Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Legislative developments. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Employment Bill has been tabled in Parliament and will be debated shortly. The Government states that the concept of “work of equal value” will be taken into consideration when debating the Bill. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the draft Human Resources Planning and Development Act is still in the drafting stage, and that an awareness-raising workshop is being planned involving the broader stakeholders. Stressing the importance of giving full legislative expression to the concept of “equal remuneration for work of equal value”, the Committee urges the Government to ensure that the Employment Bill is fully in line with the principle of the Convention. Please continue to provide information on the status of the adoption of the Employment Bill and the draft Human Resources Planning and Development Act.

Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding the tripartite wage councils, and the application of job evaluation in the public service. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the principle of the Convention through the tripartite wage councils. The Committee again asks the Government to provide any information regarding how equal remuneration for work of equal value is being promoted in the private sector.

Causes of the gender wage gap and occupational sex segregation. The Committee notes that the Government provides no information on its previous comments regarding the need to address horizontal and vertical segregation of men and women into certain jobs or occupations, and steps taken to examine the causes of the existing gender wage gap. The Committee, therefore, again asks the Government as follows:

(i)    to consider taking concrete measures to address occupational sex segregation, and to ensure that women have access to higher paid jobs;

(ii)   to provide information regarding how the trade testing and apprenticeship schemes have been used to promote gender equality in general, and in particular to provide women with access to a wider range of jobs, including those traditionally held by men;

(iii) to provide information on the specific steps taken or envisaged to examine the underlying causes of the gender wage gap.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the issue of equal remuneration has not been addressed by the courts or the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CCMA). The Committee also notes that the Government expresses its commitment to assist judges and labour inspectors to ensure the application of the principle of the Convention, and that during training for judges and labour inspectors, they will be sensitized to the concept of “equal pay for work of equal value”. The Government is also considering requesting ILO assistance in this regard. The Committee welcomes the Government’s commitment to increase the capacity of the labour inspectors and the courts to address issues related to the application of the principle of the Convention, and asks to be kept informed of the specific steps taken in this regard. Please also specify whether the CCMA is mandated to deal with issues of equal remuneration, and if so, the Committee asks the Government to ensure that members of the CCMA are included in the training and sensitization programmes related to the Convention.

Statistics. Noting the Government’s statement that the preliminary results of the first integrated labour force survey have been released, the Committee looks forward to receiving statistical information disaggregated by sex, regarding earnings in the  public and private sectors, according to different occupations and job categories, once this information is available.