Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2001, Publicación: 90ª reunión CIT (2002)

The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee notes that no standards have been adopted to fix wage rates nor is there a national minimum wage, although the Constitution provides for its establishment. The Committee recalls in this respect that the minimum wage is a significant means of ensuring the application of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities the Social Cooperation Council carries out in the public sector in order to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

2. The Committee notes that no system of job evaluation is in place to allow for the objective appraisal of jobs. It also notes that job descriptions and wages are by the law subject to review by workers’ representatives. It asks the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that the objective of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is achieved in any wage-fixing or review process, such as through the undertaking of a gender analysis.

3. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain a reply to the other comments made in its previous direct request. It is therefore bound to repeat its direct request, which read in relevant parts:

The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, no statistical information is available showing the distribution of men and women at the different levels and in positions of responsibility in the public service. It requests the Government to provide other information in order to enable it to examine whether women are equally represented at the middle and higher levels of employment. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its general observation of 1998 concerning statistics and reminds it that it may always have recourse to the technical assistance of the ILO in the field of labour statistics.

The Committee notes the publication of Act No. 101/iv/93 of 31 December 1993 to revise the general legal framework of industrial relations, of which section 39(m) refers explicitly to the right of workers to equal remuneration for equal work. With reference to paragraph 44 of its 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration, and in view of the ambiguity of the term "equal work", which may either be interpreted narrowly or broadly, the Committee requests the Government to specify whether in practice, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention, equal remuneration is paid for the same work as well as for work to which an equal value is attributed.