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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report and the supplementary documentation submitted relevant to the application of the Convention.

1.  The Committee notes the statistical information supplied by the Government in the Department of Labour’s 1998 report, according to which women’s overall average earnings in 1997 were 87 per cent of men’s corresponding average earnings. In the private sector, women earned approximately 85 per cent of men’s average earnings, whereas women’s average earnings in the public sector were 96 per cent of men’s. The Committee notes that these earnings levels approximate those of 1996. Noting with interest the establishment of the statistical unit within the Ministry of Labour, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information, including statistical data, on earnings in the different sectors, disaggregated by sex, in accordance with its general observation of 1998.

2.  In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that some of the collective agreements provided by the Government in its previous report established different benefits on the basis of sex in that, while widows were granted 30 days of compassionate leave in the event of the death of their husband, widowers were granted only half the amount of compassionate leave (15 days). The Committee notes further that section 9(1) of the Regulation of Wages (Agricultural Industry) Order, 2000, also accords different treatment to male and female workers in respect of compassionate leave, granting widows 30 calendar days of leave, while widowers receive only seven days’ leave. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the reason for the disparity in the amount of compassionate leave offered to widows and widowers. Recalling that, to avoid discrimination under the Convention, benefits granted by the employer to the employee must be made without distinction on the basis of sex, the Committee suggests that the Government consider providing for equivalent periods of compassionate leave for both male and female workers in the event of the death of their spouse.

3.  Referring to its previous direct requests regarding paragraph 10 of the Code of Practice set forth in the Schedule to the Industrial Relations Act, 1996, the Committee notes from the report that the Industrial Relations Act, 2000, has retained paragraph 10, which states that:

The prime responsibility for employment policies rests with management; at the same time, they should be developed, as appropriate, by consultation or negotiation with employee representatives. Employment policies should have regard to the legislative requirements relating to non-discrimination in employment.

The Government indicates that there are no direct measures taken through the Code to further the application of the equal pay provisions of the Employment Act, but that this task is left to the responsibility of the social partners. Accordingly, the Committee asks the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to promote the development, adoption and application of non-discriminatory policies by private sector employers as well as to indicate the measures taken to ensure the inclusion and application of the principle of the Convention in the public sector workplace.

4.  The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of the National Development Strategy to which reference is made in its report.