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

The Committee has taken note of the Government's report and the information provided in response to the Committee's previous comments.

1. In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that the Government would henceforth make efforts to evaluate the job and not the worker in order to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration, particularly in the case of persons performing work of a different nature but of equal value. It notes that, under the Structural Adjustment Programme, reforms in the private sector are contemplated and an administrative reform project is in progress to develop a job evaluation system that will apply the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value even if the work is of a different nature. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any progress in that connection.

2. The Committee also noted previously that the classification of workers by occupational category, which dated from 1976, did not reflect the position of all the social partners owing to the situation in the country with regard to industrial relations. The Committee notes from the statement made by the Government in its report that the war situation prevailing in Rwanda has made it impossible to establish an association of employers and that the desirability of changing the classification in force will be examined later. The Committee points out that, according to the information given in the Government's reports, the present categories have been determined by the public authorities on the basis of practical considerations and their effects on the level of skill and occupational efficiency, discarding any classification by paper qualifications. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to supply in its next report exact information on developments in the situation.

3. The Committee points out that section 82 of the Labour Code provides that "under equal conditions as to work, vocational skill and efficiency, wages shall be equal for all workers irrespective of sex". The Committee draws the Government's attention to the wording of Article 1, subparagraph (b), of the Convention, which specifies that equal remuneration for men and women means "for work of equal value". Referring to its General Survey of 1986 on equal remuneration, and in particular to paragraphs 19 to 21 and 44 to 65, and pointing out that it has no information from which to assess how the principle of equal remuneration laid down in section 82 of the Labour Code is applied in practice (in particular with regard to wages above the legal minimum), the Committee asks the Government to take measures to bring section 82 into harmony with the terms of the Convention.

4. Furthermore, the Committee noted previously that the labour administration made use of section 181 of the Labour Code to penalise employers who contravened the principle of equal wages laid down in section 82 because no specific penalty for non-compliance with section 82 was prescribed by the Code. The Committee therefore asks the Government to take measures for the prescription by law of specific penalties for any breach by employers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women.

5. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the measures taken to supervise the application of the provisions of law concerning equal wages, and in particular the activities of the labour inspectorate (violations detected, penalties imposed), and also on the decisions of the courts on the subject.

6. The Committee also asks the Government to supply the following information with its next report: (a) figures showing the distribution of men and women at different levels of the central administration; and (b) statistics on wage rates and the average earnings of men and women, if possible by occupation, branch of activity, seniority and level of qualifications, together with information on the corresponding proportion of women.

7. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the wage table for the central administration appeared to mention only basic wages. The Committee points out that Article 1, subparagraph (a), of the Convention specifies that the term "remuneration" includes all the elements that are added to wages (premiums, allowances, emoluments in kind, etc.). The Committee again asks the Government to supply precise indications as to how elements of remuneration other than the basic wage or salary are accorded.