Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

1. In its previous comments, the Committee has observed that, since ratifying the Convention more than 20 years ago, the Government has not furnished information which provides an adequate basis for assessing the application of the Convention. For the most part, the Government's reports have contained the type of broad statement repeated in its latest brief report, indicating that the principle of the Convention is applied and that no contraventions of its practical application have been reported. As concerns the legislative framework, the Government has relied on the narrow formulation of equal pay for equal work, contained in article 17(3)(e) of the Constitution and on the provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act, 1981, which exclude a large section of the workforce from its scope (namely, workers in establishments employing fewer than 50 persons, part-time workers, workers paid on commission or on a piece-rate basis, seasonal workers in agriculture, workers in merchant shipping or civil aviation). While the Government indicated previously that the National Labour Advisory Council was to review the coverage of the Act, no reference has been made to this matter in the Government's present report. Likewise, the Government has not provided sufficient information on the practical application of the Convention. 2. In its latest report, the Government states that sections 10 and 11 of the Wages Boards and Industrial Councils Act, 1990, deal extensively with the Convention. The Committee observes that this legislation has not been referred to previously by the Government. Moreover, as the Committee has not been able to locate a copy of the Act, it asks the Government to furnish the legislation and to provide information on its implementation. However, the Committee has located other recently-enacted legislation -- the National Salaries and Wages Commission Decree (No. 99 of 1993) -- which appears to be of significance to the application of the Convention, as it provides for the establishment of a commission with wide functions, inter alia: to advise the federal Government on national incomes policy; to encourage research on wages structure (including industrial, occupational and regional and any other similar factor, income distribution and household consumption patterns); to establish and run a data bank or other information centre relating to data on wages and prices or any other variable and for that purpose to collaborate with data collection agencies to design and develop an adequate information system; to examine, streamline and recommend salary scales applicable to each post in the public service; and to examine the salary structures in the public and private sectors and recommend a general wages framework with reasonable features which are in consonance with the national economy. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the functioning of the Commission, particularly as concerns any progress being made to collect data that would illustrate the extent to which the Convention is being applied in practice. It also hopes that any review of salary structures in the public and private sectors will take account of the requirements of the Convention and asks the Government to indicate any progress made in this regard. 3. Recalling paragraph 253 of its 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration, the Committee observes that it is hard to accept statements suggesting that the application of the Convention has not given rise to difficulties or that full effect is given to it, without further details being provided. It therefore trusts that the Government will reply to the above requests for information with as much detail as possible. The Committee also reminds the Government that the Office may be called upon to provide advice and technical assistance concerning the application of the Convention.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.

The Committee is raising other points in a request directly addressing the Government.