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The Committee notes the information, including statistical data, contained in the Government’s report and the confirmation that Minimum Weekly National Standard Order LN 42 of 1976 remains in force.

1. Recalling the Government’s previous indication that family responsibilities constitute the greatest hurdle to the entry of women into the labour force, the Committee notes with interest the establishment of a Child Care Task Force. The said task force, members of which include representatives from the General Workers’ Union and the Malta Employers’ Association, was set up in 2000 to explore childcare options, disseminate information and help pilot viable childcare cooperatives throughout Malta. The Committee notes from the report that in January 2002 the task force had submitted a report containing several proposals to the Minister for Social Policy, and that a pilot childcare centre was to be founded in the south of Malta. The Committee asks the Government to continue to inform it of the Child Care Task Force’s activities and indicate in future reports the progress achieved by the establishment of childcare centres in facilitating the participation of women in the labour market and in promoting the application of the Convention.

2. The statistical data supplied in the report indicate that women are under-represented at all levels of decision-making authority. As of March 2002 women comprised 28.8 per cent of the senior officers in all sectors of the economy and earned 79.1 per cent of the income of their male counterparts. In December 2001, 17.8 per cent of government boards and committees were comprised of women; additionally, the percentage of women in the top five scales of the public service rested at just 10.8 per cent in 2000, with no women represented in the top two scales. The Committee notes with interest that the Management and Personnel Office, together with the Department for Women in Society and the Commonwealth Secretariat, has undertaken a project to address the serious under-representation of women in the top five scales of the public service. Under this project’s auspices a report outlining 20 recommendations to increase the number of women in decision-making positions in the public service has been produced; an action plan incorporating these recommendations is presently under implementation. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the abovementioned report as well as a copy of the action plan upon its completion.

3. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Bill of the Employment Relations Act, which amends the Conditions of Employment Act of 1952, is currently at the committee stage before Parliament and is expected to be passed by the end of this year. The Committee trusts that the Employment Relations Act will promote the application of the Convention and asks the Government to provide a copy of the Act upon its adoption.

4. The Committee notes that, apart from citing the definition of wages in the Conditions of Employment Act, the Government’s report contains no reply to its previous requests for precise and detailed information that would enable the Committee to determine the extent to which Article 1(a) of the Convention is applied in practice. It repeats its request to the Government to provide full information on this point in its next report.

5. The Committee notes the information provided in the report on the activities of the Labour Inspectorate. In 2001, 1,639 inspections were carried out, covering 6,874 employees; no violations of the requirement of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value were reported or detected. The Committee recalls that the reporting of no violations often signals a lack of knowledge of the law or inadequate procedures. It therefore asks the Government to supply information on labour inspections and on methods used to determine any violations of the principle of the Convention in future reports and on any measures taken to provide training and awareness raising on the principle of equal remuneration.