CMNT_TITLE

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Gibraltar

Other comments on C100

Observation

Direct Request

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Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender remuneration gap. The Committee notes, from the 2017 Employment Survey Report published by the Statistics Office, that the gender pay gap continued to decrease but still remains significant. Based on average monthly earnings for full-time employees, the gender pay gap decreased from 26 per cent in 2013 to 22.5 per cent in 2017, being higher in the public sector than in the private sector (28.9 per cent and 25.1 per cent respectively, excluding the Ministry of Defence). With respect to average weekly earnings for full-time employees, the gap decreased from 32 per cent in 2013 to 29.5 per cent in 2017. The Committee however notes that the percentage of women in the three lowest annual earning brackets (less than £10,000) is over double that of men and inversely the percentage of men in the three highest annual earning brackets (above £40,000) is almost double that of women. It further notes from the Employment Survey Report the persistent vertical and horizontal occupational gender segregation, as women still represent 69 per cent of the administrative and secretarial workforce while they represent only 29 per cent of the managers and senior officials employed on a full-time basis, for whom the gender pay gap is particularly high (29.8 per cent). It notes that monthly earnings of men are higher than those of women in all occupational categories, except in the process, plant and machine operatives, which employed only 0.2 per cent of the total number of women at national level. It also notes that average monthly earnings of men are higher than those of women in almost all industrial sectors (with the exception of two sectors employing a very low number of women), the pay gap being particularly high in sectors where most women were employed, such as financial intermediation, where the gender pay gap was 45.3 per cent in 2017, and health and social work, where it was 33.3 per cent. The Committee notes that a working group to look at the gender pay gap was set up in March 2017 within the Ministry for Equality and that, as a result, the Government recently acknowledged the existence of a gender pay gap. The Committee notes that, in September and October 2018, a training session was organized with employers from the private sector on “Gender Diversity and Inclusion” in order to analyse and explore the effects of unconscious bias in the workplace and its impact on women, and a “Women’s Mentorship Programme” was launched by the Government to promote better representation of women in senior positions. Taking into consideration the significant gender pay gap as well as the persistent vertical and horizontal occupational gender segregation, the Committee hopes that the Government will continue its efforts to take more proactive measures, including with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to raise awareness, make assessments, and promote and enforce the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to address the gender remuneration gap, both in the public and private sectors, by identifying and addressing the underlying causes of earnings differentials and by promoting women’s access to a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher pay, including in the framework of the Women’s Mentorship Programme and other activities undertaken to explore the impact of unconscious gender bias in the workplace. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide detailed statistics on the earnings of men and women and on the gender remuneration gap, in all sectors of the economy. Finally, it requests the Government to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken to address the gender remuneration gap.

Legislation. The Committee previously noted that section 31 of the Equal Opportunities Act, 2006, allows men and women to bring equal pay claims against their employers using comparators employed by the same employer or by any “associated employer” in Gibraltar. It also recalled that the application of the Convention’s principle allows for a much broader comparison to be made between jobs performed by men and women in different places or enterprises, or between different employers. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report, that it is committed to considering any necessary reform of section 31 of the Equal Opportunities Act to this end. Recalling that ensuring a broad scope of comparison is essential for the application of the principle of equal remuneration given the continued prevalence of occupational sex segregation in the country, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on any revision of section 31 of the Equal Opportunities Act initiated in order to ensure that the right to equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value is not restricted to the same or associated employer. In the meantime, it again requests the Government to provide specific information regarding the application in practice of section 31 of the Act, including any administrative or judicial decisions relating to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Articles 2 and 3. Application of the principle in the public sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no specific job evaluation was undertaken in the public sector with regard to the principle of the Convention. The Government reiterates that the public sector has specific salary scales and job descriptions which apply irrespective of gender and therefore apply the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Noting that the highest gender pay gap was identified in the public sector (28.9 per cent in 2017), the Committee once again recalls that despite the existence of salary scales applicable to all public officials, without discrimination on the ground of sex, pay discrimination in the public service can arise from the criteria applied in classifying jobs and from an undervaluation of the tasks performed largely by women, or from inequalities in certain supplementary wage benefits (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 700–703). Recalling the Government’s obligation to ensure the full application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value to its own employees, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the criteria used to determine the classification of jobs and the applicable salary scales in the public sector, and to indicate how it is ensured that the criteria used are free from gender bias and that men and women in the public sector have access to all additional payments on an equal footing. In light of the substantial gender pay gap identified in the public service, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the distribution of men and women in the various occupations and positions in the public sector, to identify where wage gaps exist and to take the necessary steps to eliminate any wage gaps revealed. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken to improve the access of women to higher ranking and better paid positions in the public sector, and the results achieved.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.