Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee welcomes the comprehensive information provided in the Government’s second report and notes with interest the adoption of the Act of the Kyrgyz Republic on the basic elements of state guarantees ensuring gender equality (Gender Equality Act), No. 60 of 12 March 2003.

1. Article 1(a) of the Convention. Definition of remuneration. The Committee notes that section 213 of the Labour Code defines wages to include “a money remuneration for work which an employer shall pay to an employee”. It further notes from the Government’s report the introduction of a system of bonuses and other material incentives, which do not form part of a worker’s usual wage rate, to promote increased efficiency, productivity and work quality. The Committee points out that the principle of the Convention applies to both the basic wage and also any additional emolument, paid in cash or in kind. It asks the Government to indicate how in practice the principle of equal remuneration is applied to payments in kind as well as additional payments such as long-service increments, supplements, bonuses or mission allowances so as to ensure that such payments do not give rise to discrimination on the basis of sex.

2. Article 1(b). Equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes that the Gender Equality Act aims to protect men and women from sex discrimination in labour relations and provides in section 17 that persons of different sex are entitled to equal wages given the same qualifications and the same conditions of work. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the principle set out in the Convention goes beyond a reference to identical or similar work and that equal remuneration for men and women workers has to be understood as also covering different work performed by men and women but which is of equal value. The Committee, therefore, asks the Government to consider amending section 17 of the Gender Equality Act to bring the law into conformity with the principle of the Convention and to indicate how the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is applied in practice. Please also indicate whether the Act applies equally to the public and private sectors and provide information on what measures have been adopted or are being contemplated to implement the provisions of the Gender Equality Act.

3. Article 2(2)(a). National laws or regulations. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s adoption of a wage reform policy (2003–10) which has as one of its main objectives the prohibition of discrimination against workers on a variety of grounds including sex. It also notes from the Government’s report that Decree No. 141 of 18 March 2004 approved a plan of measures to implement this policy, including proposals to improve the wage organization system in the public sector and to regulate wage setting in the private sector. The Committee asks the Government to outline what measures it has taken or foresees under this wage reform policy to promote and ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and to keep the Committee informed on both the progress and measured outcomes of this policy’s implementation.

4. Article 2(2)(c). Collective agreements. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, in the private sector, wages are fixed on the basis of collective agreements or employment contracts. Additionally, in accordance with the wage reform policy (2003–10), the Committee notes that wage rates and salary scales in enterprises not under state ownership shall be based on collective agreements at the sectoral or enterprise level, but shall not be less than the minimum wage. The Committee asks the Government to explain how it promotes and ensures the application of the principle of equal remuneration in the negotiation and execution of collective agreements setting wages above the minimum wage, and to supply copies of any existing agreements along with its next report. It also asks the Government to provide statistics on the number of workers, disaggregated by sex, covered by these collective agreements and, where possible, the number of men and women employed in the private sector whose wages have not been set through collective bargaining.

5. Public sector. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that wages in the public sector are determined according to the Public Employees Act and that the Government has approved a single wage scale, differentiated between scientific, health, social security, education, culture and sports, archives and hydrometry services. The Committee also notes that the salary scale includes monthly increments, wage supplements, long-service increments, bonuses and other additions, which are paid to employees for conscientiousness, efficiency, quality of work and other achievement-based criteria. The Committee notes, however, that despite the Government’s indication, it did not receive the single wage scale for the public service as described in the Government’s report. The Committee, therefore, asks the Government to send a copy of this wage scale, along with statistical information on the number of public employees by occupation and skill group disaggregated by sex. It further asks the Government to provide information on how it ensures that the principle of equal remuneration is applied with respect to the abovementioned additional payments.

6. Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the statement in the Government’s report that under the Labour Relations Act, a permanent national tripartite committee was established to act as the organ of social partnership in Kyrgyzstan. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on how the work of this tripartite committee has contributed to the application of the principle of equal remuneration. It also urges the Government to consider more active measures to involve the employers’ and workers’ organizations in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, including raising the awareness of the social partners on their vital contribution to the effective implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to provide information, in its next report, on the particular steps taken in this regard.

7. Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement and relevant judicial decisions. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Gender Equality Act is monitored by the Attorney-General (section 28) and that enforcement is accomplished through gender rights reports by state authorities, independent voluntary organizations and other non-governmental organizations. It notes in particular that the National Council on Women, the Family and Gender Development is also responsible for ensuring and monitoring compliance with the Act (sections 25, 34 and 35) and is mandated in this respect to publish annual reports. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the work of the National Council with respect to the promotion and application of the principle of the Convention. It also asks the Government to provide details on the number and outcome of equal pay complaints submitted under the Gender Equality Act. Noting further the Government’s addendum to its report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW/C/KGZ/2/Add.1), the Committee notes that new “regulations on verification check-ups” have been introduced for the State Labour Inspectorate. Noting that these new regulations include mandatory assessments of the working conditions of women, the Committee once again hopes the Government will provide information in its next report on the activities of the State Labour Inspectorate with respect to the principle of equal remuneration, particularly relating to the training of inspectors, inspections conducted, infringements recorded as well as any resulting court cases and sanctions imposed.

8. Part V of the report form. Practical application. Gender wage gap. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee reiterates that according to the abovementioned government report to CEDAW (CEDAW/C/KGZ/2, 7 October 2002) the average monthly wage of women in 2001 was 67.6 per cent of the average monthly wage of men. It also noted the statement in the report that women earn less than men given that they work in sectors of the economy that are less well paid compared to the sectors where men work. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information with its next report on measures taken or envisaged to combat the wage differentials between men and women, to increase the number of women in male-dominated sectors and to ensure that female-dominated occupations are not being undervalued. As requested above, it encourages the Government to provide statistical information disaggregated by sex, which will allow the Committee to evaluate adequately the nature, extent and causes of salary differentials between men and women in both the public and private sectors.