Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Guinea-Bissau (Ratification: 1977)

Other comments on C100

Observation

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the observations of the National Union of Workers from Guinea (UNTG) attached to the Government’s report, that refer to the need to reinforce the technical and material capacities of the labour inspectorate to allow it to enforce effectively the Labour Law. The Committee asks the Government to provide its reply thereon.

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that both the Labour Law and the Public Servants Statute provide for the principle of equal remuneration for equal work. In this respect, the Committee recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” provided for in the Convention includes but goes beyond equal remuneration for “equal” the “same” or “similar” work and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value (see general observation 2006). The Committee therefore asks the Government to take the necessary measures to include the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the legislation. The Committee further asks the Government to send a copy of the Public Servants Statute.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation and classification of jobs free from gender bias. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in the framework of the current public administration reform, a law concerning the classification of public services has been approved. With respect to the private sector, the Government indicates that it would like to prepare a study on the situation for which it requests ILO technical assistance. The Committee asks the Government to send a copy of the classification of public services and to indicate any progress made towards the establishment of an objective job evaluation mechanism. The Committee asks the Government to take steps to secure ILO technical assistance concerning job evaluation in the private sector, and to provide information on progress made in this regard.

Noting that the Government’s report does not reply to its previous comments, the Committee must therefore repeat its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2. Application of the principle in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee has repeatedly requested information on the measures taken to give practical effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee notes with some regret that the Government continues to consider that no further measures are needed to this end. It is difficult for the Committee to accept statements suggesting that the Convention is being applied in law and in practice when no further details are given to underpin these statements (see paragraph 253 of the 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration). The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would supply the following in its next report:

(i) information on the measures taken or contemplated to promote and facilitate the application of the provisions of the Convention. Such measures could include public information and awareness-raising campaigns promoting the principles of the Convention or initiatives taken by the Government, in cooperation with organizations of employers and workers, to promote, in general, equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment; and
(ii) concrete and practical information that would enable it to assess whether the principle of equal remuneration is applied not only to cases where the same or similar work is performed between men and women, but also to work performed by men and women that is of a different nature but of equal value.

Minimum wages. With respect to the minimum wages of workers employed by third persons (Decree No. 17/88 of 4 April 1988), the Government indicates that the Permanent Council for Social Dialogue has not been institutionalized. Therefore, no study on minimum wages has been carried out. The Committee takes note of this information and recalls the importance of minimum wages as a means of ensuring the application of the Convention. The Committee trusts that the Government’s next report will include information on any developments with respect to the determination, in cooperation with the social partners, of minimum and other wage rates in the various sectors.

Collective agreements. With reference to its previous comments regarding the application of the principle in the banking and telecommunications sectors, the Committee hopes that the Government will provide the requested statistics on the distribution of women and men according to job category and their corresponding wages in these sectors once they have been communicated.

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Enforcement. Referring to its previous comments regarding the important role played by the labour inspectorate to promote the application of the Convention, the Committee welcomes the information that training has been given to the labour inspectors, in which many women participated. The Committee encourages the Government to continue supporting such training activities and it would be grateful if the Government would indicate in its next report the manner in which these training courses have given attention to the specific role of the labour inspectorate in enforcing and promoting the principle of equal pay for men and women for work of equal value.