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1. Article 2 of the Convention. Determination of pay rates. The Committee notes the information from the Government to the effect that minimum wage scales set the remuneration of workers in nine sectors of activity. It also notes that collective agreements may provide for more favourable minimum wages in light of the specific features of each sector. The Government indicates that sectoral collective agreements have been adopted in certain enterprises and that they recognize the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to send information on how it is ensured that the remuneration set in collective agreements and minimum wage instruments takes account of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value. Please provide samples of the abovementioned collective agreements and indicate how they implement this principle.

2. Application of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in the public service. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that 73.23 per cent of public servants are men, as opposed to 26.77 in the case of women. It also notes that women’s share in high-level public service posts remains low, particularly in category A, where pay is highest but where, despite some progress, women’s share is only 22.76 per cent. The Government states that in the interests of improving women’s participation in the public service, a study has been undertaken to determine how gender issues are taken into account in the public service. The results of the study will serve as a basis for proposing a national strategy on recruitment and a five-year plan of action to restore balance between men and women in the public sector. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed about the adoption of the national strategy on recruitment and the five-year plan of action, and the manner in which these measures will enable the representation of women in the public service to be improved and the wage differentials between men and women to be reduced.

3. Application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the private sector. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that in Benin, the problem posed by equal pay for work of equal value is a matter of women’s skills. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report that only a very small proportion of women hold jobs in certain categories where men predominate and that there is a heavy concentration of women in some branches of commerce and catering. It notes that the quest for a strategy to reduce these differences has led to the adoption, for the private sector, of a framework strategy paper together with a five-year plan of action on gender in the working environment. The Government states that there are four strategic components to the plan, the implementation of which will reduce the disparities between men and women and improve women’s competitiveness in the labour market. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the manner in which the five-year plan of action will make it possible to tackle the vertical and horizontal segregation of women in the labour market and to reduce the wage gap between men and women workers, and to report on the results obtained.

4. Promoting the principle of the Convention. Other measures. In its previous comments, the Committee stated that it understood that the Government was to participate in the second phase of the Programme for the Realization of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (PAMODEC), the objectives of which include promoting equality of opportunity and treatment with a view to eliminating discrimination in employment and occupation. The Government states that in the course of its participation in the second phase of the Programme, it has organized training and awareness-raising activities for public authorities and the social partners on fundamental principles and rights at work. The Committee asks the Government to send information on any activities carried out under the Programme to help the Government and the social partners to build their capacity to reduce the current wage differentials between men and women and to resolve some or all of the issues raised above.

5. Statistical information. The Committee takes note of the statistical data sent by the Government on established state officials. It also notes the information in the report on the survey on job structure in the formal sector carried out in 1997 by the Employment Observatory. The Committee hopes that the Government will do its utmost to include in its next report recent information on the way in which the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is applied in practice in the public sector and the private sector.