Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Congo (Ratification: 1999)

Other comments on C100

Observation

Direct Request

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The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report, due since 2018, has not been received. In light of its urgent appeal launched to the Government in 2021, the Committee proceeds with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal.

Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap. The Committee notes, from the 2020 Human Development Report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), that female participation in the labour market remains low at 46.7 percent. Furthermore, the income inequality Gini coefficient is estimated at 0.489. The Committee notes that, in its 2019 National-Level Review Report on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995 (Beijing + 25), the Government specifically highlights that the lack of sex-disaggregated data and reliable data on gender disparities hinders gender promotion and equality (page 5). It notes that a National Gender Policy was adopted in June 2017 together with an Action Plan for 2017-2021. The policy is based on five strategic priorities, among which the consolidation of gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as the strengthening of the role and position of women and girls in the economy and employment. It notes however that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern about: (1) the low enrolment and high dropout rates among girls in secondary school; (2) the high illiteracy rates among girls and women; (3) the continued low levels of employment of women; and (4) the fact that 70 per cent of women work in the informal sector, leaving them in most cases outside of the social protection scheme (CEDAW/C/COG/CO/7, 14 November 2018, paragraph 40). Noting the lack of statistics disaggregated by sex to assess the gender pay gap, and recalling that the collection and analysis of statistics on the earnings of men and women are a crucial means for assessing the remuneration levels of men and women and wage differentials, the Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to collect and compile data, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution of women and men in the various economic sectors and occupations, and their corresponding earnings, both in the public and private sectors. It also asks the Government to provide:

(i)the above information as well as any available statistical information on the gender pay gap;
(ii)information on the steps taken and the results achieved, particularly within the framework of the implementation of the National Gender Policy and Action Plan for 2017-2021, with a view to promoting women’s access to a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher pay, including by facilitating their access to education and vocational training and encouraging their transition from informal to formal employment.

Articles 1, 2(2)(a) and 3. Application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the public sector. The Committee recalls that section 98 of the General Civil Service Regulations (Act No. 021/089 of 14 November 1989) provides that civil servants are paid according to their grade based on established pay scales. It previously noted the Government’s repeated indication that pay scales for civil servants, drawn up by the authorities with the participation of the most representative workers’ trade union federations, are applicable to all public employees, without distinction as to gender. The Committee pointed out that pay scales applying to all public employees, without distinction as to sex, were not enough to exclude pay discrimination entirely; such discrimination can arise from the criteria applied in classifying jobs and from an undervaluation of the tasks performed largely by women, or from inequalities in the payment of some supplementary wage benefits. It requested the Government to examine the possibility of reviewing job classifications using an objective job evaluation methodology to ensure that job classifications and pay scales applicable in the public sector were free from any gender bias and that jobs largely performed by women were not undervalued and, consequently, underpaid. In this regard, the Committee welcomes the adoption of Decree No. 2013-798 of 30 December 2013, amending and completing Decree No. 2010-819, which raised the value of the index point used in the calculation of the basic salary for permanent and non-permanent civil servants. It observes however that no information is available regarding the methods and criteria used to adjust pay scales in the public sector. The Committee notes that the CEDAW also noted with concern that if both partners in a married couple are civil servants, social benefits are paid to the husband only (CEDAW/C/COG/CO/7, paragraph 42). In this regard, it recalls that remuneration also includes all allowances paid under social security schemes financed by the undertaking or industry concerned. Benefits, and in particular pensions, should not give rise to discrimination on the pretext that they are not employment-related benefits paid directly by the employer and therefore analogous to wages (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 692). Recalling that the General Civil Service Regulations contain only one general provision banning all discrimination between men and women (section 200), the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether any step has been taken or is envisaged to expressly include in its legislation the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in the public sector. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on:

(i)the measures taken to ensure that job classifications and pay scales applicable in the public sector are free from any gender bias and that jobs largely performed by women are not undervalued and, consequently, underpaid;
(ii)any measures taken or envisaged with a view to promoting the formulation and use of methods for the objective evaluation of jobs in the public sector based on criteria that are free from gender bias, such as qualifications and skills, effort, responsibilities and conditions of work; and
(iii)the measures taken to ensure that, where both partners are civil servants, social benefits can be paid to the husband and wife equally.