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The Committee notes the Government’s reports and the attached legislation.

1. The Committee notes that women earned 75.7 per cent of men’s average hourly gross wages in 2001, slightly up from 73.5 per cent in 1999 and 75.4 in 2000. The Committee also notes that women’s earnings have increased in some occupational groups such as senior officials, managers and professionals, while the wage gap has widened in others, such as in the group of plant and machine operators, assemblers and among clerks. Recalling its previous comments on the effects of horizontal and vertical occupational segregation in the labour market, the Committee encourages the Government to deepen its analysis of the causes of, and ways to reduce, the existing wage gap on the basis of statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various occupational groups and subgroups and in the different levels of responsibility (private and public sector). Noting from the report that such information is not yet available, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken to enhance the availability of such data, as outlined in the 1998 general observation. Please also provide information on any measures taken or envisaged with a view to closing the gender wage gap through the application of the Convention, including in the framework of the national employment strategy.

2. The Committee notes that section 2(1) of the Wages Act, 1994, as amended in May 2001, defines the term "wages" broadly as including basic wages, additional remuneration, bonuses and additional payments, which is in accordance with the Convention. The Committee also notes that new section 5bis ("principle of equal remuneration") provides in paragraph (1) that the establishment of different wage conditions for the same or equal work to employees of different sex is prohibited. Under section 3(1), the term "wage conditions" is defined as including wage rates, additional remuneration and payments, methods of calculation and procedures for payment. The Committee also notes that under section 5(2)(2) of the draft Gender Equality Act supplied by the Government in September 2002, the employer is prohibited from applying to an employee or a group of employees, on the basis of sex, terms of remuneration or other conditions less favourable than those he or she applies to an employee or employees of the opposite sex in the same work or work of equal value. The Committee welcomes the inclusion of section 5(2)(2) in the draft Gender Equality Act and its explicit inclusion of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes that it is not clear from the official text of the Wages Act, as amended, supplied by the Government whether the notion of equal value is included in section 5bis and asks the Government to elaborate on the meaning of the term "equal work" and indicate whether it is to be interpreted as meaning work of equal value. In the meantime, the Government is asked to provide information on the practical application of section 5bis of the Wages Act and to keep the Committee informed on the progress made with regard to the adoption of the Gender Equality Act.

3. The Committee recalls that under section 9 of the Wages Act, the employer shall establish wage rates applicable in his or her undertaking according to the differences of the tasks and working conditions, based on the collective agreement. The employer also decides which method of calculation of remuneration ("wage system") is applied (section 11), taking into account any applicable collective agreement. The specific wage rate applicable to a particular employee is then to be determined by agreement between the employer and the particular employee when they enter into a labour contract (section 10). In this respect, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that gender bias may influence the employer’s decision establishing wage rates, wage systems, and with regard to applying a certain rate to a female employee, resulting in an undervaluing of work performed by women. In order to eliminate gender bias leading to wage discrimination, the Convention suggests the application of objective job evaluation (Article 3) as the method for calculating remuneration in conformity with the principles of the Convention. Noting from the Government’s reports that no "methodology for the evaluation of equal remuneration for equal work" has yet been established, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to apply the abovementioned provisions of the Wages Act in accordance with the Convention, and to promote the application of objective job appraisals.

4. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Confederation of Trade Unions has indicated that the issue of equal remuneration for men and women has not been a subject of collective bargaining, citing lack of awareness as one of the underlying reasons. Recalling that Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention envisages the application of the Convention’s principles through collective agreements concluded between employers and workers and noting that collective bargaining plays a significant role in the determination of wages under the Wages Act, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to cooperate with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, including awareness raising and training programmes.

5. Recalling its comments concerning the impact on the employment of women of section 68 of the Employment Contracts Act under which the National Labour Inspectorate may authorize that enterprises place employees on part-time status, or on holiday leave, with partial pay due to a temporary decrease in work volume or orders, the Committee notes that the Government has requested information from the National Labour Inspectorate on the gender composition of the workers affected. The Government is asked to provide the information requested with its next report.

6. Finally, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the training for labour inspectors on job evaluation and equal treatment envisaged to be held in the autumn of 2003 under the PHARE programme and its impact on the National Labour Inspectorate’s capacity to supervise the legislation relevant to the application of the Convention. It would also appreciate receiving information on any judicial or administrative decisions handed down relevant to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, particularly decisions applying the newly adopted equal remuneration provisions of the Wages Act.