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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes from the report the Government’s intention to adopt a new Labour Code. Noting that the Government has repeatedly expressed the intention in its reports since 1983 to revise its labour legislation, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the opportunity afforded by its review of labour laws to ensure legislative conformity with the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, as provided in the Convention. The Committee also hopes that the legislation will explicitly provide that all benefits, such as transport expenses, are to be applied to men and women workers on an equal basis.

2. The Committee refers to its previous comments and asks the Government to supply information on the manner in which it ensures that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value is applied to workers in the public sector, including civil servants. The Committee asks the Government to supply copies of public sector wage scales with its next report.

3. The Committee notes that section 31 of Act No. 140/AN/97/3rd L of 23 September 1997, amending the Labour Code of 1952, abolishes the minimum wage and provides that wages are to be set through an agreement at the enterprise level, a collective agreement or an agreement between the parties. The Committee recalls in this respect that the minimum wage is a significant means of ensuring the application of the Convention and notes the importance of legislative requirements and guidance in providing a framework of equality when wages are set by collective agreements or otherwise. It asks the Government to indicate how the implementation of the Convention will be assured in this new wage-fixing process and asks the Government to supply with its next report any agreement that has been reached pursuant to this section on the establishment of wages. The Committee also refers to its comments made under Convention No. 26.

4. The Committee notes the creation of a new Ministry in 1999 entrusted with promoting women workers’ access to the labour market and their employment conditions. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any promotional activities undertaken to ensure equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s interest in undertaking a survey on the pay of men and women and its request to the Office for technical assistance to carry out this activity. The Committee hopes such assistance will be provided and that the results of the survey will be used to promote the application of the Convention.

5. The Committee notes the statistical information published by the National Employment Service in January 2000 concerning the numbers of jobseekers, hired workers and foreign workers, showing that women constituted 25.16 per cent of the total number of jobseekers in 1999. In its general observation of 1998, the Committee indicated that more complete information is required in order to permit an adequate evaluation of the nature, extent and causes of the pay differential between men and women and the progress achieved in implementing the principle of the Convention. The Committee therefore hopes that the abovementioned survey will be able to provide the data that are indicated in the general observation as being necessary for a full assessment of the application of the Convention.

6. The Committee notes that the Government omitted to supply copies of the study on the situation of women in the economy and vocational training, carried out in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme in August 2000, and the training on gender and development carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Population Fund in September 1999. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the above studies with its next report.