Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report and the statistical data and documentation attached.

1. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Act exempting workshops with five or fewer employees from the application of the Labour Code has not been communicated to the executive power with a view to its entry into force as the Government considers that the Act contravenes international labour standards. Instead a collective agreement has been concluded between the National Employers’ Confederation and the National Central of the Islamic Labour Councils (December 2001) to cover these enterprises. The Committee notes that section 1-D of the agreement defines wages as " the amount paid in cash or in kind, or a combination thereof, paid to the worker for the work". The Committee also notes that section 19 of the agreement states that "males and females shall be paid equal wages for the performance of equal work under equal conditions". While welcoming this provision on equal remuneration, the Committee must point out that its scope is narrower than that of the principle enshrined in Article 1(b) of the Convention which calls for equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of "equal value". The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that the employees covered by the agreement are also entitled to equal remuneration for work of equal value.

2. With regard to the fixing of rates of remuneration and the application of the principle in the public sector, the Committee notes that the Council of Ministers sets the minimum wage for public servants. It further notes that the Government merely repeats previous statements that salaries of public sector employees are paid without discrimination based on sex, as salaries are based on the type of job, the education and the experience of the employee. The Committee recalls once more that, without statistical information on salary scales in the public service, the Committee is unable to assess the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice. It therefore reiterates its request to the Government to supply sex disaggregated data on the salary scales and the distribution of men and women employed in the various occupations and at the different levels of the public sector.

3. With regard to the private sector, the Committee notes that the national minimum wage for 2002 has been set at 23,382 rials. The Government also indicates that for enterprises of 50 or more employees, the remuneration system and methods of payment are in accordance with job classifications plans, and rates of remuneration are based on the nature and functions of the job without consideration of the sex of the worker. The Committee notes from the statistics on the employment and salaries of men and women in manufacturing establishments of more than ten employees, that overall women’s monthly salaries (i.e. wages and non-wage payments) were 69.35 per cent of men’s in 1998 and decreased to 67.50 per cent and 67.81 per cent in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The statistics also indicate that the non-wage monthly payments of female employees only amounted to 59.71 per cent of the non-wage monthly payments of men in 1998, and further decreased to 56.12 per cent and 56.65 per cent in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the underlying causes for these wage differentials between men and women employees in the manufacturing industry and on the measures taken or contemplated to reduce the wage gap between men and women in this industry. Please also provide information, including statistical data, on the distribution of men and women in various occupations and their corresponding earnings in other sectors of the economy.

4. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any reply to its requests for information on the implementation of the regulations regarding employment assessments in the different workplaces, and asks the Government to provide this information in its next report.

5. With regard to the procedure for the settlement of labour disputes concerning sex discrimination cases, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that in the case of sex discrimination with regard to the fixing of rates of remuneration, the dispute settlement authorities have taken decisions in accordance with the law. It reiterates its request to the Government to provide more detailed information, including statistics, of disputes concerning contravention of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value as well as information on how they have been resolved.