Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2001, publiée 90ème session CIT (2002)

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

1. The Committee notes the adoption of the Labour Code of 1 February 1999, which entered into force on 1 July 1999. The Committee notes that section 16 of the Labour Code sets forth the principle of non-discrimination based on sex. Section 154 of the Labour Code states that workers may not be paid less than the minimum wage. The Committee also notes that the definition of remuneration is wages paid for work performed, including supplements, bonuses and other payments, which is in accordance with the definition in Article 1(a) of the Convention, and also notes that wages are to be specified in collective agreements and employment contracts. If there is no collective agreement, they may be specified in employment contracts and, in relevant cases, by mutual agreement between the employer and the trade union (section 158). The Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which the above system ensures that equal remuneration is paid for work of equal value, and not just for the same or identical work.

2. The Committee notes the statistical information provided with the Government’s report. It notes that women workers’ wages are 83.7 per cent of male wages in the communications sector, while women workers earn 70.1 per cent of male workers’ wages in the education sector. It further notes that women workers’ wages amount to only 64.8 per cent of male wages in the health-care sector, and 57.2 per cent in the chemicals industry. The Committee notes that according to the Government, women’s pay is lower because women workers have lower qualifications and occupy lower qualified posts. The Government states that, in order to change the situation, measures would have to be taken to improve women’s qualifications to ensure entry to higher-level posts. The Committee asks the Government to supply information with its next report on the measures taken to improve the status of women workers in the labour market, particularly in non-traditional occupations and decision-making positions, and to continue to supply statistical information on the remuneration rates of men and women workers at the various levels.

3. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the systems of remuneration for workers in the public sector referred to in earlier reports are still valid and that these scales are established on the basis of different indicators of qualifications approved by the Ministry of Labour. Thus workers remunerated from the state budget are divided into two groups according to the system by which they are paid: (1) workers employed by the state legislative and executive authorities, for whom the rates and method of payment are determined by the President of the Azerbaijan Republic; (2) workers employed in state-run organizations, for whom the wages are determined by the relevant department of the Governor’s office (section 158 of the Labour Code). The Committee therefore reiterates its request to the Government to provide in its next report: for the first group, information on the posts covered by this category, the corresponding rates of pay and statistical data on the numbers of women and men employed in these posts; and for the second group, more precise information on the criteria used for this classification and the types of post included in each category, as well as statistical data on the relative numbers of women and men at the different levels of pay.

4. The Committee recalls that Decree No. 499 of 29 March 1993 promotes the use of a single pay scale in the private sector, and hopes that the Government will provide with its next report copies of collective agreements in the private sector covering wages.

5. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the state labour inspectorate continues to supervise the application of the labour legislation. The Committee the Government to supply information on the activities carried out and methods used by the state labour inspection service to promote and ensure the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.