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Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - France (RATIFICATION: 1953)

1. Remuneration gap. The Committee notes the Government’s acknowledgement that, despite a significant reduction in the wage gap between men and women from 1950 to 1995, recent progress on reducing this gap has been stagnant. In addition, it notes the Government’s statement that, since the adoption in 2001 of the law on occupational equality (No. 2001-397), the application of the principle of equal pay has not been effective. It notes from the statistics provided by the Government that in 2003 the differential between men’s and women’s wages in the private sector was 24.8 per cent while in the public sector the gap between male and female workers stood at 14.2 per cent (2002). Taking structural factors into account, the Government states that there still remains a wage gap of 5 per cent which cannot be accounted for.

2. Equal remuneration in the public sector. With respect to the wage gap in the public sector mentioned above, the Committee notes that this gap was especially pronounced among executives (18.1 per cent), although it was lower among trades people (13.6 per cent) and employees (6.5 per cent). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to carry out objective job appraisals in the public sector to determine whether the work performed by men and women in different jobs is nonetheless of equal value. Please also indicate what other initiatives the Government is pursuing to promote the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the public sector.

Article 2 of the Convention. Promoting the principle of equal remuneration

3. Article 2(2)(a). National laws or regulations. Further to the above, the Committee welcomes the Government’s high-level commitment to addressing the injustice perpetuated by the pay gap. In this regard, it notes with interest the draft legislation on equal remuneration between men and women (Senate No. 139, 12 July 2005). It notes that among its proposed modifications to the Labour Code, the new legislation sets a five-year target date (31 December 2010) for eliminating the remuneration gap (sections 3 and 4). It also notes that the Bill reinforces the current obligation of employers to conduct negotiations on occupational equality by introducing measures that would, for example, authorize the Labour Minister to intervene and trigger negotiations where these have not taken place (section 3), as well as make such negotiations a requirement before a collective agreement becomes enforceable (section 4). The Committee notes that the Bill further mandates the High Council for Occupational Equality to prepare a mid-term report evaluating the application of these new provisions. The Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on any developments with respect to this draft legislation and, should it be adopted into law, on the impact of its equal pay provisions towards eliminating the remaining wage gap between men and women. Please also include information about the ongoing work of the High Council, particularly with respect to its role in the implementation and evaluation of the foregoing equal pay amendments to the Labour Code.

4. Article 2(2)(c). Collective agreements. The Committee notes that, since 2004, branch-level collective agreements dealing specifically with occupational equality and incorporating the elements of the National Inter-Occupational Agreement have been negotiated in the electricity and gas industry along with the pharmaceutical industry. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, however, that negotiations with regard to occupational equality are less common at the enterprise level than at the industrial level. The Committee notes that, according to the IFOP survey identified in the Government’s report, 72 per cent of enterprises questioned indicated that they had never undertaken negotiations on occupational equality despite the obligation for certain employers to do so under section L132-27 of the Labour Code. The Committee asks the Government, therefore, to provide information on its efforts to ensure that all employers fulfil their obligations with regard to equality negotiations, particularly in light of sections 3 and 4 of the draft legislation noted above. Please also indicate any other current or planned initiatives to promote the principle of equal remuneration within the private sector.

5. Other measures. In addition to the measures above, the Committee notes the adoption in 2004 of a National Charter for Equality between Men and Women and the commitment on the part of the Government and social partners to take action on some 300 items to fulfil the Charter’s vision. Noting that 15 per cent of these actions were completed in 2004 and another 37 per cent are in progress, the Committee asks the Government to provide more details on those measures specific to promoting and ensuring equal remuneration and to provide information on their practical effect in eliminating the wage gap between men and women.

6. Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes with interest the recently negotiated National Inter-Occupational Agreement of 1 March 2004 on diversity and professional equality between men and women (the "Agreement"). It notes that the Agreement reaffirms the commitment of the social partners to the effective application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for work of equal value (section 11). It also notes that the Agreement commits employers to undertake concrete action to improve pay equality between men and women by making the reduction of existing wage gaps a priority and by taking temporary progressive measures to assist women in closing this gap (section 13(1)). To attain this objective in the industrial sectors, the Committee notes that the Agreement anticipates the preparation of a sectoral analysis every five years to identify and remedy job evaluation criteria that are likely to lead to discrimination between men and women (section 13(2)). Noting that the Agreement contains no numerical targets or sanctions, but rather provides a framework for future negotiations within industrial sectors or enterprises, the Committee asks the Government to indicate how, in practice, the objectives of the Agreement with respect to equal pay are incorporated into subsequent collective agreements at the branch and enterprise levels. It also asks the Government to provide information on what practical measures employers are adopting in light of this Agreement and whether such measures are proving successful at further reducing the pay gap between men and women.

7. Part V of the report form. Statistics. The Committee recalls the Government’s statement from its previous report that it was proposing to develop indicators for measuring wage inequalities, as well as inequalities in men’s and women’s access to training and promotion. Noting that the Government’s current report contains no new information in this regard, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the progress made in developing indicators to measure wage, training and promotion inequalities between men and women. Please also continue to provide up-to-date statistics disaggregated by sex on the earnings of men and women in both the private and public sectors.