Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Repetition

Article 1 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislative developments and enforcement. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the adoption of the Employment and Industrial Relations Code (EIRC) in 2015, which repealed the Employment Ordinance, 1977, (Cap. 30). The Committee notes that, like section 75D(1) of the Employment Ordinance, section 114(1) the EIRC provides that “an employer shall pay men and women employees equal remuneration for work of equal value”. It also notes from the Government’s report that this legislation is enforced through scheduled inspections with new inspection procedures and checklist, and that so far there have been no cases of complaints in relation to the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that no trainings for judges and labour inspectors regarding equal remuneration for work of equal value has been conducted yet. Noting this information, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the lack of complaints can indeed indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, lack of awareness of rights, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals. It can also indicate that the system of recording violations is insufficiently developed (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 870). It would also like to recall that as wage discrimination cannot be tackled effectively unless action is taken simultaneously to deal with its sources, it is important to address equal remuneration in the context of the more general rights and protections regarding equality and non-discrimination (see the 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 712–719). The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the manner in which it ensures the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and, in particular, to describe any actions undertaken to address the gender pay gap and promote equal remuneration in the broader context of gender equality, and to provide information on the new procedures and checklist for labour inspections mentioned above; and (ii) the number of violations detected and fines imposed by labour inspectors, if any, as well as the number of complaints lodged and their outcome. The Committee encourages the Government to take measures to raise awareness among workers, employers and their organizations, of the right of workers to equal remuneration for work of equal value provided by section 114(1) of the EIRC and the Convention, and avenues for dispute resolution. The Committee also encourages the Government to organize and provide appropriate training to labour inspectors and judges in this regard.

Article 2(2). Minimum wage. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the national minimum wage was set at AUD$ 1.3 an hour for local businesses and companies and was implemented on 1 November 2016. The Government states that the minimum wage does not make any distinction based on gender, and that, in Kiribati, the lowest paid are not only confined to women, but also to those – both men and women – who work in more menial jobs. While noting this information, the Committee notes with interest that, pursuant to section 51(g) of the EIRC, the Decent Work Advisory Board has to consider “the right to equal remuneration for work of equal value” when it makes minimum wage recommendations. The Committee asks the Government to provide any available information, disaggregated by sex, on the impact of the adoption of a new minimum wage on the average wages of women and men, and thereby the gender pay gap, and the manner in which it is ensured in practice that, when fixing the minimum wage, the Decent Work Advisory Board takes into account the principle of the Convention.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Private and public sectors. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to develop and implement objective job evaluation in the public and private sectors. It also requested the Government to indicate how it is ensured that the criteria used to determine the salary scales in the National Conditions of Service are free from gender bias and that male and female workers in the public sector have access to all additional payments – which are part of their remuneration in accordance with the Convention – on an equal footing. The Government indicates that there is no form of job appraisals currently in force in the private sector and that there are no criteria in place ensuring that salary scales for public servants are free from gender bias. It adds that the Public Service Office is working on improving the current job appraisal. In this regard, in 2018, a study has been conducted in the public sector with the aim of eliminating current pay discrepancies, ensuring positions are being remunerated and compensated fairly, and improving the job appraisal in the public sector. The Committee recalls that, when establishing job classification and therefore corresponding salary scales, whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias: it is important to ensure that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out are not discriminatory, either directly or indirectly. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting, thereby possibly introducing a gender bias in the classification of jobs (see the 2012 General Survey, paragraph 701). As regards the public sector, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the findings of the 2018 study to eliminate pay discrepancies in the public sector and their implementation, indicating any improvement made with respect to the method and criteria used as well as any wage adjustments made. Concerning the private sector, the Committee also asks the Government to take steps to develop and implement objective job evaluation methods and provide information in this regard.

Article 4. Cooperation with social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, further to the adoption of the EIRC, the tripartite Decent Work Agenda Steering Committee (DWASC) was replaced by the tripartite Decent Work Advisory Board (DWAB), one of its functions being making recommendations on the implementation of international labour standards. The Committee also notes that, in accordance with section 67(2)(b) of the EIRC, “a collective agreement shall contain ..., if the collective agreement regulates the remuneration rates of employees, a clause providing for equal remuneration for work of equal value for women and men under the collective agreement”. The Committee asks the Government to provide: (i) extracts of collective agreements containing such a clause; and (ii) information on any activities carried out by the social partners, including under the auspices of the Decent Work Advisory Board, regarding the promotion and implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Statistics. In reply to the Committee’s request for statistics disaggregated by sex on wages in the public and private sectors, the Government indicates that the Ministry is currently undertaking measures to improve its data collection and cannot provide such information at the moment. Noting this information, the Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to collect and compile data, disaggregated by sex, on the participation of men and women in the labour market and their respective earnings, if possible, by sector of economic activity and occupation.