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Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention. Application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women. The Committee notes the statistics supplied by the Government on trends in the average wage of employees, by sector of activity and sex, between 2004 and 2008. It notes in particular that between 2004 and 2007 there was virtually no change in the gap between men’s and women’s average wages across all sectors (approximately 10 per cent) and that it even widened in 2008, rising to 13 per cent. The statistics also show that the average wages of men are higher in all sectors except construction and public administration. The Government further indicates that women’s hourly pay is still lower than that of men in all age groups.

In its previous comments the Committee noted that negotiation in the various sectors and enterprises might be one of the topics covered by the tripartite working groups responsible for modernizing and codifying labour law, in which case there would be an opportunity to address the matter of equal remuneration for men and women. The Committee notes that the plan for the modernization of the Labour Code which was to be undertaken in the context of a social pact between employers and workers had been abandoned in favour of a Bill to codify the Labour Code on the basis of existing law. The Committee understands that the codification Bill has still not been adopted. It furthermore notes that, according to the Government, equal remuneration is not a subject the social partners deal with specifically and that the Government, for its part, has focused its action on local employment because of the economic situation.

In view of the fact that the gap between men’s and women’s average wages persists and has even worsened recently, the Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps, in cooperation with the workers’ and employers’ organizations, to effectively reduce and eliminate the wage gap between men and women for work of equal value. The Government is also asked to indicate how supervision of the application of section 2 of Decision No. 91–4 AT of 17 January 1991 which provides, in accordance with the Convention, for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, is ensured. In this connection, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide specific information on the supervisory and preventive activities conducted by labour inspectors to reduce remuneration differentials between men and women.

Objective job evaluation. In the absence of a reply from the Government on this point, the Committee is bound to repeat its request for information on the manner in which the Government encourages an objective evaluation of jobs in the public and private sectors, and on the measures taken to ensure that part-time work is not underpaid disproportionately in comparison to full-time work. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to send statistical information on men’s and women’s wages in the various sectors of the economy.