Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Repetition

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wages. Concerning the establishment of the minimum wage rates, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that no review has been done since its last report because the country is under a Structural Adjustment Programme based on a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Monetary Fund and that salaries have since been frozen. The Government adds that, since the adoption of the New Minimum Wage Order in 2011, there is no disparity between wages of men and women, contrary to the 2002 Minimum Wage Order which specified different minimum wages for female and male agricultural workers. The Committee wishes to stress that the question it had asked related to the methods and criteria used to determine the minimum wage rates for the different occupations and industries so as to ensure that sectors with a high proportion of women are not undervalued compared to sectors in which men are predominantly employed. It recalls that, when setting minimum wages, the absence of differentiated minimum wage rates for men and women is not enough, as it is also necessary to eliminate any indirect discrimination, and in particular to ensure that certain skills considered to be “natural” to women workers are not undervalued, while those traditionally associated with men are not overvalued. In addition, the Committee recalls that the concept of “equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs based on objective criteria such as skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the National Training Agency has trained a significant number of persons, mostly young women (although there is no indication of year, numbers, types of occupations); and that, jobs that used to be male dominated (security and construction sectors) have now an increased number of women. However, the last National Labour Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office shows that in 2014 women were still concentrated in certain sectors (wholesale and retail trade, public administration, education, health and social work) despite the fact that they tend to have higher diplomas than men. In light of the persistence of gender segregation in the labour market, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the concrete measures taken or envisaged to promote the access of women to a wider range of jobs at all levels, in particular in sectors in which they are currently under-represented. It reiterates its requests to the Government to indicate the methods and criteria used to determine the minimum wage rates and the steps undertaken to develop or implement objective job evaluation methods as required by the Convention.

Articles 2(c) and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. In its report, the Government states that it is not in a position to provide information on the impact of the job evaluation exercise carried out in the context of a collective agreement signed by the Grenada Electricity Services (GRENLEC) and the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU) on the remuneration of men and women and that it will keep the Office informed when such a study is conducted. The Committee asks the Government to provide information not only on the collective agreement signed by GRENLEC and GTAWU, but also on any other job evaluation exercise carried out in the context of a collective agreement and on the steps taken to give effect to the principle of the Convention through cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, including through training or awareness raising on the principle of equal value.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In reply to the Committee’s previous request that the Government develop and implement objective methods of evaluation and criteria that are free from gender bias, in the context of the review of the public sector job evaluation process, the Government merely indicates that in 2012 a Human Resource Audit of the Public Service was undertaken but provides no information on the objectives and results of this audit. Consequently, the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this audit is a follow-up to the evaluation carried out in 2010 the results of which were not implemented due to concerns raised by workers’ organizations. It also wishes to obtain confirmation that this audit concerned a job evaluation exercise undertaken to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is effectively applied in the public sector. It reiterates its request for information on the specific measures taken or envisaged to promote objective job evaluation in the private sector.

Monitoring and enforcement. In its previous comments, the Committee had asked the Government to communicate information on the impact of the wage adjustments mandated by an arbitration tribunal, which resulted in the principle of equal pay for work of equal value being applied to women and men working for the Grenada Ports Authority, as well as in compensation for differentials in pay. In its report, the Government indicates that, with the introduction of the equal pay for Seamen and Waterfront Workers Union and Technical and Allied Workers Union, generally workers were satisfied because they were carrying out similar tasks but Seamen and Waterfront Workers were receiving higher wages to that of Technical and Allied Workers Union. In this regard, the Committee asks the Government to provide sex-disaggregated data on the current composition of the staff of Grenada Ports Authority (in particular, the percentage of women working in that institution, at different levels, and in which categories of job they are concentrated).