Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report, including the statistical information provided.

1. The figures contained in the Government's report indicate that women constitute 38.7 per cent of the total number of formal sector employees nationwide. Women constitute 36.4 per cent of employees in state-owned units, 44.5 per cent of employees in urban collective-owned units and 47.5 per cent of employees in other ownership units. The figures provided indicate that women predominate in the following sectors: retail (52.3 per cent); restaurants (57.9 per cent); residential services (51.9 per cent); health care (56.9 per cent); hotels (56.4 per cent); and recreational services (50.6 per cent). The Committee notes, however, that the statistical information provided does not permit an evaluation of the application of the Convention, in that it does not reflect the distribution of women at different levels and in different occupations by sector, nor are the average earnings shown for each sector disaggregated by sex. Accordingly, the Government is requested to provide, in its next report, the statistical information (for both the public and private sectors) requested in the general observation on this Convention.

2. The Committee refers to its previous comments on whether there exist measures to ensure non-discrimination on the basis of sex in respect of the wage components, in addition to housing and welfare benefits, which do not form part of the minimum wage. The Government report makes reference to section 3 of the Interim Provisions on Payment of Wages (the "Interim Provisions"), which provides that the term "wages" refers to the remuneration paid to labourers by employing units in various forms according to the provisions of labour contracts. While noting that this definition appears to be sufficiently broad to cover the elements of remuneration set out in the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how the principle of equal remuneration is applied to the various forms of payments covered by the Interim Provisions.

3. The Government states that China is in the process of decentralizing the wage-fixing practice and that it is examining methods to compare and assess the value of work in different industries and occupations with the goal of eliminating inequality of remuneration, particularly in those occupations that are female-dominated. In this context, the Government indicates that it attaches great importance to the constructive comments of the Committee and that it agrees with the ILO experts' explanation of the concept of "equal remuneration for work of equal value" and "the procedures of objective appraisal of jobs" presented at the Seminar on Equality and Women's Rights in Beijing in 1996. The Government indicates that this information will be of assistance in the implementation of the post and skill wage system, particularly in occupations where women are heavily concentrated. The Committee notes that the post and skill wage system uses a post assessment and an accomplishment assessment in its appraisal of jobs. The post assessment uses the criteria of skill, responsibility, strength and working conditions to classify the labour requirements of different posts. The accomplishment assessment entails an analysis of the skill and vocational levels of workers and the quality and quantity of the labour rendered by the worker. The Government indicates its belief that the post and skill system of wage determination introduced in China on a trial basis in 1992 gives due consideration to the psychological and technical advantages of women.

4. The Committee recalls that, since men and women tend to perform different jobs, it is essential to develop a method for measuring the relative value of jobs with varying content, in order to effectively eliminate discrimination in the remuneration of men and women workers. However, factors and factor weights used in job evaluations may be biased in that they fail to give sufficient consideration to qualities regarded as essentially "feminine." Some of the criteria used in assessing the post, such as strength and working conditions, may unduly favour men, whereas factors present in certain female-dominated occupations, such as care giving and human relations skills, may be undervalued (see General Survey on equal remuneration, ILO, 1986, paragraphs 138-145). In order to determine whether the post and skill wage system in fact permits an objective evaluation of the relative value of the different jobs performed by men and women workers and the elimination of gender-based pay differentials, the Committee again asks the Government to consider the possibility of undertaking an analysis of the actual situation of women as compared to men, in terms of their grading levels and remuneration.

5. The Committee notes the Government's statement that men and women workers receive the same remuneration for the same job and there exists no discrimination against women workers in China. The Committee nevertheless recalls its previous comments that the Government's second report on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (1994) stated that the phenomenon of "equal work with unequal pay still exists in some areas and units" and that the Government's "Programme for the Development of Chinese Women (1995-2000)" targets the implementation of equal pay for equal work for men and women workers in the city and countryside, the Committee would welcome information from the Government regarding activities undertaken under the Programme to promote and secure the principle of the Convention. The Committee would also welcome the inclusion of information in the Government's next report regarding measures to secure and promote equal pay taken in cooperation with employers' and workers' organizations.

6. The Government indicates that there have been no complaints of pay discrimination during the reporting period and that there are therefore no available statistics. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the number of labour inspections carried out in employing units with regard to equal pay, the number of violations found, and the action taken.