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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which reads as follows:

1. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report to the effect that, in practice, there is a clear difference between men’s pay and women’s pay in virtually all branches, categories of occupation, occupational groups and at all levels of education and that the differential favours men. Furthermore, the higher levels of education are not such as to ensure that women receive equitable pay by comparison with men who have the same level of education. In view of such serious inequalities, the Committee again points out to the Government the importance of using job appraisal methodologies which are objective, in order to improve women’s status in both the public sector and the private sector. The Committee urges the Government to adopt and implement measures, in cooperation with the social partners, to reduce the large wage gap between men and women, and to address the occupational and sectoral segregation of women in the labour market.

2. The Committee notes the activities carried out in 2002 by the National Tripartite Commission to Review and Promote the Participation of Women in Work (CTIO). The Committee trusts that the Government will provide information in its next report on all other activities carried out by the CTIO to contribute to reducing the wage gap and to raise the low percentage of women in management jobs. It would also be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of the Action Plan for the 2002-03 biennium, a sample of the information that the CTIO disseminates on the labour market and information as to women’s participation.

3. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to provide information in its next report on the activities of the Labour Directorate, including any infringements reported and penalties imposed, to enable the Committee to assess more accurately the level of enforcement of the Convention.