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1. Article 1 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes the adoption of the Gender Equality Act of 2004, which, according to the English translation available to the Office, provides in section 6(2)(3) that the activities of employers are discriminatory if they establish "conditions for remuneration or other conditions which are less favourable regarding an employee or employees of one sex compared with an employee or employees of the other sex doing the same or equivalent work". The Committee recalls that the notion of work of equal value as expressed in the Convention is broader than the notion of same, similar or identical work. Rather, equal value also implies a comparison of jobs performed by men and women which are different but nonetheless of equal value. In this respect, the Committee asks the Government to clarify whether the reference to equivalent work in section 6(2)(3) of the Gender Equality Act is intended to reflect the notion of "work of equal value" as contained in Article 1(b) of the Convention.

2. Further to the above, and recalling its previous comment with respect to the principle of equal remuneration under the Wages Act, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not clarify whether the term "equal work" in section 51, paragraph (1), of the Act includes the notion of "work of equal value" as set out in Article 1(b) of the Convention. The Committee, therefore, reiterates its request to the Government to elaborate on the term "equal work" in the Wage Act and to indicate whether it is to be interpreted to mean work of equal value in accordance with the Convention.

3. Article 2(2)(c). Collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that trade unions play an important role in drawing the attention of state supervisory bodies to violations of the principle of equal pay as well as in the negotiation of collective agreements in connection with the promotion of equal pay. It notes, however, the Government’s indication that current collective agreements are very weak when it comes to addressing equal remuneration. 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.

4. Article 3(1). Objective job appraisals. The Committee recalls its previous comments regarding sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Wages Act concerning the methods used by the employer for the establishment and calculation of wage rates. In this respect, the Committee had drawn the Government’s attention to the fact that the employer’s decision may be subject to gender bias, including the undervaluing of work performed by women, which may result in wage discrimination. The Committee had therefore suggested the application of objective job evaluation (Article 3) as the method for calculating remuneration in conformity with the principles of the Convention. Noting that no further information has been received on this matter, the Committee reiterates its requests to the Government to provide information on the measures taken to apply the abovementioned provisions of the Wages Act in accordance with the Convention, that is without gender bias, and to promote the application of objective job evaluation by employers.

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. Further recalling the Government’s information on the training programme for labour inspectors on job evaluation and equal treatment (PHARE), the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to indicate the impact of this programme on the National Labour Inspectorate’s capacity to supervise the legislation relevant to the application of the Convention.

6. Part III of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee notes that under section 7(3) of the Gender Equality Act, an employee has the right to demand that an employer both explain the method for calculating salaries and provide other necessary information, on the basis of which it is possible to decide whether wage discrimination has occurred. With respect to the enforcement mechanisms established under the Gender Equality Act, the Committee notes the appointment of a Gender Equality Commissioner (section 15) who acts as an independent and impartial expert to monitor compliance with the Act, to accept applications from individuals concerning possible cases of discrimination and to advise the Government on issues relating to the Act’s implementation. The Act additionally sets up a Gender Equality Council (section 24) to function as an advisory body within the Ministry of Social Affairs, approving the general objectives of gender equality policy and advising the Government in this regard. The Committee asks the Government to: (1) provide information on the practical application of the Gender Equality Act, including information on any judicial or administrative decisions under the Act dealing with the principle of equal pay; and (2) provide information on the work of the Gender Equality Commissioner and Council in promoting and ensuring the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

7. Part V of the report form. General appreciation of the application of the Convention. The Committee notes from the statistics provided in the Government’s report that in 2003 women still only earned 75.8 per cent of the average hourly wage earned by men. It notes that although the gap between men and women has narrowed since the country’s independence, it has not significantly improved since 2001, when women earned 75.7 per cent of men’s earnings. In this context, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to a recent study entitled "Men and women in the Estonian labour market: assessing the gender wage gap". According to this study, a large part of the wage difference arises from people’s attitudes, which are expressed in the labour market behaviour of employers and their selection of employees. Noting the Government’s statement that changes in societal attitudes are enhanced by increased awareness, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on what measures it is taking in the private and public sectors as well as in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations to raise awareness with respect to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Recalling also its earlier comments on the horizontal and vertical segregation of working women, the Committee asks the Government to indicate what policies it has adopted or is considering, particularly within the framework of its national employment strategy, to counteract the disproportionate number of women working in low-pay and low-responsibility jobs.

8. Statistics. The Committee notes that according to section 11(2) of the Gender Equality Act, employers are under an obligation to collect employment data based on gender to enable the relevant institutions to monitor and assess whether the principle of equal treatment is being applied in practice. In this context, the Committee asks the Government to provide statistics in its next report on the distribution of men and women among various occupations and at different levels of responsibility in both the private and public sectors.