Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

1. The Committee notes from the Government's report that section 25 of the chapter on fundamental human rights and freedoms of Act No. 7692 of 1993 (supplementing Act No. 7491 of 1991 on the principal constitutional provisions) provides for equality for all persons in and before the law, and proscribes discrimination on the basis of, inter alia, sex. The Committee also notes with interest that the Labour Code (Act No. 7961 of 1995) provides explicitly under section 115(1) for the employer to pay the same remuneration to men and women workers for work of equal value which, by virtue of section 110 of the Code, applies to wages paid both under individual and collective labour contracts. Noting that section 4 of the Labour Code excludes from its application those persons whose employment is regulated by other legislation, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific categories of workers so excluded and to provide details on the measures taken to apply to those persons or occupations the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide, in this regard, information on any measures taken to ensure the application of the Convention to civil servants. Please also indicate precisely the types of activities and persons excluded under section 5(a) of the Code.

2. The Committee is aware that a major project on wage policy, funded by the UNDP and implemented by the ILO on a tripartite basis, is being undertaken in the country with the broad aim of assisting the transition from a unilateral and centralized wage regulation system towards a more consultative and decentralized wage policy. The first phase of this project involved training the relevant officials from the different state agencies (Ministry of Labour and Industry, National Institute of Statistics, trade union and employer representatives) and the second phase, which commenced in January 1996, provides assistance in formulating and implementing a national pay reform policy. The Committee notes with interest that a tripartite committee on wages will be established in the framework of this new pay policy. Noting from the Government's report that no systems of job appraisal have so far been adopted, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, following the conclusion of the wage policy project, consideration will be given to introducing job evaluation systems, both to set wages in general and to ensure the application of the Convention. The Committee also hopes that, once wage statistics are maintained, the Government will be able to provide information on the relative earnings of men and women.

3. The Committee notes with interest that the Work and Family Department of the Ministry of Labour, Emigration, Social Protection and the Ex-politically Persecuted is holding seminars and courses with the participation of representatives of employment offices and workers' organizations on ILO standards and national legislation dealing with women workers' rights. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on any measures taken by the Work and Family Department, or by other organizations, to promote the observance of the Convention.

4. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the Labour Inspectorate to ensure the implementation of the equal pay provisions contained in section 115 of the Labour Code, including information on the number of inspections made, the incidence of wage discrimination detected and the action taken to redress any such occurrences.