framework of social security reform, the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996, in line with EU Directive 79/7/CEE on the progressive implementation of equality in treatment with regard to social security, amends the Act on modernization of social security (1996) to the effect that the retirement age is set at 65 years for both men and women (previously 65 and 60 years respectively) and provides for a transition phase whereby the retirement age for women is raised by one year every three years to obtain formal equality on 1 January 2009. The Committee notes with interest that, by Royal Decree of 13 March 1997, section 64 of Royal Decree of 25 November 1991 concerning unemployment regulations is amended by setting the age, beyond which no benefits under this article can be enjoyed at 65 years for all unemployed persons, while providing for a similar transition phase as mentioned above. It also notes that differences in calculation based on number of years of service between men and women with regard to supplementary pensions have been eliminated through the adoption of the Act concerning supplementary pensions of 6 April 1995.