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1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Application in practice. The Committee notes from the statistical information provided by the Government that between 2001 and 2003 the gender wage gap in the public sector (average gross monthly wages) decreased from 20.5 per cent to 18.5 per cent, while it increased in the private sector from 21.1 per cent to 22.9 per cent. According to the Latvian Central Statistical Bureau’s Survey on Occupations of 2003, the gross average hourly wage for all groups of occupations was 1.12 lats for men and only 0.94 lats for women. The Survey also showed that the labour market remained highly segregated according to sex. According to the Government, the gender wage gap was due to the fact that women had less opportunities for promotion and that their professional orientation was more directed towards employment in low-paying sectors such as education, social care or culture. The Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report information on measures taken to address the issue of occupational segregation of women in lower paid jobs and to promote women’s access to better-paid supervisory and management positions, including occupational guidance and vocational training to enable women to compete more effectively for such positions. The Government is further asked to indicate any measures taken to promote a more equal sharing of family responsibilities and to assist both men and women workers in this respect. Please also continue to supply statistical information on the remuneration of men and women in the public and private sector, by earnings levels and hours of work as outlined in the Committee’s 1998 general observation on the Convention.

2. Article 2. Application of the Convention’s principle by means of laws and regulations. The Committee notes the adoption of Cabinet Regulation No. 705 of 16 December 2003 on work remuneration, benefits and compensation of state civil servants. It also notes Cabinet Regulation No. 535 of 23 September 2003 on evaluation of intellectual work and basic methodology for establishing professional qualification categories for employees of institutions financed from the state budget and Cabinet Regulation No. 403 of 22 July 2003 on the evaluation of physical work and establishing professional qualification categories for employees of institutions financed from the state budget. The Government is asked to provide copies of these regulations, as well as indications of how they take into account the principle of the Convention. Please particularly provide information on the steps taken to ensure that the methodology applied for assessing and categorizing jobs in the context of these regulations avoids sex bias and utilizes a scope of comparison that covers female and male dominated establishments.

3. Application of the Convention’s principle by means of collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that collective agreements pay insufficient attention to eliminating discrimination. According to the Forest Sphere Workers’ Trade Union some of the agreements in that sector provide that the employers shall pay equal remuneration to men and women workers performing the same work or work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations to promote the principle of the Convention in the context of collective bargaining.

4. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. On several occasions, the Committee has pointed out to the Government that one of the means of promoting the full enjoyment for men and women of their right to equal remuneration for work of equal value is the adoption and promotion of objective job evaluation methods in order to ensure that wages are determined in a non-discriminatory manner. In this context, the Committee notes the examples from the Government’s report on female-dominated occupations receiving very low pay. For instance, according to the Health and Social Care Workers’ Trade Union, 90 per cent of qualified social workers in care institutions under the Ministry of Welfare are female employees whose wage was of the same level of remuneration paid to unqualified workers. The Seafarers Union of the Merchant Fleet of Latvia indicates that bartenders on Latvian ships, who are in practice exclusively women, received the lowest pay among seafarers. The Committee notes that these examples confirm the Committee’s previous comment regarding the need to promote objective job evaluation, particularly in sectors and for occupations in which women are predominant. The Government and social partners are therefore strongly encouraged to take appropriate measures to promote the development and implementation of objective job appraisal methods on the basis of the work performed, both in the private and public sectors. Please indicate any measures taken or envisaged in this regard.

5. Enforcement. The Committee notes that in 2004 the state labour inspectorate issued for the first time a decision under sections 7.29(1) and 60 of the Labour Code regarding unequal remuneration on the basis of sex and imposed an administrative penalty. The National Human Rights Office has not yet received any written complaints regarding the right to equal remuneration for men and women, but has provided advice on legal questions regarding the issue on several occasions. The Committee also notes that the handling of cases involving pay discrimination was hindered by the fact that in many companies work remuneration is viewed as a confidential issue. The Government is asked to continue to provide information on the enforcement of the national laws and regulations applying the Convention, including information on the number, nature and outcomes of cases dealt with by the courts, the labour inspectorate, and the National Human Rights Office. Please also indicate whether measures are being taken to ensure that employees are aware of their right to equal remuneration for work of equal value irrespective of sex and to enhance the labour inspector’s capacity to handle wage discrimination cases.