Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

The Committee notes the Government’s brief report.

1. According to the Government’s reply to the Committee’s previous direct request, section 47(2) of the Labour Code of 20 July 1998, which provides that "all workers, Mozambican or foreign, and without distinction as to gender, […] shall be entitled to receive equal pay and allowances for the same work ("le même travail") implies "work of equal value" and thus is not at variance with the spirit of the Convention. The Committee notes this statement but considers that some clarification of the text of the law is still necessary, to ensure that the letter, as well as the spirit, of the Convention is observed. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate what measures it intends to take to ensure that the principle of the Convention is applied in practice and hopes that it will incorporate the principles embodied in Article 2 of the Convention in its legislation in the near future.

2. The Committee notes the statistics, which are in fact incomplete, supplied by the Government. The Committee notes that in 2000-01, a large proportion of women worked in family enterprises without receiving any wages (55.1 per cent, as opposed to 10.9 per cent of men), and that a much higher proportion of men than women were paid wages (26 per cent, versus 4.2 per cent of men). The Committee does not, however, have any statistics which would enable it to compare the average remuneration of men and women in different sectors of the labour market and accordingly asks the Government to provide the most recent available statistics on this subject.

3. The Committee notes that the Government in its report does not reply to a number of its previous comments. It must therefore repeat the following points of its previous direct request:

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(b)  In its report, the Government indicates that women in Mozambique participate in economic activity in the same manner as men without being subjected to any type of discrimination, with the exception of certain branches of activity which are perceived as posing a high risk to women. The Committee recalls that, in order to facilitate the application of the principle of equal remuneration, appropriate action should be taken, where necessary, to raise the productive efficiency of women workers by, inter alia, promoting equal access for men and women workers to occupations and posts without prejudice to national laws and regulations concerning the protection of the health and welfare of women (see Equal Remuneration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 90), Paragraph 6(d)). In this regard, the Committee asks the Government to provide information regarding those branches of activity deemed to pose a high risk to women workers, indicating whether such activities are prohibited to women and, if so, the reasons therefor. Please also provide information on the current rates of remuneration for positions in these branches of activity.

(c)  According to the statistics provided in the Government’s report (which the Committee notes are incomplete), women made up 52.5 per cent of the labour force in Mozambique in 1995. The data provided reflect that the overwhelming majority of working women in Mozambique, 91.76 per cent, are employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. The figures show that, despite their greater numbers in the agricultural workforce in 1996, women occupied only 33 per cent of the managerial positions in that sector. Further, the data indicate that those female workers holding managerial positions in the agricultural sector in 1996 earned only 59 per cent of the comparable male average monthly wage. There was a lesser differential at lower levels of the agricultural sector, where women workers earned a greater percentage of the corresponding wages earned by men: middle-level technicians (79.5 per cent); other technicians (81 per cent); and administrative staff (87 per cent). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information in its next report regarding any studies or other information which may indicate the factors accounting for women’s low share of managerial/senior positions, particularly in the agricultural sector, and for their lower rate of pay in that sector. It would also be grateful for information on any measures taken or envisaged to reduce this wage gap and to increase the percentage of women in managerial and supervisory positions.

(d)  The Committee notes the salary tables provided by the Government for various enterprises as well as for the government sector. With the exception of the information provided regarding the average monthly salary for workers in 1996, the salary tables provided by the Government in reply to the Committee’s 1997 direct request are not broken down according to sex. Nor do they reflect the percentages of men and women employed at various levels and categories. Thus, these salary tables do not permit an assessment of the application of the principle of equal remuneration in the Convention. The Committee understands that the Government has recently undertaken a significant reorganization of its system of labour and employment statistics, as well as of the administrative mechanisms for gathering and analysing relevant labour and employment data and hopes that these developments will enable the Government to provide the requested statistics disaggregated by sex in future reports. In this respect, the Committee reminds the Government that, if deemed appropriate, the Government may call upon the technical assistance of the Office to reinforce, as appropriate, the capabilities of the new labour statistics system.

(e)  The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government with regard to its objectives in the area of labour, including its focus on occupational training; and notes also the confirmation of the Government’s intent to ensure equal access to occupational guidance and training as well as to employment following such training activities. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information regarding the progress of its activities and initiatives in this regard.