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

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s first report and asks the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

1. The Committee notes that article 36(2) of the Constitution provides that Khmer citizens "of either sex receive equal pay for equal work". It asks the Government to confirm that this provision applies to the private sector as well as to the public sector.

2. The Committee notes that section 106 of the Labour Act of 1997 provides for an "equal wage", regardless of sex, for "work of equal conditions, professional skill and output". It further notes that the definition of "remuneration" in the Act excludes from the definition of "wage", health care, legal family allowance, travel expenses and benefits granted exclusively to help the worker do his or her job. Drawing attention to the broad definition of remuneration contained in the Convention, which includes these types of remuneration, it asks the Government how it ensures that discrimination in remuneration as between men and women for work of equal value does not occur for the types of remuneration excluded from the coverage of the Labour Act.

3. The Committee notes that the Labour Act contains two provisions that appear to give some protection to workers against discrimination in remuneration as between men and women for work of equal value: section 12, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in remuneration, and section 106, which provides that for work of equal conditions, professional skill and output, the wage must be equal for all workers regardless of their sex. Noting particularly the Government’s assertion that this Act was adopted with assistance from the ILO (among others), and that it "has taken into account (the Convention’s) principles and provisions", the Committee raises the following points with respect to the Act.

(a)  It notes that the Act does not define the term "remuneration". It accordingly asks the Government to clarify the meaning of this term included in section 12.

(b)  Noting that section 106 occurs in a section of the Labour Act entitled "Minimum wage", the Committee asks the Government to confirm that section 106 covers not only the minimum wage, but any wages earned by workers.

(c)  The Committee reminds the Government that Article 1 of the Convention provides for equal remuneration as between men and women workers for work of equal value. Accordingly, it asks the Government to confirm that the phrase "work of equal conditions, professional skill and output" in section 106 refers more broadly to all work of equal value. In the event that the quoted phrase has a narrower meaning under the Act, the Committee asks the Government if it is considering amending the Act to bring its coverage into line with the Convention.

(d)  The Committee notes that the Act excludes from its coverage civil servants, police personnel and those serving in the army, the military police and in air and maritime transportation, as to all of whom there exists specific legislation regulating their employment. At the same time, the Committee notes that the Act also excludes domestic workers from its coverage. With respect to these persons, it asks the Government to indicate how the Convention is applied to them.

4. The Committee asks the Government to supply general information on the methods in operation for determining rates of remuneration and the manner in which the application of the principle of equal remuneration is promoted and ensured in this respect.

5. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of collective agreements currently in force in the private sector, which include protection for equal remuneration for work of equal value, and to indicate the measures taken by employers’ and workers’ organizations to achieve equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value through those agreements.

6. The Committee recalls that the adoption of techniques to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs is critical to eliminating disparities in the remuneration levels of men and women, and it asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote an objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed.

7. Noting the Government’s explanation that cooperation between the Government and employers’ and workers’ groups occur through the Labour Advisory Committee, which is mandated to study labour problems, including problems relating to wages, vocational training, migration and other matters, the Committee asks the Government to provide specific information about the make-up and practical activities of this Committee, in so far as they bear on issues of equal remuneration.

8. The Committee notes that responsibility for enforcement of the Labour Act and related regulatory instruments lies with the office of labour inspectors and controllers. It asks information on inspections by this office, including relevant statistics on the number of labour inspections conducted, and on violations of the principles of the Convention discovered and remedies applied. Please also supply information on any complaints filed with judicial or dispute settlement bodies concerning unequal pay as between men and women.

9. The Committee notes the creation of the Commission on Human Rights and Receipt of Complaints, whose task is to identify human rights violations, and to receive complaints and transmit them to the competent authorities for appropriate action. It also notes the creation of the Office of the Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs, whose responsibility is to protect and promote women’s rights, in part by means of education, and which is also empowered to receive and handle complaints. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information regarding any activities or programmes of either of these bodies that directly relate to issues of equal remuneration of work of equal value, including any public information campaigns and other outreach programmes, as well as information on complaints received by either body from workers regarding equal remuneration. The Committee particularly asks the Government to forward the draft Women’s Code mentioned in the Government’s recent report to the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/81/Add.12), in so far as it pertains to issues of equal remuneration.

10. The Committee notes that the Government has provided little specific information on the practical application of the Convention. It asks the Government to provide such information, including (but not necessarily limited to) statistical data disaggregated by sex (as described in the 1998 general observation on the Convention), reports, guidelines and other publications.