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The Committee notes the Government's report, including the attached annexes, and its reply to the previous direct request concerning Article 4 of the Convention. It also notes that the national legislation (Acts Nos. 54/1956 and 88/1968) protects women against any reduction of their wages on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity.

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Having noted in its previous comments that the definition of the term "wages" in section 4(2) of Act No. 1/1992 concerning wages, stand-by pay and average earnings, excludes wage compensation (namely, cash compensation, travelling expenses, income from capital shares and bonds and stand-by pay), the Committee drew the Government's attention to the fact that, in the meaning of the Convention, these payments are included in the definition of the term "remuneration". The Committee therefore requested the Government to keep it informed of the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the statutory definition covers the concept of remuneration as it appears in the Convention. In its reply, the Government recalls that Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention permits a certain flexibility in the means of application of the principle of equal remuneration. According to the Government, wage compensation does not form part of the "wage", even if it arises out of the employment relationship, and an amendment of the definition contained in section 4(2) of Act No. 1/1992 with a view to broadening the definition would raise practical difficulties. It states that such wage compensation is governed by special rules, which prohibit any discrimination on grounds of sex, and that they apply without distinction to men and women workers. The Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that the matter at issue is to agree on the definition of the term "remuneration", as it appears in Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and not to require the adoption of legislation to ensure observance of the principle of equal remuneration, nor to modify the concept of "wages" already contained in the legislation in question. It therefore requests the Government to supply a copy of the special rules governing wage compensation in order to ensure the conformity of the legal definition of remuneration with that contained in the Convention.

2. Article 2. The Committee noted that the legislation referred to previously by the Government as observing equal remuneration without discrimination on grounds of sex, contains no explicit provision setting forth the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee therefore requested the Government to indicate how the principle set out in the Convention is applied in practice. The Government states that the fact that the Constitution prohibits any discrimination, particularly on grounds of sex, is sufficient and that it is not necessary to reaffirm in other texts a principle which is set forth in the fundamental statute, particularly since the Labour Code explicitly states that men and women enjoy the same rights in respect of employment and that the texts governing wages do not contain any provision that permits different remuneration for men and women workers for the performance of identical work. However, the Government recognizes that in practice there are inequalities of remuneration on the basis of sex, particularly in the private sector, since, with the exception of the minimum wage rates, which are determined by law, the other components of remuneration are determined by collective bargaining. Its action for the effective application of the principle of equal remuneration is therefore principally directed towards the social partners. The Committee recalls that the principle set out in the Convention is that of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, and not only for identical work, and it therefore requests the Government to state whether in practice equal remuneration is paid for the same work as well as for work to which the same value is attributed. With regard to inequalities of remuneration in the private sector, the Committee notes that on 30 May 1996 there were 45 higher-level collective agreements and that none of them established different wages on grounds of sex. It also notes the Government's expressed intention of promoting and supervising the application of the principle of equal remuneration in the context of collective bargaining. It therefore requests the Government to supply copies of collective agreements that are applicable in sectors employing a large proportion of women workers.

3. The Committee also noted that Act No. 1/1992 concerning wages contains no provision that promotes or guarantees the application of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women workers for work of equal value. In its report, the Government refers in this respect to Act No. 143/1992 respecting the remuneration of workers in the public sector (a text that is only available in Slovak). With reference to the absence of specific provisions guaranteeing the application of the principle of equal remuneration in Act No. 1/1992, the Government recalls the explanation already provided above. It informs the Committee that Government Regulation No. 53/1992 (mentioned in the previous direct request) has been repealed and replaced by the Minimum Wages Act No. 90/1996 (which has been in force since 1 April 1996), of which it provides a copy in Slovak. The Committee notes this information and will examine these new texts at its next session once a translation is available into a working language of the ILO.

4. The Committee notes the Government's explanations that wages are principally determined by collective bargaining, over and above the minimum wages established by the State, after consultation with the social partners, which are binding. However, under the terms of Decree No. 43/1992, in sectors in which there is no trade union representation, wages are subject to strengthened legal control in order to prevent any abuse of the situation by employers. The Committee also notes the Government's statement that the fact that wages are determined by the social partners is a sufficient guarantee of the application of the principle set forth in the Convention. In this respect, the Committee wishes to emphasize that the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value is not only the responsibility of organizations of employers and workers, even if the Government is not in a position to exercise a direct influence on the determination of wage levels. The Committee recalls that, even where a State that has ratified the Convention is excluded from the wage-fixing machinery in view of the right to collective bargaining, it still has a role to play. If it cannot intervene directly in the determination of wage rates, it must promote the application to all workers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value and cooperate with the social partners for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Convention (see paragraph 29 of the 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration). Since in Slovakia the State intervenes in the fixing of minimum wages, the Government cannot rely on employers' and workers' organizations alone to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration. The Committee therefore reiterates its initial request, namely to be provided with information on how in practice the principle set forth in the Convention is protected in the context of wage-fixing machinery. This information should include details on all the components of wages, including wages paid for overtime work, special shifts, dangerous and arduous work and any other bonuses and benefits.

5. Article 3. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government concerning the existence of a system for the objective appraisal of jobs, and particularly the information that it is in the process of preparing a Unified Job Catalogue for the public sector based on the use of the analytical method, modelled on the system that has existed since 1991 in the private sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide it with information on the action taken to promote the objective appraisal of jobs and on the adoption and use of the above Catalogue.

6. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the criterion of the "social significance" of a job is no longer considered in the determination of the remuneration of workers and that the draft Labour Code, on which it is currently working, will take into account the obsolete nature of this criterion. It requests the Government to keep it informed of the adoption of the new Code and to provide a copy of the new wording of Article IV.

7. The Committee requested the Government to provide it with information on the methods used for the evaluation of jobs performed in a dangerous environment and for their division into 12 different grades and, if available, lists of jobs which have been determined as belonging to the different grades. Furthermore, the Committee requested statistical data on any changes in minimum wage rates and the average actual earnings of men and women disaggregated by occupation, branch of activity, seniority and level of qualifications. With regard to the evaluation of jobs, the Committee notes that the analytical method based on points is used. It notes that the new minimum wage rates currently in force which were communicated by the Government remain neutral from the point of view of gender (namely Sk14.60 per hour and Sk2,700 per month, without any distinction on grounds of sex). Nevertheless, according to the statistics supplied by the Government on the average hourly rates actually paid (for the first quarter of 1996), women appear to earn an average of 20 per cent less than their male colleagues in the 58 occupations listed. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the reasons for the persistence of this differential, which appears to be based on the sex of the workers.

8. The Committee notes the Government's statements that the statistics requested are not available concerning: (a) the percentage of men and women employed in the public sector at the different levels; (b) the percentage of women covered by collective agreements that determine wages at the different levels of activity; and (c) the distribution of men and women employed at the different levels in the private sector. The Committee emphasizes the importance of the availability of statistics disaggregated by sex in order to evaluate the effect given in practice to the principle of equal remuneration, as set forth in the Convention, and it reminds the Government that ILO technical assistance is available in this field.