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1. Article 1 and 2 of the Convention. Legislative developments. The Committee notes that the new Equal Treatment Act (Federal Gazette No. 66/2004), as was the case in the previous legislation, requires the employer to abstain from direct or indirect discrimination based on sex in respect of remuneration and voluntarily granted social benefits. It also notes that section 11 of the Act maintains previous provisions concerning the principle of equal remuneration for the same work or work of equal value, providing that enterprise-level job grading systems, workplace agreements and collective agreements must respect this principle and cannot rely on criteria for the evaluation of men’s and women’s work that lead to discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on judicial decisions concerning equal remuneration of men and women in the private and the public sectors, as well as information on the activities promoting and ensuring equal remuneration carried out by the Equal Treatment Commission, the Equal Treatment Ombudsperson, and the machinery set up under the Federal Equal Opportunities Commission.

2. Measures to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee notes that a development partnership ("KLARA!") dealing with equal remuneration for work of equal value has been established under the EQUAL initiative of the European Community. The objectives of this initiative include, inter alia, public awareness raising and capacity building on equal pay issues. Further, an assessment of the contribution of current equality policy measures to reduce the gender pay gap is being carried out. The Committee would appreciate receiving further information on the implementation and results of this initiative.

3. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the research project "Discrimination-free job evaluation and organization" was finalized in 2004 and that the project resulted in the publication entitled "Equal remuneration for equal work and work of equal value". The publication contains practical guidelines for discrimination-free job evaluation for workers and employers. The Committee welcomes this initiative and asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the use of non-discriminatory job evaluation methods in practice, including through cooperation with the social partners.

4. Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee recalls that without the active participation of employers and workers, no significant progress can be made in the implementation of the Convention.  The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken by it to seek the cooperation of workers’ and employers’ organizations in giving effect to the provisions of the Convention. The Committee would also appreciate receiving information on the measures taken by all social partners to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, including in the context of collective bargaining. Please provide examples of workplace or collective agreements that specifically address equal pay issues.

5. Part IV of the report form. General appreciation of the application of the Convention. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that in 2003, the average gross hourly earnings of women were 17 per cent lower than men’s. The gender pay differential concerning yearly average gross earnings decreased from 41.3 per cent in 2000 to 39.7 per cent in 2003. Please continue to provide comparable statistical information on the income differentials between men and women.