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

Further to its observation, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

1. As concerns the application of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in Nova Scotia, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the progress made on extending pay equity legislation to the private sector corporations and bodies.

2. The Committee notes the payment of pay equity adjustments in the provincial service and the health-care sector in British Columbia. It requests the Government to indicate what progress has been achieved in extending pay equity to other sectors in which the principle has not yet been applied.

3. The Committee notes that, in Quebec, the Commission of Human Rights resumed its investigation of the situation of pay equity in the public service as well as in the health and social service sectors, and that a report on the findings of the investigation was due to be issued by 31 December 1993. It asks the Government to indicate the results of the investigation and the follow-up action taken to correct any imbalance found in remuneration between men and women who perform work of equal value.

4. Noting from the Government's report that a major review of pay equity compliance at the federal level ("Project '91") revealed that only 23 of the 96 employers surveyed had involved unions in the process of complying with pay equity legislation, the Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to promote the involvement of workers' organizations in the application of the pay equity legislation.

5. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the new job classification system (Universal Job Evaluation Plan) in the federal public sector and its impact, if any, on the resolution of equal pay issues.

6. The Committee notes with interest the enforcement measures taken at the federal and provincial levels and the results achieved in pay adjustments and lump-sum settlements through the resolution of individual and group complaints. It also notes the activities of the officials from the Department of Human Resources Development who are empowered, at the federal level, to conduct equal pay inspections of employer establishments, and to refer apparent cases of gender-based pay discrimination to the Human Rights Commission for resolution. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the enforcement activities, including statistical data on the inspection activities referred to above. Please also provide information on the implementation of the pay equity audit programme to which the Government refers in its report.

7. The Committee notes from the statistics supplied by the Government that the overall earnings ratio of women to men has increased slightly from 1989 to 1991, but that it still remains wide at 69.6 per cent. In relation to these statistics, the Committee notes the Government's statement that in the federal public service, the overall wage gap between men and women is mostly influenced by their occupational distribution. It further notes, however, that the earnings differential for single women is significantly lower than the earnings differential for married women.

Further to the above information, the Committee notes the various measures taken by the Government to promote equality of opportunity and treatment of women in the labour market, such as encouraging the entrance of women in non-traditional occupations and the balancing of work and family responsibilities, both of which have a positive impact on the pay levels of women in general. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on measures being taken to promote a wide occupational choice for women, and to promote reconciliation of work and family responsibilities, so as to reduce the discriminatory impact that occupational placement and family responsibilities have on women's earning capacity.