Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes the adoption of the Act respecting equality of opportunities, published on 22 May 2000, the objective of which is to integrate and coordinate the action to be taken by the State and civil society to eliminate any type of discrimination against women and to achieve equality for men and women before the law. It notes that section 44 of the Act (in Chapter IV on equality of opportunities in work and social security) provides that the Secretariat of State in labour and social security offices shall require equal wages for equal work, without discrimination whatsoever, provided that the job, the working day and the conditions respecting efficiency and seniority are also equal. The Committee reminds the Government that the Convention requires the establishment of equal remuneration for men and women workers "for work of equal value", and that in selecting the "value" of work as the basis for comparison between the work of men and women, the Convention has a broader meaning than the principle of "equal remuneration for the same work" (see the 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration, paragraph 19). The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report on any measure that has been taken or is envisaged to give effect to the principle of the Convention, and if it would indicate whether it is envisaging amending section 44 of the Act respecting equality of opportunities in order to set forth the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

2. Article 2 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the Government, the disparity in wage levels between men and women in the public service is due to the existence of vertical segregation, based on the fact that men in the public sector occupy more senior and highly paid jobs. The Committee once again recalls that in order to overcome both vertical and horizontal segregation at work, the mere adoption of legislation on equal remuneration does not suffice: active measures are also required to eliminate direct wage discrimination and to change traditional attitudes to the role of women in society and on the labour market, which may result in indirect discrimination. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on any measures taken and any programme implemented in relation to the public service. The Committee also once again asks the Government to provide information on the criteria used in the classification of the various jobs in the public administration, with an indication of the salaries for the above jobs, as well as statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various positions and at the various jobs of the public service.

3. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the statistical data provided by the Government, women represent 34 per cent of all total of persons engaged in the labour market in Honduras. The Government’s last report shows that, in February 2000, 70 per cent of the workforce in the export processing enterprises sector was made up of women workers. According to the Government, this high level of women in the export processing sector is due to vocational guidance and training programmes and the establishment of welfare services for women workers with family responsibilities. In this context, the Committee notes that the minimum monthly wage in export processing zones in Honduras (US$78) is higher than the national minimum wage per month (US$67) (see ILO, Labour and social issues relating to export processing zones, 1998, page 29). The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the particular situation of women workers in export processing zones and notes that, although the access of women to jobs in these zones has increased, they tend to be assigned to types of work at the lowest professional levels and to receive remuneration that is lower than that of men. As a result, many women workers in these zones only perform repetitive and semi-skilled work and receive a minimum of training (idem., page 32). The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the programmes and welfare services mentioned above in the export processing sector, including information on the number of women benefiting from these services. The Committee asks the Government to provide statistical data on the distribution by sex of jobs in export processing enterprises, including the distribution of men and women in the various jobs and at the various levels in export processing enterprises, and the corresponding wages.

4. Noting the absence of overall statistical data in the Government’s report, the Committee recalls that adequate statistical information is essential to enable it to undertake a proper examination of the application of the principle of equal remuneration. It would therefore be grateful if the Government would continue providing statistical information disaggregated by sex in future reports, as set out in its general observation of 1998 under this Convention.

5. Article 3. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the information provided on the methods used to carry out an objective evaluation of jobs to establish different wage rates. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to paragraphs 138-152 of its General Survey on equal remuneration and reiterates its request for the Government to indicate whether there are methods for the objective evaluation of jobs, within the meaning of the above paragraphs, and if so to provide detailed information on these methods.