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

The Committee has noted with interest the detailed information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the number of complaints made to the Equal Status Ombud concerning equal pay contraventions under section 5 of the Equal Status Act seem to have become stabilised at a relatively low level in relation to the pay inequalities that still exist. The Government emphasises that though it is not unusual for wage inequalities to be corrected without reference to the Ombud (especially as employee organisations have been making more active use of the Act) it must conclude that the public still has too little information about the Act and the mechanisms of appeal. Moreover, states the Government, it is also likely that some of those with the necessary knowledge choose not to complain: the high rate of unemployment is probably one explanation for this situation.

As to the nature of the complaints dealt with by the Ombud, the Committee has noted that most complaints concern basic remuneration; complaints with respect to other supplements, bonuses or benefits have diminished. The Committee notes with interest, however, that the Ombud has initiated an inquiry into a private sector agreement which excludes from severance pay those employees filling less than 50 per cent of a position. It notes that the Ombud will consider whether this represents indirect discrimination in view of the fact that those excluded from the agreement are primarily women.

The Committee has also noted that some questions of principle have been determined by the Equal Status Appeals Board and by the Labour Disputes Court concerning the scope of comparison for the purposes of equal pay. For example, it has been determined by the Appeals Board that comparisons in job appraisal do not have to be made between workers who are employed concurrently; and a judgement of the Labour Disputes Court has recognised that different occupations may be regarded as comparable if there are similarities as regards training for the occupation and the job assignments involved and if the employees in the different occupations work with some degree of collaboration at the same workplace. In this connection, the Committee notes that the Equal Status Ombud considers that comparisons between workers with different types of specialised training should be further encouraged. Noting also from the report that the Equal Status Act is at present under revision, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any amendments made to the Act; and to continue to furnish details on the outcome of equal pay matters dealt with by the Ombud and the above-mentioned courts.

2. The Committee notes that as part of a modernisation of the public sector, new wage determination systems have been introduced for the central and local governments. The objective of this initiative is to provide greater flexibility and opportunities for the differentiation of pay according to education or training, practice or competence, to improve the possibility of recruiting and keeping qualified workers by reducing the differences in pay between the private and the public sectors; and to decentralise decision-making and give individual undertakings the opportunity to use pay as a means of achieving better results.

The Committee further notes that the Equal Status Ombud and the Equal Status Council have drawn the attention of the Minister of Labour and Government Administration to the need to ensure that these flexible wage systems do not increase pay inequalities between women and men. These bodies have pointed out that the criteria for determining wages must be non-discriminatory in practice. They have stated in this regard that while many criteria are theoretically neutral as regards gender (e.g. willingness to work overtime, to take on jobs with difficult working hours) in practice they create greater difficulties for women than for men because women still bear the main responsibility for caring for their families. Thus requirements are needed to link performance specifically with work done during normal working hours (with appropriate adjustments for part-time work); and it is necessary to stipulate that absence in connection with statutory maternity leave must not have negative consequences for performance evaluation. The equal status bodies have also pointed out that, in hiring, it must be recognised that women and men have different ways of marketing themselves and men often find it easier both to make demands and to have them accepted. Further, existing pay inequalities between women and men will be aggravated if a decisive weight is given to the fact that an applicant is considered to have a high market value or already occupies a highly paid position.

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to report on the impact these new wage-fixing systems have on the application of the Convention.

3. The Committee notes with interest from the report, as well as the information supplied by the Government in its last report on Convention No. 111, that a range of national projects are being undertaken as part of the Government's participation in the Nordic Equal Pay Project (1989-93), including an information campaign on wage differences with the involvement of all relevant agencies. The campaign is directed at the 1992 collective wage negotiations and focuses on structural pay inequalities, that is, the fact that women's work is paid systematically less than men's. In this regard, the Committee has noted the comments transmitted by the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) under Convention No. 111, which pointed out that the real problem in Norway is that positions held mainly by women have lower wages than those held mainly by men (rather than that there are wage differences between women and men in the same positions).

The Committee requests the Government to supply information regarding the impact of the above-mentioned campaign, as well as those other national projects on which the Government has reported, in reducing the wage differential.

4. The Committee notes that pursuant to the framework agreement on equal status concluded between the Federation of Trade Unions and the Confederation of Business and Industry 1981, and revised in 1985, specific agreements have been concluded in a number of enterprises but that, reportedly, the further development of agreements has been inhibited by difficulties owing to, among other reasons, the high rate of unemployment. The Committee requests the Government to provide details on any progress made in the conclusion of these agreements.

5. The Committee notes with interest that the Federation of Trade Unions denoted equal remuneration as one of their priority areas for the period 1990-93. In this connection, it notes that a committee of representatives from employers' and workers' associations was appointed during the collective wage agreement negotiations to discuss possible strategies for achieving equal remuneration; and that this has taken the form of a project aimed, inter alia, at investigating ways of making job appraisal systems into appropriate instruments for reducing pay inequalities. The Committee requests the Government to furnish details concerning this project.

6. The Committee has also noted with interest the statistical data supplied by the Government with its report which show an acceleration in the trend towards greater equality, following a period of stagnation in the relative earnings of women and men in the 1980s. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply such data in its future reports.