Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report. It also notes the text of the Action Plan for the Advancement of Women, approved by Resolution No. 1299 of 8 November 1996, which was submitted to the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women.

2. Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes that the texts referred to by the Government to apply the principle of the Convention, including the 1992 Constitution, the Employment Compensation Act, 1991, and the Employment Contracts Act, 1991, call for equality or non-discrimination on a number of grounds, including sex, but do not provide specifically for equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there is an intention to give legislative expression to the principle of the Convention, perhaps in the context of measures to ensure a legal guarantee for gender equality, which is an objective of the national Action Plan for the Advancement of Women.

3. While noting that the Employment Compensation Act refers, in section 3, to the need for collective agreements to establish the "fixed hourly wage rates, monthly salaries (and) other forms and conditions of payment", the Committee observes that no provisions of that Act nor of any other legislation appear designed to ensure equal remuneration for men and women workers in respect of all components of the wage package, as is provided for under Article 1, paragraph (a), of the Convention. Please indicate the measures taken to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers is applied in respect of all emoluments whatsoever, payable directly or indirectly, by the employer to the worker.

4. Article 2. The Committee notes that the Collective Agreements Act, 1991, provides that collective agreements must be concluded in enterprises, institutions and organizations (or for branch enterprises), in which employment contracts are concluded with employees, regardless of the number of employees. Noting that, according to section 6 of that Act, collective agreements shall specify, inter alia, the "rate-qualification remuneration", wages, additional payments, and other elements pertinent to the wage package, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the methodology used to evaluate and compare jobs, and thus to classify posts and determine wage scales in collective agreements. Please provide some examples of collective agreements which specify wage rates in the manufacturing sector, together with an indication, if possible, of the percentage of men and women covered by these agreements, and employed in different categories and grades.

5. The Committee notes that the State Labour Inspectorate is responsible for supervising the implementation of the principle of the Convention. Please provide more detailed information on the measures taken, including information on the number of violations reported and the penalties imposed. Please also supply information in future reports on any decisions of courts or tribunals pertinent to the application of the Convention.

6. The Committee notes that the Act on the Basic Principles of Employment Compensation for Leaders of the State and the Government, Members of Parliament and Employees of State Institutions and Organizations (Act No. I-1581 of 6 October 1996), which is due to come into force in 1998, lays down a complete system of evaluation, classification and remuneration. According to the report, this legislation will ensure a more effective evaluation and compensation of the posts financed from the state budget, including those in the areas of education, culture, health protection and social security, where women comprise the majority of employees. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application of the Act and, in particular, on the subsequent action taken to evaluate and classify the posts in question, including information on the criteria used to evaluate and compare different posts. Please also supply copies of the wage scales determined under the Act, together with, if possible, an indication of the percentage of men and women employed at different levels of these classifications.

7. Article 3. Please provide any available statistical data concerning the wage gap between men and women. In this respect, the Committee notes that women's average salaries are lower than men's in a majority of economic branches which, according to the report, is explained by the fact that men hold more posts in management, and have higher qualifications and more challenging jobs. As the national Action Plan for the Advancement of Women states that women earn about 1.4 times less than men (or about 30 per cent less), the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether any studies or surveys have revealed more explicitly all of the factors accounting for the wage gap.

8. Article 4. The Committee notes that adherence to collective agreements is overseen by the representatives of the parties to the agreement. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether action is taken in cooperation with the employers' and workers' organizations to ensure and promote the application to all workers of the principle of the Convention. Such action might include, for example, publicising in the workplace the commitment to equal pay for work of equal value, promoting an examination of the job grades and job titles used in a collective agreement with a view to assessing whether, if one gender predominates under a particular title, there might be a need to determine that the job titles reflect some gender-bias and providing guidance and training on developing non-discriminatory evaluation schemes that take adequate account of the factors more likely to be present in female jobs, which are often not identified and not valued in traditional schemes.