Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the Government’s response to the communication dated 31 August 2004 received from the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KSPU).

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Legislative developments. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, under section 4 of the draft Labour Code, all forms of discrimination are forbidden, including direct or indirect restrictions of workers’ rights on the basis of sex unrelated to the nature and conditions of the job. Section 217 of the draft Labour Code provides that any salary reduction for discriminatory reasons is forbidden. While welcoming these provisions, the Committee asks the Government to consider the possibility of giving full legislative expression in the Labour Code to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as set out in the Convention.

2. Articles 2 and 3. Practical application. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government on the average monthly wages received by men and women according to sectors for 2003 and 2004. Between January and March 2004, women’s wages, on average, were 31.5 per cent lower than men’s. The gender wage gap was widest in postal services and telecommunications (40.4 per cent) and narrowest in fishing (2 per cent). In the two sectors employing the largest number of workers, manufacturing and education, the wage gap amounted to 33.1 per cent and 15.8 per cent, respectively. According to the Government, the difference in salary levels was the result of women exercising their right to part-time work in order to carry out family responsibilities and the fact that women did not work in harmful or arduous jobs for which higher remuneration was provided. In the view of KSPU, however, widespread discrimination by employers was restricting women’s opportunities to be employees in higher-paid jobs and sectors, a matter the Committee is following up under Convention No. 111.

3. Analysis of the gender wage gap. The Committee notes that the factors referred to by the Government may indeed explain to some extent the existing gender wage gap. However, the Committee observes that, in order to promote a better application of the Convention, further efforts are necessary to strengthen the analysis of sex-based wage inequalities. While the data submitted by the Government allows a comparison of the gender wage differentials in the different branches of economic activities, the Government is encouraged to undertake and provide a more detailed mapping of men’s and women’s earnings to permit a meaningful analysis of the nature, extent and causes of the pay differential between men and women. Such a mapping should show, for a given branch of economic activity, the extent to which remuneration differentials are due to differences in hours of work, working conditions, the positions held by men and women, or other factors. A first step in this regard is the compilation of adequate statistical information. The Committee asks the Government to:

(a)  compile and provide to it, as far as possible, statistical data on earnings as set out in the Committee’s 1998 General Observation (attached for easy reference). The Government is also requested to indicate in its next report any other measures to strengthen its analysis of the nature, extent and causes of the remuneration differentials between men and women;

(b)  provide information on the actual remuneration received by men and women employed in budget-financed institutions and organizations, disaggregated by sex and level of responsibility.

4. Determination of remuneration and objective job evaluation. The Government indicates once again that equal remuneration was established through wage levels being set in sectoral agreements for each occupation on the basis of the worker’s qualifications, with the same wage rates being applied to men and women. Hence, wages did not depend on whether the job was held by a man or a woman. The Committee must point out that the Convention does not only require that the same rates of remuneration apply to men and women within the same sector or enterprise, but also that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is being taken into consideration in determination of remuneration. In this regard, the Convention envisages the use of objective methods of job evaluation. The Government is therefore asked to supply information on the measures it has been taking to promote the use of objective job evaluation methods, free from gender bias, in the private and public sector.

5. The Committee notes with interest that the gender analysis of collective agreements undertaken within the ILO/USDOL technical cooperation project, "Ukraine: Promoting fundamental principles and rights at work", emphasized a number of measures that could be taken to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any follow-up measures taken or envisaged in this regard, including through cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations.

6. Enforcement The Committee notes the information provided by the Government relating to the activities carried by the labour inspectorate to deal with non-compliance with wage legislation in general. It asks the Government to indicate whether the labour inspectorate, or the courts, have addressed any situations involving, more specifically, unequal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and, if so, with what results.