Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report along with the comments submitted by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the Confederation of Unions for Professionals (Unio), the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS), the Federation of Norwegian Commercial and Service Enterprises (HSH) and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Promotion of the principle of equal remuneration. The Committee notes with interest the creation of the Equal Pay Commission. It notes that the Commission’s work will focus on providing information on pay differences between men and women as well as considering the causes and measures to help eradicate these differences. The Committee notes that the social partners will also have a role in the functioning of the Commission through their participation in an appointed task force. It further notes that the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud and Tribunal were established on 1 January 2006, integrating the tasks of the former Gender Equality Ombud and Gender Equality Board of Appeals. The new agency assumes responsibility for enforcing the Gender Equality Act, including the equal pay provision under section 5. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the activities of both the Equal Pay Commission and the Equality and
Anti-discrimination Ombud and Tribunal and their impact towards achieving equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Please also include information on the number and outcome of equal pay cases addressed by these bodies.

2. Measures to address the gender wage gap. The Committee notes the information on wage differences between men and women in the report of the Technical Reporting Committee on Income Settlements (TRCIS). It notes in particular that, between 2004 and 2005, the gender pay gap decreased in a number of sectors including construction, business services, education and central government whereas the gap widened in retailing, hotels and restaurants, financial services and municipalities. It notes the Government’s indication that, in 2005, women’s monthly pay stood at 84.7 per cent of men’s earnings (including part-time employees). The Government explains that the main reason for this persistent pay gap is the fact that the Norwegian labour market remains highly segregated where male-dominated sectors and occupations have higher pay levels than female-dominated ones. The Government further states that pay differences exist in spite of the same levels of education or experience – a phenomenon confirmed by the TRCIS data showing that although women represented the majority of people with 4 years or less of university education (52 per cent), women in this category earned only 80.6 per cent of what men earned in 2005. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken or envisaged to reduce the wage gap and to ensure the application and practice of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

3. The Committee welcomes the information on the impact of the measures taken by the Government to promote women to positions of greater responsibility, specifically on corporate boards of directors. It notes in this respect that the rules relating to gender representation on boards of public limited companies (PLCs) came into force on 1 January 2006. The Government indicates that several ministries are involved in promoting the presence of women on company boards including through the use of a recruitment database for women interested in becoming board members. The Committee notes that the NHO is making similar efforts under a project entitled Female Future, which aims to change attitudes and motivate chief executive officers to recruit more women to management and board positions. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact of extending the gender balance rules to PLCs and on its other efforts to promote women to positions of greater responsibility. Noting that the NHO is expanding its Female Future programme by launching regional projects in 12 counties, the Committee asks the Government to indicate what impact this initiative has had on increasing the number of women managers and board members.

4. The Committee notes from the comments submitted by Unio that there is a lack of pay equality when comparing shift work performed by men and women in different sectors. Unio asserts that the shift plans in female-dominated sectors consist of more working hours than in male-dominated sectors and that, as a result, these women get paid less for their hourly work than men. The Committee notes that this concern is shared by LO, which indicates that it has raised the matter with the relevant authorities on several occasions. In this context, the Committee understands that the Government is considering the issue of balancing shift work (which is mainly used in the male-dominated sectors) and comparable types of rotation work (largely found in the female-dominated health and social sectors). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or under consideration to address the pay inequalities between men and women resulting from differences in shift work and rotation work arrangements.

5. Article 3. Job evaluation. The Committee understands that most national collective agreements were due for renegotiation in 2006. In this context, the Committee notes the LO’s indication that it asked for the preparation of an equal pay profile in its guidelines for the 2006 bargaining round. It also notes that Unio proposed to the Ministry of Children and Equality that the social partners and the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud meet to discuss the use of section 5 of the Gender Equality Act on equal pay and the use of the pay assessment tool “FAKIS” to measure the value and content of jobs in a neutral way. Unio points out that section 5 and “FAKIS” are rarely used in practice and that it is a challenge for the social partners to encourage a wider use of these tools to promote equal pay. The Committee also notes the completion of the three-year project investigating job assessment as a means of achieving equal pay, the results of which showed that job assessments can be an effective means for identifying pay differences between women and men, both within a single enterprise and between enterprises in different sectors. The Committee looks forward to receiving the full results of the job assessment project and asks the Government to forward a copy of the final report along with an indication of the follow-up measures anticipated as a result of the project’s findings. The Committee also asks the Government to include information in its next report on the national collective agreement negotiations and how pay assessments or pay profiles were used to integrate equal pay considerations into the bargaining process. Please also indicate what action the Government is taking in cooperation with the social partners to promote equal pay for men and women through an improved use of job evaluation tools.

6. Article 4. Activities of the social partners. The Committee notes from the comments submitted by the NHO that the Norwegian social partners have committed themselves through their international social partners to the Framework of Action on Gender Equality. The Framework includes four priority areas of action, namely: addressing gender roles, promoting women in decision-making, supporting work-life balance and tackling the gender pay gap. Based on their commitment to this Framework, the social partners have set up a working group to plan common activities towards meeting the four priorities and will report once a year to the European Union on the action taken in this regard. The Committee asks the Government to include information in its next report on the action taken by the social partners in the context of the Framework of Action on Gender Equality to promote the principle of equal remuneration and the results achieved. The Government is also requested to provide copies of any reports submitted by the social partners to the EU on progress made in meeting the Framework’s four priorities.

7. Part V of the report form. Collection of statistical information. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the final report of the Nordic project “Evaluating Equal Pay” will be completed by the end of 2006. The Committee looks forward to receiving a copy of this report along with a description of the key findings and recommendations as well as information on the follow-up measures taken as a result.