Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

The Committee notes with regret that, for the fifth consecutive time, the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes that the Government has passed the Windward Islands Constituent Assembly Act, No. 6 of 1991, in an effort to ensure fulfilment of its obligations under Article 3 of the Organization of East Caribbean States' Treaty (OECS Treaty) which concerns the realization of obligations and responsibilities to the international community, with due regard to the role of international law. The Committee notes that in this context, the member States of the OECS envisage a review and harmonization of labour legislation, with the assistance of the International Labour Office, in order to ensure full compliance with the provisions of ratified Conventions. The Committee also notes, with interest, the assurance of the Government that the Committee's comments will be taken into account and that the Government will provide information on the progress made in this project.

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the opportunity afforded by this review to ensure legislative conformity with the provisions of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee recalls to the attention of the Government, the comments made in its 1990 general observation, where emphasis was also placed on the importance of embodying the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in national legislation. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report details on any progress realized to achieve legislative compliance with the Convention.

2. Referring to its previous comment where the Committee noted that some collective agreements in agriculture include lower wage rates for women, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that wage rates are not differentiated on the basis of sex.

3. The Committee also requests the Government to provide the information requested in the Committee's previous comment concerning the objective appraisal of jobs (Article 3) and the measures taken in cooperation with employers' and workers' organizations to give effect to the provisions of the Convention (Article 4).