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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 read as follows:

1. Article 2 of the Convention. Promotion of the principle of equal remuneration and application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the national legislation and practice are in conformity with the Convention and that there is no sex discrimination whatsoever. It notes, however, from the reports submitted by the Government to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/PSWG/2004/CRP.2/Add.2 and CEDAW/C/GNQ/4-5, 11 February 2004) that although national legislation guarantees equal opportunities, women have some difficulties in practice when it comes to competing with men on an equal footing: women make up 81.47 per cent of the workforce in agriculture and are further concentrated in services and retail and trade. While women perform 52 per cent of all manual work, only a third of that is paid labour; men perform 48 per cent of the labour and receive three-quarters of the compensation. Also, the proportion of women among senior executives and other employees in the private sector is particularly low, at only 0.3 per cent.

2. The Committee recalls that wage discrimination between men and women often arises from the concentration and segregation of women in a limited number of occupations and economic sectors. It therefore recognizes that policies to promote and ensure access of women to a wide range of sectors and occupations, including higher-level posts have an important indirect impact on attaining equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee notes from the CEDAW report (CEDAW/C/GNQ/4-5) that Presidential Decree No. 79/2002 of 27 May 2002 establishes a National Policy for the Advancement of Women (PNPM) and that work is currently under way on a draft plan of action to implement the Policy. It hopes that the forthcoming action plan will include measures to address vertical and horizontal occupational segregation with a view to reduce wage inequalities. The Government is asked to provide information on the progress made in implementing the policy and the action plan, and their impact on promoting the principle of the Convention. Please also supply copies of both the Policy and the action plan.

3. Statistics. In this context, the Committee also wishes to emphasize that a continuous assessment of the remuneration gap between men and women requires an analysis of the position of pay of men and women in all job categories. However, the Government’s report contains no recent data reflecting the distribution of men and women in the various occupational categories and their wages levels in the private and public sectors. The Committee refers to its 1998 general observation on this Convention and asks the Government to supply with its next report up to date statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various wage levels and professional categories in both the public and private sectors in order to permit an evaluation of the progress made in the application of the Convention.

4. Articles 2 and 3. Non-discriminatory determination of wages. The Committee notes the information previously provided concerning the job classification system used in the public sector. It also notes the information on wage determination in the private sector, including Government Decree No. 6 of 1996 fixing minimum wages, and its annexes on minimum wages for the different occupations in various economic sectors based on a coefficient system and job descriptions. Noting the Government’s statement that there is no sex-based discrimination whatsoever in determining wages, the Committee would like to point out that the use of wage scales in itself is not sufficient to promote and ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Government is asked to provide information on the manner in which the Government ensures that no sex-stereotypes regarding the value of particular jobs are introduced in the determination of coefficients and job descriptions.

5. Article 4. Cooperation with the social partners. The Committee asks the Government to provide information with its next report on the consultations held with the social partners and within the Consultative Wage Councils leading to the adoption of measures ensuring equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

6. Part III of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Labour Inspectorate supervises and ensures the application of the relevant legislation and the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value.