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1. Article 1 of the Convention. Application of the principle to benefits in kind. The Committee notes that according to section 257 of the Labour Code, tips and accessory benefits, in cash or in kind, are taken into account for the evaluation of the minimum wage for non-agricultural activities. For agricultural activities, benefits in kind are not taken into account in the calculation of the legal minimum wage. In absence of any precise definition of what these benefits are, the Committee has requested a number of times an indication by the Government of the precise manner in which benefits in kind are calculated and determined in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors and how they are granted without discrimination on the basis of sex. Noting that the Government in its previous report had indicated that this would be taken into account when preparing the regulatory texts of the new Labour Code, the Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to supply copies of these texts so as to permit the Committee to make an assessment of the manner in which the principle of the Convention is applied to benefits in kind.

2. Article 2. Application of the principle to all workers. The Committee notes that section 4 of the new Labour Code provides that the conditions of work of domestic workers will be determined by a special law. Noting that Title II of the Code on Conditions of Work and Remuneration, includes the principle for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value (section 346), the Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the law applicable to domestic workers and to indicate how the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is applied to these workers.

3. Articles 2 and 4. Collective agreements. The Committee recalls its previous comments on the application of the principle of equal remuneration by means of collective agreements and notes the information provided by the Government on the adoption of collective agreements and the lack of statistics on the number of men and women covered by such agreements and their corresponding wages. The Committee encourages the Government to undertake an evaluation, together with the new Information, Documentation and Study Centre for Women and the social partners, of how the provisions of the Convention are applied by means of collective agreements, and to provide information on the progress made in collecting and analysing the data concerned.

4. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes that information from the Ministries of Public Services and Administrative Reform on methods of job evaluation is not available. Recalling that the adoption of techniques to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs is critical to eliminating disparities in the remuneration levels of men and women, the Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to include this in its next report.

5. Part V of the report form. Practical application. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted on the basis of statistics provided by the Government that women were concentrated in a number of occupations and highly under-represented in activities such as the interactive industry, repair, wholesale and retail, transport and communications, and construction and public workers. Noting the absence of any government reply on this matter and recalling once more that wage inequalities may arise due to the segregation of men and women into certain sectors and occupations, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide full information on the measures taken or envisaged to improve access of women to a wider range of job opportunities at all levels, including sectors in which they are currently under-represented, with a view to reducing further any inequalities in remuneration that exist between men and women in the labour market. Please continue to provide the statistics requested in the Committee’s general observation of 1998 on this Convention.