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1. The Committee recalls that equal rights and duties of citizens without distinction as to sex and fair remuneration for each worker are provided for in the Constitutional Act (sections 18 and 46 of the amended Act No. 23/92 of 16 September 1992). It notes that no provision in the legislation enshrines the principle contained in the Convention, by virtue of which equal remuneration shall be paid to men and women for work of equal value. In its report, the Government states that it has adopted a system of wage categories which does not take into consideration the sex of the workers, but is based on their skills and the requirements of the job. The Committee recalls that by virtue of Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the principle of equal remuneration may be applied by means of national laws or regulations, legally established or recognized machinery for wage determination, collective agreements between employers and workers or a combination of these various means.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it intends to give effect to this obligation and the manner in which it encourages the application of the principle set out in the Convention in collective bargaining with which it is not associated.

2. The Committee notes that insufficient information is available to enable it to assess the manner in which the principle of equal remuneration is applied in practice. It would therefore be grateful if the Government would supply with its next report:

(i) for the public service and similar services, for which the wage scales are established by Decree No. 57/91, the distribution of men and women at the various wage levels;

(ii) the text of collective or other agreements which fix wage levels that are higher than the minimum wage in the various sectors of the economy, with an indication, if possible, of the percentage of women covered by these collective agreements and the distribution of men and women at the various wage levels;

(iii) statistics on the minimum wage rates and average earnings of men and women, if possible by occupation, sector of the economy (in particular agriculture, fishing, industry and commerce, in which an increase in the participation rate of women has been noted), seniority and qualification level, with an indication of the corresponding percentage of women;

(iv) information on the measures taken to monitor the equality of wages and, in particular, on the activities of the labour inspection services (violations reported and penalties imposed) and on the decisions of the courts relating to any violations.

3. The Committee recalls that by virtue of national law and practice, the term "remuneration" covers only the cash wage payable to workers according to the quality and complexity of the work performed, and that the other financial benefits received by those concerned do not form part of their remuneration. The Committee notes that the Government, although recognizing that this situation is contrary to Article 1(a) of the Convention, states that it is a legislative omission which will be reviewed during the current restructuring in the public administration. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to indicate the progress achieved in this respect in its next report.