Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 1999, publiée 88ème session CIT (2000)

The Committee regrets that the Government's report has not been received. However, it notes the information contained in the 1997 annual report of the Department of Labour and copies of collective agreements provided in response to the Committee's previous comments.

1. The Committee notes that, according to the statistical data supplied by the Government, in 1996, women's overall average earnings in the private sector were 88 per cent of men's, reflecting a marked narrowing of the wage gap between the overall average earnings of men and women workers in the private sector from 1990, when women's average earnings were 76 per cent of men's. In the public sector, the statistical data supplied by the Government indicate that, in 1996, women's average earnings were 94 per cent of men's. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the total number and distribution of men and women in the different occupations and at the different levels of the public and private sectors. The Government is also requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure that women and men at all levels receive equal pay for work of equal value.

2. The Committee notes that a number of the collective agreements supplied by the Government establish different benefits linked to marital status in that widows are entitled to 30 days of compassionate leave at full pay upon the death of a spouse whereas, under analogous circumstances, widowers receive 15 days of compassionate leave at full pay. The Committee recalls that, although direct discrimination in respect of wage rates paid to women has in large part been eliminated from the texts of collective agreements, less evident forms of discrimination can still persist, such as the granting of benefits linked to the marital and family situation of the beneficiary and linked to the beneficiary's sex. The Committee notes that, in order to avoid discrimination under the Convention in the payment by the employer of benefits based on the marital or familial status of a worker, such payments must be made without applying conditions on the grounds of sex (see General Survey on equal remuneration, 1986, paragraphs 237 and 240). The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to eliminate such provisions from the texts of collective agreements, including cooperation with the social partners in order to disseminate information among employers' and workers' organizations regarding forms of indirect salary discrimination that may persist, thereby promoting fuller application of the principle of equal remuneration.

3. The Committee notes that the information supplied by the Government does not respond fully to its previous direct request. It therefore repeats its earlier comments, which read as follows:

3. The Committee has notes that paragraph 10 of the Code of Practice set out in the Schedule to the Industrial Relations Act, 1996, states that: "Employment policies should have regard to the legislative requirements relating to non-discrimination in employment". Please indicate whether any measures have been taken, within the context of the application of the Act and its Code of Practice, to further the application of the equal pay provisions of the Employment Act, 1980 (sections 95 and 96).