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Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Djibouti (RATIFICATION: 1978)

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. Since 2008, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the fact that section 259(4) of Act No. 133/AN/05/5èmeL of 28 January 2006 issuing the Labour Code, which is concerned with the content of collective agreements, refers to the concept of “equal work” and not to “work of equal value”. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” is fundamental as it permits a broad scope of comparison, covering “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work but also encompassing work of an entirely different nature which is nevertheless of equal value (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 672–675). The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that a bill partially amending Act No. 133/AN/05/5èmeL has been drawn up and was due to be submitted to the National Council for Labour, Employment and Social Security (CONTESS) in April 2016. The Committee is aware that the meetings of this tripartite body resumed in November 2016 in order to examine draft legislation aimed at amending and applying the Labour Code in various areas. The Committee trusts that the Government will take the opportunity provided by the partial revision of the Labour Code, in consultation with CONTESS, to amend section 259(4), replacing the expression “equal work” with “work of equal value”, in accordance both with section 137 of the Labour Code, which provides that there shall be equal wages for work of equal value for all workers regardless of their … sex, and with the principle established by the Convention.

Application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Public service. The Committee notes that the Government reaffirms that the civil service pay scales are free from gender bias since they are established by Decree No. 89-062/PRE concerning the particular status of officials and apply to persons recruited on the basis of their profile, training, qualifications and seniority, regardless of sex. The Committee would again like to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that pay inequalities or gender bias may result from pay scales themselves, even if they apply without distinction to male and female civil servants. When these pay scales are established, certain criteria used to evaluate and classify duties may favour male workers, in as much as traditionally “male” factors, such as physical effort, are still overvalued by comparison with factors relating to traditionally “female” occupations, such as care work. Where tasks are largely performed by women, the frequent undervaluation thereof results in an undervaluation of the posts in question and consequent pay inequalities to the detriment of women. Hence, when posts are classified for the purpose of establishing pay scales, it is essential that the method used for evaluating the tasks attached to the posts is based on a set of weighted objective criteria, such as qualifications (knowledge and skills), responsibility and effort (physical, mental, emotional) required by the post, and the conditions in which the work is performed (physical environment, psychological conditions). In the light of the above and in the absence of data on the distribution of men and women in the public service and their respective rates of pay, the Committee requests the Government to take the appropriate steps to collect and analyse these data to determine whether or not there is a gender pay gap in the public service and, if so, to take corrective action. The Committee also requests the Government to examine the distribution of bonuses between men and women, in as much as they may constitute a significant proportion of pay and, as such, be a source of inequalities.

Minimum wages. The Committee recalls the importance of the role of the minimum wage in reducing the gender pay gap. In view of the fact that there are often more women in low-paid jobs and that a uniform national minimum wage system helps to increase the income of the lowest-paid workers, this affects the link between men’s and women’s wages and has an impact on reducing the gender wage gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that eight interoccupational collective agreements or enterprise agreements in different branches of activity have been renegotiated. Having noted the examination by CONTESS of the issue of the minimum wage at the end of 2016, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the fixing of the minimum wage at national, sectoral and branch level and to indicate how it ensures in practice that, when minimum wage rates are fixed in various sectors or branches, jobs or occupations predominantly performed by women are not undervalued in relation to jobs mainly performed by men.

Enforcement. Labour inspection. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, no cases of pay discrimination have been reported by the labour inspectorate. Welcoming the training held in January 2016 for labour inspectors on the principle established by the Convention, the Committee hopes that it will enhance their activities of prevention and enforcement of the labour legislation in relation to gender pay equality. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on any prevention, advisory and enforcement activities performed by the labour inspectorate in this field.

Statistics. The Committee welcomes the communication by the Government of the “Statistical yearbook of Djibouti” (2012 edition). It notes the statistical data on occupation and unemployment rates in 2009 for men (44.5 per cent and 55.5 per cent, respectively) and for women (29.4 per cent and 70.6 per cent, respectively). The Committee notes that the yearbook does not contain any data on the distribution of men and women in the various sectors of activity or on rates of pay. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that data, disaggregated by sex, are collected and analysed in future in relation to the distribution of men and women in the labour market by sector of activity, and to their respective rates of pay in the public and private sectors. It requests the Government to send these data as soon as they are available.