Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report, including the statistical information, texts of collective agreements and court decisions.

1. The figures provided in the Government's report for 1997 show that the amount of women in the Federal Public Administration (APF) varies sectorially, and that women constitute 23.9 per cent of all APF employees at middle and higher levels (categorized as A to J in the relevant tables). As noted in the Committee's previous comments, the quarterly statistics for April to June 1995 on APF employees also reflected a disparity in the number of men and women workers, with a disproportionately low number of women employed at the higher-paid levels. The 1995 data showed almost three times as many men as women employed at the highest salary level, earning ten or more times the minimum daily salary in Mexico. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the disparity reflected in the 1995 figures is due to the higher participation of men in the labour market. The Government adds that the APF's employment policy does not discriminate on the basis of sex. In light of the low participation of women in the workforce and the existing occupational segregation noted, the Government is asked to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to promote a greater participation of women in the public and private sector workforce, as well as measures taken or contemplated to reduce occupational segregation, particularly in the APF.

2. The figures contained in the Government's report reflect significant salary differentials in certain sectors, showing that, in 1997, women's average hourly earnings, expressed as a percentage of men's earnings, were: 57 per cent in commerce; 75 per cent in financial services; 76 per cent in manufacturing; 78 per cent in restaurant services; and 92 per cent in the agriculture/fishing industries. The Committee notes that, in some sectors, women's average hourly wages were higher than men's. Men earned an average of 90 per cent of women's hourly earnings in the mining/construction sector, 85 per cent in transportation/communication, and 96 per cent in the category of education/health/public administration and defence. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the figures provided in the Government's report, near parity in hourly earnings is shown in the category entitled "salaried employees", where women earned 98.5 per cent of the average hourly wage earned by men. The Government is asked to indicate the types of jobs and occupations included in this category and the proportion of women to men.

3. The Committee notes that the relevant court decisions provided by the Government, interpret article 123(A)(VIII) of the Mexican Constitution and section 86 of the Federal Labour Act, governing private sector workers, as providing for equal remuneration for work performed under equal conditions, including equivalent hours and conditions of quantity, quality and efficiency. The jurisprudence indicates that the legal requirement for equal remuneration does not extend to similar work. The Committee presumes that the same interpretation would be given by the Court to article 123(B)(V) of the Constitution, which extends the principle of equal pay for equal work to public sector employees. The Committee refers the Government to the language of Article 2(1) of the Convention, which calls for "the application to all workers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value". The Convention thus moves beyond a reference to the "same" or "similar" work, choosing instead the "value" of the work as the point of comparison. This basis of comparison is intended to reach discrimination which may arise out of the existence of occupational categories and jobs reserved for women and is aimed at eliminating inequality of remuneration in female-dominated sectors, where jobs traditionally considered as "feminine" may be undervalued due to sex stereotyping (see General Survey on equal remuneration, ILO, 1986, at paragraphs 19 through 23). The Government is therefore asked to indicate the manner in which it contemplates applying the principle of Article 2 of the Convention, including any consideration of giving legislative expression to the principle of the Convention.

4. The Government indicates that, out of a sample pool of 606 collective agreements, it reviewed 30 agreements for enterprises in which women constituted a significant proportion of the labour force, such as air transport, educational services, medical services, and financial services. It states that this review revealed no gender-based salary differentials. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the percentages of women covered in the collective agreements provided, and to indicate their distribution in the different occupations and levels of employment in the relevant enterprises.

5. The Government states that, during the reporting period, federal labour inspectors conducted 55,859 inspections nationwide of enterprises subject to federal jurisdiction and found no violations of the Convention. In this regard, the Government is asked to indicate the number of inspections and any other activities conducted during the reporting period that focused on equal pay.

6. The Committee notes with interest the information contained in the Government's report regarding the establishment and operation of a new system for registering and maintaining up-to-date data on the age, sex, salary and occupational level of public sector employees, which would permit an evaluation of the practical application of the principle of the Convention. The Government indicates that the Integrated System for the Administration of Human Resources in the Federal Public Administration (SIARH) is being established and operated by the Ministry of the Treasury and Public Credit (Hacienda). Noting the SIARH action plan for 1999 and 2000 contained in the Government's report, calling for implementation of the system first in specified government departments, such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and then in agencies of the APF, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in implementing the SIARH system, and to provide, in its next report, statistical information acquired through use of the SIARH system.