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The Committee notes the Government's report and the information that it contains in reply to its previous direct request.

1. In particular, the Committee notes that in reply to its comments relating to section 151 of the Labour Code, which sets out the principle of equal remuneration for "the same work", the Government states that in the event of equal skills, seniority and experience, no distinction is made in relation to wages between men and women in the public administration, even if the nature of the work is different. As regards the private sector, the Government repeats its previous statement to the effect that the general compulsory minimum wage is equally applicable to men and women. The Committee draws the Government's attention to its general observation of 1990, in which it emphasised the need, in cases in which the legislation still does not embody the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, to amend the law accordingly to give effect to the Convention. The Committee hopes that the Government will examine the possibility of amending section 151 of the Labour Code and that it will indicate in its next report the measures that have been taken in this respect.

2. The Committee notes the wage tables for civil State employees. It requests the Government to indicate in its next report the distribution of men and women at the various levels.

3. With regard to the private sector, the Committee notes that it has no information available enabling it to assess the manner in which section 151 of the Labour Code is applied in practice, and particularly in the case of wages above the minimum wage. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply: (i) the text of collective agreements fixing wage levels in various sectors, including information if possible on the percentage of women covered by these agreements and the distribution of men and women at the various levels; and (ii) statistics on average wage rates for men and women and the proportion of women in sectors in which earnings are high, such as the armed forces, universities, the oil industry, magistrates, companies and banks.

4. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the Ministry supervises the application by employers of the law in this field through its own services. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the supervisory activities of the Ministry of Labour, and in particular the number of contraventions reported and the sanctions imposed by its services, as well as court decisions in this respect.