Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Evaluation of gender wage gap. The Committee notes with interest the study published in 2007 by the Central Statistical and Economic Studies Service (STATEC) entitled “Equality for men and women: Myth or reality?”, Part II of which covers wage inequalities and reviews the various factors which may explain the wage gaps between men and women (factors related to human capital – age, education, nationality; factors related to the enterprise – type of employment, seniority, assignment of supervisory functions; geographical factors – place of residence; etc.). The analysis shows that women occupy an unfavourable situation in the wage scale (23 per cent of women earn under €2,000 a month, compared with 10 per cent of men) and that the proportion of women earning very high salaries is lower than that of men. The study also sets a figure for the gross average monthly wage gap, namely 19.6 per cent, which can be explained by the type of occupation exercised and by the sector of activity or branch. It also shows that, taking into account all the variables (human capital factors, sectoral effect, personal characteristics of employees), the sole fact of being a man increases the gross hourly wage by 15.7 per cent. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on developments in relation to wage gaps between men and women and their causes, including detailed statistics of the earnings of men and women by sector, educational level and professional category, with a view to evaluating the progress achieved in reducing the wage gaps.

Articles 2 and 4. Collective agreements. Cooperation with the social partners. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 162-12 of the Labour Code, all collective agreements shall necessarily envisage the means for the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women and shall contain provisions reflecting the outcome of collective bargaining on the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration. However, it observes that a study published in 2007 by the Ministry for Equality of Opportunity on “Equality between women and men in collective agreements” shows the very low impact of collective agreements in relation to securing wage equality between men and women. According to the study, which nevertheless emphasizes the vital role that can be played by collective agreements in this field, the clauses of collective agreements respecting equal remuneration are limited to recalling the principle (page 11) and the requirement to set out the means for the application of the principle is not given effect (page 12). The clauses of collective agreements do not in practice contain any tangible proactive measures to combat wage inequalities between men and women (page 12).

The Committee also notes that the Government has decided to maintain for a trial period, the duration of which is not specified, the requirement for the social partners to specify the means for the application of the principle, or in other words a requirement for negotiation. The Government indicates in its report that this requirement as to the means could subsequently be replaced by a requirement as to results. However, it emphasizes that the consultations held with the social partners show that they are reticent with regard to further regulation in the field of remuneration.

The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of section 162-12 of the Labour Code and any further steps taken in including a requirement as to results. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in cooperation with the social partners for the purpose of promoting the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Furthermore, noting that the report does not contain a reply to its previous comments on the negotiation of equality plans with regard to employment and remuneration in the context of collective agreements, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on the equality plans negotiated during the reference period, with an indication of their content in relation to equal remuneration and the impact of these measures on the pay gap between men and women.

The Committee notes the information provided on the implementation of the project “Wage equality: A challenge for democratic and economic development”, carried out in 2002, and the action taken to follow up the project, particularly the two training seminars organized in 2003 at the request of the social partners on the evaluation and classification of work functions. It also notes that the Ministry for Equality of Opportunity organized in April 2007 a conference entitled “Equality of women and men in employment: Reality or myth?” The objective of the conference was to inform the social partners of wage inequalities and outline their roles in this respect. A conference was also organized in June 2008 on wage equality between men and women, the objective of which was to present methods and tools for the achievement of wage equality and to exchange good practices. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in practice to combat the deep-rooted causes of the gender wage gap, such as horizontal and vertical professional segregation, particularly in terms of education and vocational training, with a view to encouraging women to diversify their professional choices and enable them to progress in their careers towards positions of responsibility. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the good practices identified in this respect.

Article 3 of the Convention. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the social partners expressed the wish to benefit from training and evaluation tools for the classification of functions, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises, and that the Government intends to respond to this request. The Committee also notes that the study referred to above, entitled “Equality for men and women: Myth or reality?”, finds that the criteria for the evaluation and classification of functions contained in certain collective agreements continue to favour male workers, as traditionally male criteria, such as effort and muscular fatigue, are still overvalued in relation to criteria relating to the jobs traditionally occupied by women (page 18). The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures adopted to encourage the social partners to make use of objective methods for the evaluation of jobs based on the work involved, and particularly to ensure that these methods are free from gender bias and do not result in those jobs in which women are predominant being undervalued.