Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1994, publiée 81ème session CIT (1994)

With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the detailed information and statistics supplied by the Government in its report. It also notes the comments on the application of the Convention in law and in practice sent by the General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Trade Union Federation of Workers' Commissions (CC.00).

1. The Committee notes that both the UGT and the CC.OO raise the insufficiency of the current labour legislation in ensuring the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and the poor implementation of that principle in practice, particularly through indirect discrimination in private enterprises. The UGT points out that the Constitution and the Workers' Charter protect against discrimination on the basis of sex in general terms without specifying the concept of "work of equal value". It refers to cases of indirect or veiled wage discrimination that have gone to the courts over the issue of whether the work being done was "equal". It cites the February 1992 statistics of the National Institute of Statistics showing that women workers in higher qualification categories earn only 73.9 per cent of men's remuneration. The CC.OO calls for a clarification in the legislation of the concept "work of equal value" since factors typically linked to men, such as strength, are often given more value over factors like concentration and skill which in turn are associated with women. It also cites court cases which held that there has been indirect wage discrimination through the granting of various wage supplements mainly to men.

The Government states, in its report, that the Second Plan for Equal Opportunities for Women (1993-95) proposes an amendment to section 28 of the Workers' Charter so as to introduce expressly the concept of "work of equal value" into the national legislation. It points out at the same time that the Constitutional Court and European Community law had, in any case, given a sufficiently broad interpretation to that provision.

The Committee notes this development with interest. It asks the Government to inform it, in its next report, of progress towards introducing the concept of Article 2 of the Convention into the 1980 Workers' Charter, and to transmit a copy of the amendment once adopted.

2. The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government on certain other points.