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

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to its previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s brief report, as well as the text of the present General Collective Agreement which states in article 42 that, given equal working conditions, seniority and professional qualifications, salaries shall be equal for all workers regardless of their age, sex or status. The Committee wishes to remind the Government, however, that the principle expressed in Article 1(b) of the Convention applies not only to equal or the same work but also to work of equal value. Considering that the Labour Code guarantees the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in article 246, and given that collective agreements may not derogate from the guarantees granted under the Labour Code according to article 339, the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the General Collective Agreement, in practice, ensures equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to provide in its next report the annexes to the General Collective Agreement which determine the professional classifications for each sector of activity.

For several years now, the Committee has requested information on the Government’s study in which 42 enterprises were surveyed on the application of this Convention and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). It recalls the Government’s indication that the findings of this survey revealed no discrimination in relation to either recruitment, promotion and training or remuneration. The Committee again asks the Government to provide the survey results in support of these findings, in particular data on the number of men and women recruited, promoted and trained, as well as their occupations and wage levels. Please also include the wage scales for the enterprises that participated in the study. More generally, the Committee hopes the Government will be in a position to gather and provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, in accordance with its 1998 general observation on this Convention for both the public and private sectors.

Recalling the Government’s information on the “Cellule de liaison et d’information des associations féminines” (coordination unit for women’s associations), the Committee again invites the Government to provide information on its collaboration with women’s committees of trade unions and on the activities it carries out in relation to the promotion of equality in employment and occupation and, in particular, to equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Parts III, IV and V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it does not at present have any statistics on the reports from the inspection services. It further notes that, to date, no case dealing with the application of the principle of Convention No. 100 has ever been decided by a court of law. The Committee reminds the Government that simply because there have been no cases dealing with equal remuneration does not mean that the problem does not exist in practice. The Committee stresses, therefore, the need for information that will help it gain an appreciation of how the Convention is applied, including cases identified by the labour inspectorate or any cases lodged on matters of equal remuneration. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate what measures it is considering or putting into place to strengthen the supervision of equal remuneration for work of equal value through, for example, targeted training for labour inspectors or the greater sensitization and involvement of workers and employers in the inspection process.