Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report and the attached documentation.

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Application in law. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the right to equal treatment and the principle of non-discrimination were firmly entrenched in the Constitution of Singapore, which states in article 12(a) that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection before the law. However, neither the Constitution nor the Employment Act contains specific provisions banning sex discrimination or requiring equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Government is asked to indicate whether it intends to enact legislation providing for equal remuneration in order to apply the Convention.

2. Application in practice. The Committee notes the Tripartite Declaration on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Performing Work of Equal Value by which the National Trades Union Congress, the Singapore National Employers’ Federation and the Ministry of Manpower affirm their commitment to the principle embodied in the Convention. It also notes that employers’ organizations, trade unions and the Government agreed to insert an appropriate clause in collective agreements to ensure that employers adhere to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value at the company level. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in inserting such clauses in collective agreements and to provide examples of such clauses and agreements. Please also clarify which avenues of redress and remedies are available to men and women who consider that they have received unequal remuneration for work of equal value based on sex. Please indicate whether there are any other mechanisms, in addition to collective bargaining, to determine rates of remuneration and on the manner in which they promote and ensure the application of the Convention.

3. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee draws to the Government’s attention the fact that the Convention promotes objective job evaluation on the basis of the work performed as a means to give effect to the provisions of the Convention. Please indicate the measures taken or envisaged to promote objective job evaluation in the private and public sector.

4. Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

5. Part V of the report form. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, in recent years, women have considerably improved their position in the labour market and, as a result, the remuneration received by women has also increased. The Committee asks the Government to provide, as far as possible, statistical information on the earnings of men and women in accordance with the Committee’s 1998 general observation (attached for ease of reference). Please also provide statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various economic sectors and occupations.