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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report as well as the additional statistical information provided by the Government.

1. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted with interest that the Employment Bill provides that every employer shall pay male and female employees equal remuneration for work of equal value and that the burden of proof lays on the employer in disputes relating to equal remuneration. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the Employment Bill has been approved by the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and will be tabled in Parliament in November 1999; and that a copy of the Bill, once adopted, will be sent to the ILO Office before the end of 1999. The Committee looks forward to receiving a copy of the legislation upon adoption.

2. Further to the above, the Committee notes from the Government's report that consultation on amending section 5(2) of the Wages (General) Order of 1965 (stipulating that an adult female who is employed to complete a task which is less than that given to an adult male should be paid in proportion, with the implied assumption that a woman's output will always be less than that of a man when she is assigned to the same work) is still awaiting the adoption of the Employment Bill. The Government indicates that these consultations, which are the responsibility of the Labour Advisory Board, will resume once the Bill has passed through Parliament. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to repeal or amend this provision in the Wages (General) Order to eliminate distinctions between men and women and to inform the Committee of any developments in this regard.

3. The Committee notes the Government's statement that a new civil service salary structure has been issued in July 1999 without discrimination of any kind, including sex-based discrimination. It also notes that, according to the Government, the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value has already been achieved for the public sector. While noting that the new pay scales do not distinguish on the basis of sex, the Committee points out that in order to permit an adequate assessment of the promotion of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the public service, it would need, as a minimum, statistical data on the distribution of men and women in the public sector by earnings level classified by occupation or occupational group or level of education/qualification, seniority and age. The Committee notes that some of these data may have been covered in the 1995 census on the civil service which according to the Government has been sent to the ILO library. The Committee notes however that no such copy has been received and therefore requests the Government to send with its next report a copy of the 1995 civil service census as well as any other information, statistics and otherwise, which is currently available for the public service.

4. With regard to the application of the principle in the private sector, the Committee notes the Government's statement that in the agricultural industry disparities between men's and women's wages still exist. According to the Government, a 1996 study on food security in the estates sector in, among others, the Mangochi, Kasungu and Mulanje districts, indicated that women received only MWK180 per month while men received MWK250 per month for the same type of work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or contemplated to eradicate these wage differences in the agricultural industry. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken to promote the application of the principle in other areas of the private sector. In this connection it wishes to refer to its 1998 general observation on this Convention concerning the need for complete information to enable an adequate evaluation of the nature, extent and causes of the pay differentials between men and women and the progress achieved in implementing the principle of the Convention in the private sector. It also encourages the Government to make efforts to undertake the study, requested by the National Commission on Women in Development, into women's contribution to formal employment, and hopes this study would throw light on the general status of remuneration of men and women.

5. The Committee notes from a paper entitled "Management and Administration of Vocational Education and Training in Malawi" presented by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (Mo&LVT) at the National Seminar on Labour Administration in February 1999, that although the educational system should cater for all persons regardless of race, creed, sex, age, economic status or disability, women and girls have not benefited adequately from educational programmes. The Mo&LVT indicates in its paper that female participation in the formal vocational training system in Malawi has been extremely low: between 1977 and 1998, only 248 female apprentices have been trained in vocational skills compared to 9,768 male apprentices. The Committee points out that pay differentials can often be ascribed to occupational segregation and productivity-related differences in human capital acquired through education and training. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any action taken or proposed by the apprentices board to facilitate access by female apprentices to vocational training and education and to broaden the job horizons of women by offering them, for example, special training courses and encouraging them to consider a wider range of training and employment opportunities. Further, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments with regard to the development of a policy document and strategy as well as a bill concerning the legal framework for a new Technical Entrepreneurial Vocational Education and Training (TEVET) policy and institutional structure, and to supply a copy of the policy document on TEVET as well as of the legislation, once adopted.

6. The Committee notes with interest the National Platform of Action (1997-2002) on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women as well as the draft National Gender Policy (September 1999) of the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Services. While welcoming the variety of strategies proposed in both documents to promote, in general, the educational and employment activities of women, the Committee observes that none of the documents includes specific recommendation concerning the promotion and application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to consider including in its National Gender Policy strategies to promote or ensure the application of the principle of the Convention in both the private and public sectors, and to supply a copy of the National Gender Policy upon adoption.