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1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, the comments of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of the United States of Mexico and the attached statistical data. Noting the activities carried out by the Minimum Wage Commission, the Committee observes that the report does not contain information on the various studies and analyses evaluating wages and remuneration systems to which it referred in paragraph 1 of its previous direct request. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the methods existing for the objective evaluation of jobs, and how it is ensured that these are applied in a manner free of gender bias. The Committee recalls that the objective appraisal of jobs implies the adoption of a technique to measure and compare objectively the relative value of the work performed. Because men and women tend to perform different jobs, a technique to measure the relative value of jobs with varying content is critical to eliminating discrimination in the remuneration of men and women. In this respect, please see paragraphs 138 to 152 of the General Survey of 1986.

2. With regard to the many activities carried out in the context of the National Programme for Equality of Opportunity and Non-Discrimination against Women (PROEQUIDAD), the Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the activities of the Programme designed to promote and encourage the participation of women in the public and private sectors and to reduce discrimination at work.

3. Noting that the Integrated System for the Administration of Human Resources is still suspended, the Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will be able to provide data on the number of men and women in the various sectors and at the different levels of the public administration, including their levels of remuneration, disaggregated by sex.

4. The Committee recalls the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) referred to its 2002 observation, which indicated that government statistics show that 25 per cent of women who work in the extraction, processing and electricity sectors are in the lowest income categories, compared with only 8 per cent of men working in these sectors. The Committee notes the statistics for 2002-04 on the employed population by branch of economic activity in the above sectors, according to which 118,960 men and 32,166 women worked in the extraction and oil refining sectors in 2004 and earned 197.81 pesos a day; a total of 4,478,176 men and 2,269,857 women worked in the processing industry and earned 181.44 pesos a day and 199,315 men and 40,046 women worked in the electricity sector and earned 379.18 pesos a day. The Committee notes that this statistical information does not permit an analysis of the percentage of men and women in the lower income categories as it does not contain indications on wages disaggregated by sex and income group. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to provide information which makes it possible to compare the percentages provided by the ICFTU, including information on any action taken to reduce vertical job segregation in the above sectors.

5. Labour inspection. The Committee notes that training has been provided on the gender perspective to the various federal labour delegations and other state labour services. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information, such as training modules, materials and programmes, which give an indication of the training received, especially by labour inspectors, on the content of the Convention, and particularly on the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.