Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2007, publiée 97ème session CIT (2008)

1. Legislation. The Committee recalls that section 24 of the Labour Standards Act provides that “no employer shall establish or maintain differences in wages between male and female employees employed in the same business who are performing, under the same working conditions, the same work or jobs regarding similar skill, effort and responsibility”. Over the years, the Committee has indicated on various occasions that section 24 is more restrictive than the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as contained in the Convention, for the reasons set out in its 2006 general observation (see paragraph 3). In its general observation, the Committee noted the importance of giving full legislative expression to the principle of the Convention, providing not only for equal remuneration for equal, the same or similar work, but also prohibiting pay discrimination that occurs in situations where men and women perform different work that is nevertheless of equal value (paragraph 6). The Committee therefore asks the Government to ensure that section 24 of the Labour Standards Act is amended as soon as possible in order to give full expression to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Please indicate any further developments in this regard.

2. Objective job evaluation in the public service. The Committee notes that the documents provided by the Government concerning the employee assessment and development review deal with the assessment of the performance of individual public service employees, rather than objective job evaluation as referred to in Article 3 of the Convention (i.e. an evaluation of the tasks of the different positions on the basis of objective criteria). Recalling that the Government previously reported that a job evaluation manual was being used by the Establishment, Personnel and Training Department, the Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of this job evaluation manual.

3. Awareness raising. The Committee notes the Government’s activities in the area of awareness raising on gender equality. It asks the Government to continue to provide such information, including indications on how the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is being promoted through these activities.