Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

The Committee notes the Government's report and the information supplied in reply to its previous comments.

1. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to the provisions contained in sections 3, 5(XI), 56, 86, 133 and 164 of the Federal Labour Act and section 4 of the Constitution respecting the application of the principle of equal remuneration for equal work and the principle of equal treatment, under which it would appear that there is no protection ensuring the principle of equal remuneration for work that is of equal value but of a different nature. The Committee notes the Government's statement that neither in Convention No. 100 nor Recommendation No. 190 is it envisaged that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value should apply to work of a different nature. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the Committee's 1986 General Survey, and in particular to paragraph 20, in which it noted that the reference to "job content" was eliminated from the definition of work of equal value and transferred to a separate provision, which became Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee wishes to point out that the concept of work of equal value, in accordance with Convention No. 100, applies to different jobs through the objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed, as set out in the above Article of the Convention.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that this concept of work of equal value is the same as the concept referred to by the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration and the Confederation of Chambers of Industry (CONCAMIN) in its comments. The Committee refers in particular to the difficulties in the application of this concept, referred to by the CONCAMIN. It considers that remuneration that varies according to the quality of sporting achievement or artistic output is not incompatible with the concept of work of equal value, which does not imply that there should be a single wage scale nor a restriction on freedom to negotiate terms and conditions of employment as indicated by the CONCAMIN.

The Committee also notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and by the above two bodies on the measures that have been taken to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration set out in the various provisions of the national Constitution and legislation. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to take measures to promote the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value through the objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed. The Committee asks the Government to continue to supply information in this respect.

2. The Committee notes the statistics supplied by the Government on the number of persons employed in 1990 by branch of economic activity by sex, in which it notes, in particular, a concentration of women in the communications and services sectors. The Committee refers to paragraph 22 of its 1986 General Survey, in which it states that "more generally, and in spite of the difficulties associated with a broad comparison of jobs, the fact that women workers are more heavily concentrated in certain jobs and in certain sectors of activity has to be taken into account so as to avoid or redress a biased evaluation of qualities traditionally considered as "peculiar to women". The Committee also notes the Government's statement that it is not currently feasible to obtain statistics describing the situation of employed persons in the private sector. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to take the necessary measures to collect and compile statistics by sex, wage and branch of activity, particularly in relation to occupations in which women workers are concentrated.

3. The Government states that the labour inspection services are responsible for supervising the implementation of all legal measures and not exclusively those relating to equal remuneration, and that there are no studies and statistics available which show the existence of differential wage rates that are contrary to the above principle. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to supply information on the results of the work of the labour inspection services in relation to the application of the relevant legal provisions.