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The Committee notes with interest the detailed information contained in the reports and documentation submitted by the Government under Conventions Nos. 100 and 111.

1. In its previous direct request, the Committee had requested the Government to provide information on any action taken pursuant to an investigation made by the National Economic Institute (NEI) in 1989, which examined the earnings differential between men and women. (The study had found that in 1986, though 38 per cent of all full-time workers were women, their share of earned income was only 28 per cent of the income of all full-time workers. Moreover, the gap between male and female earnings had decreased only slightly in recent years. The average nominal earnings of women were roughly 60 per cent of men's average nominal earnings. This difference was most dramatic when income peaked for both sexes between the ages of 35 and 50; the average income of female workers was then as low as 45 per cent of the average male income.)

In its report, the Government points out that there is no consensus among experts as to how to explain these disparities; some have pointed to the greater education, job training or longer working experience of men. However, states the Government, the education argument does not pertain to unskilled labour, neither is greater work experience a relevant explanation for income differences in younger age groups as there are no longer huge outflows from the labour market of women of child-bearing age. The Government expresses its grave concern about the situation; and outlines the various measures it has adopted to give effect to the legislative prescription that "women and men shall receive equal wages and shall enjoy equal employment benefits for equally valuable and comparable work." (This provision has been included, with slight modification, in the equality laws adopted since 1976; and is restated in the Act on the Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men No. 28 of 1991, Article 4.)

2. The Committee has noted with interest the measures taken by the Government in this regard which include:

(i) the adoption of the above-mentioned Act No. 28 of 1991, the provisions of which are described in the Committee's observation under Convention No. 111;

(ii) the adoption of the Government's second Four-Year Plan of Action on Measures to Achieve Equality between the Sexes (1991-94) which places emphasis, inter alia, on measures to promote the equal status of the sexes in the school system, wage equality between women and men, the improvement of the status of women in the labour market and in rural areas. The Committee notes with interest that among the particular projects enumerated to give effect to the Plan of Action, a study is to be made on the wages and fringe benefits of women and men in five large governmental institutions, e.g. in the field of public health or education;

(iii) the participation of the Government in various programmes adopted by the Nordic Council of Ministers, including the Bryt project (1985-89), which aims at developing and testing methods to break down gender segregation of the labour market. As part of the Council's Action Plan for Nordic Cooperation on Equality between Women and Men (1989-93), a five-year Equal Pay Project is being undertaken to correlate the available data on inequality in pay for women and men, to determine its causes and to propose measures to remove the barriers to equal pay;

(iv) the establishment of an Equal Rights Programme in about 50 government institutions setting specific aims to increase the number of women in positions of responsibility and to improve their wages.

3. The Committee notes with interest that pursuant to the Wages and Terms Agreement concluded between the Icelandic Federation of Labour and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers and the City of Reykjavik in 1989, the social partners have appointed a discussion group to examine the changes and reasons for the wage differential and to investigate how it might be reduced. The Committee has also noted that a provision concerning the revision of the appraisal of jobs was included in a collective agreement between local authorities and the Federations of State and Municipal Employees, and that this has led to a revision of job appraisal in more than half of the contracting local authorities. While this measure was motivated by the apparent income gap between private and official sector employees, the Government states that women employees have hopefully benefited from the revision.

4. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information in its future reports concerning the results of the above-mentioned initiatives and any other measures to reduce the wage differential between women and men.