Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Tajikistan (Ratification: 1993)

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Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. Private sector. The Committee welcomes the Government’s information regarding the decreasing gender pay gaps in the agriculture sector, where the ratio of women’s wages to men’s went from 79.5 per cent in 2018 to 97.2 per cent in 2021; in the education sector, from 77 to 89 per cent; in healthcare, from 74.5 to 79.4 per cent; and in public administration and defence, from 77.2 to 87.4 per cent. It notes however the information from the World Bank, based on TajStat statistics, that overall women earned 60 per cent of what men earned in 2018. According to the Government, the pay gap persists due to the following factors: (1) there are more male managers in all sectors; (2) women are less likely to be involved in harmful working conditions, overtime and night work, and are therefore not paid the corresponding supplements as part of their average wage; (3) in most cases, women work fewer hours; and (4) the total number of female workers is lower than the total number of male workers. Regarding measures adopted to increase women’s equal participation in the economy and reduce the gender pay gap, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, during the 2018–22 period: (1) under the State Employment Promotion Programmes and social support for women, 175,700 women were employed in various sectors of the economy of which 16,100 unemployed women were employed through quota-based jobs; (2) 9,700 women were granted access to preferential interest-free loans for the development of self-employment; (3) 11,500 women were engaged in paid public work; (4) 73,900 women received free vocational training; and (5) 16,300 received vocational guidance services. The Committee notes that a Programme for the Development of Handicrafts for 2021-25 was adopted, making it possible for a significant number of women and girls living in villages to participate in training in these crafts. The Committee further notes the adoption of several new policies that have contributed to promoting the employment of women in various sectors of the economy, according to the Government. Welcoming the various measures taken to promote the employment of women and their impact on their labour force participation and reducing the gender pay gap, the Committee asks the Government to step up its efforts and pursue its action towards the elimination of the gender pay gap in all sectors of the economy, particularly in male-dominated sectors, and to continue to address the underlying causes it has identified. It asks the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the measures taken in this regard and their impact; and (ii) wages of women and men, disaggregated by sector of the economy and occupational category, as well as any recent statistics on the gender pay gap itself.

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a). Work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee notes that section 140(2) of the Labour Code provides that the “employer is obliged to pay the employee the same salary for the performance of equivalent work”. It recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” is fundamental to tackling occupational sex segregation in the labour market, which exists in almost every country, as it permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 673). The Committee asks the Government to consider the possibility of harmonizing section 140(2) of the Labour Code with section 13 of the Law on State Guarantees of Equal Rights for Men and Women, which provides for equal remuneration for men and women for “the same work or work of equal value”, to ensure that the former explicitly refers to the concept of “work of equal value” and to provide information on any steps taken in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.