CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's first report.

1. The Government's report indicates that the wage disparity between men and women in Estonia is "due to the employment of women in branches of activities, work and posts where wages are the lowest". The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information, including statistical data, on the distribution of men and women in the various occupations and at various levels, indicating rates of remuneration for both the public and private sectors, and the measures taken to reduce pay disparity.

2. The Committee notes that, while section 5 of the Wages Act specifically prohibits any increase or reduction of wage based on an employee's gender, no provision in the national legislation gives legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it ensures that the principle of equal value is applied in practice and whether it envisages taking measures to give legislative expression to the principle of the Convention. In this connection, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information in its next report on the activities of the PHARE project concerning application of European Economic Community Directives 75/117 and 76/207 on equal pay and equal treatment for men and women, including copies of any studies or conclusions produced by or as a result of the project.

3. Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Wages Act establishes that the Government sets the minimum wage, while the employer establishes wage rates through the collective bargaining process. Further, section 9 of the Public Service Act provides that the Government sets the grades and rates of remuneration for most public sector employees. The Committee would, therefore, be grateful if the Government would provide, in its next report, copies of the minimum wage decrees currently in force in Estonia for both the public and private sectors. Further, the Committee requests the Government to provide copies of collective bargaining agreements in various sectors, as well as to indicate the manner in which it promotes and ensures the application of the principle set out in the Convention in collective bargaining with which it is not associated.

4. Article 3. The government report provides no information regarding any measures which may have been taken or contemplated to promote or establish objective appraisals of jobs on the basis of the work performed. The Committee notes that section 11 of the Wages Act requires employers to establish wage systems in enterprises. Further, section 9 of the Wages Act, which also requires employers to establish wage rates in enterprises, contemplates comparisons between jobs on the basis of the tasks and conditions of work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the principle of equal remuneration is promoted in the "wage systems", established in section 11 and on the methods used by the employer in establishing "wage rates in enterprises, institutions or other organizations in accordance with differences in tasks and conditions of work" (section 9 of the Wages Act). With respect to the public sector, the Government is requested to provide information on the methods used to establish rates of remuneration, including methods adopted for the objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed.

5. Section 68 of the Employment Contracts Act entitles an employer to place an employee on part-time status for up to three months per year or to send the employee on a holiday with partial pay for the same period upon a temporary decrease in work volume or orders, provided that the employer obtains the consent of the appropriate labour inspector. The Committee notes that this provision is gender neutral on its face; however, it requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which this provision is applied in practice, including statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the number of workers affected by this provision.

6. The Committee notes that section 35 of the Employment Contracts Act prohibits the employment of women in heavy work, which poses a health hazard, or underground work, and provides that the list of the types of work prohibited for women will be determined by the Government of the Republic. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of this list in its next report.

7. Article 4. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the methods of the Government's cooperation with the social partners for purposes of giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

8. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the National Labour Inspectorate is the authority charged with supervising the application of the national legislation relevant to the Convention. It therefore requests the Government to supply information on the activities of the Inspectorate in implementing the provisions of the Convention, including the number of inspections carried out during the reporting period, the number of equal remuneration violations found, the action taken and the outcome.