Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the general information contained in the Government's brief report. It requests the Government to supply full and detailed information on the following points which have been raised for a number of years.

1. The Committee recalls that by virtue of section 95 of the Labour Code of November 1992, which is reproduced in the collective agreement for construction and public works enterprises and the agreement covering mining, geological and hydro-geological enterprises and companies, equal wages without distinction on the basis of sex are granted only under "equal conditions of work, qualifications and output", whereas Article 1(b) of the Convention provides that such equality shall be based on work of "equal value", which implies a comparative evaluation of work which is of a different nature. The Committee notes the Government's statement that there could be no gap between the wage rates of men and women workers unless the output of men was superior to that of women workers.

With reference to paragraphs 19 to 21 and 45 to 65 of its 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration, the Committee once again draws the Government's attention to the fact that, although criteria such as the aptitudes or output of the worker concerned permit an objective appraisal to be made of the performance of different persons performing work of a similar nature, they do not provide an adequate basis for the application of the principle set out in the Convention, particularly where men and women workers in practice perform work of a different nature but of equal value. Furthermore, the criterion of output may lead to the emergence of different wage groups as a function of the average output for each sex. The Committee also recalls that, in the above-mentioned General Survey, it emphasized in paragraph 138 that remuneration for work of equal value "necessarily implies the adoption of some technique to measure and compare objectively the relative value of the jobs performed". The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to bring section 95 of the Labour Code and the two collective agreements referred to above into conformity with the Convention and to achieve in practice equality of remuneration between men and women workers, particularly where their work is of a different nature but of equal value.

In particular, the Government is asked to supply information on any system which has been adopted for the evaluation of jobs in the public and private sectors and which goes beyond the criteria of training, experience and the nature of the job, which are mentioned in the Government's report.

2. The Committee notes from the report that wage scales in both the public and private sectors have not been modified by means of laws or regulations. The Committee notes that under section 96(1) of the Labour Code of 1992, decrees shall be issued to establish wage zones and guaranteed inter-occupational minimum wages. It would therefore like to receive examples of the wage scales which are currently applicable in these sectors, with an indication of the distribution of men and women workers at the different levels.

3. The Committee notes the Government's statement that negotiations concerning the inter-occupational collective agreement are continuing. Please supply information on the measures taken to ensure that this agreement guarantees the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, and not only on the basis of "equal conditions of work, qualifications and output", which has been the case up to now in respect of section 95 of the Labour Code and the collective agreements referred to above and, in view of the fact that it has been under examination for many years, to ensure that this principle is finally adopted.