Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Brazil (Ratification: 1957)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report.

2. The Committee notes with interest the new Constitution enacted on 5 October 1988, section 7(XX) of which, according to the Government's statement, introduces an important innovation by protecting women workers by means of specific incentives. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures that have been taken to apply the above provision in practice and on the practical results obtained by its application.

3. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the comments made by the National Confederation of Industry concerning the application of the principle of equal remuneration and the creation of the National Council for the Rights of Women (CNDM), which provides additional information on the law. The Committee also notes the comments made by the National Confederation of Industrial Workers, according to which the National Council for the Rights of Women has done much for women, but that the labour inspection services need to be improved. Indeed, the number of labour inspectors does not amount to one-third of those who are really necessary, due to the lack of support by the Government in allocating resources and the lack of labour inspectors who are specialised in the problems of women workers. The Committee also notes the Government's observations, transmitted in a communication dated 19 April 1989, on the comments made by the National Confederation of Industrial Workers. In this connection, the Committee notes the statistics included in the annual report for 1987 of the Labour Inspectorate and in the report for the first quarter of 1988 concerning the number of enterprises and workers that have been covered by inspection visits, the number of violations and the fines imposed. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether it has considered it necessary to take measures to strengthen the Labour Inspectorate.

4. The Committee notes with interest the various publications supplied with the report concerning the work of the National Council for the Rights of Women which, according to the Government, describe the situation prior to the enactment of the new Constitution. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the activities of the CNDM to promote the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and on complaints that are lodged in this connection. The Committee also notes the publication "Mulher e Trabalho: repensando a realidade" (Women and Work: re-examining the situation) and the statistical data on average monthly incomes for men and women workers in 1985 which show a concentration of women in the lower wage ranges and of men in the higher wage ranges. The Committee also notes the comments on page 6 of the above publication that "wage differences are greater at higher occupational levels". The Committee requests the Government to supply the corresponding statistics for more recent years showing how the situation has developed and to indicate the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to remedy this imbalance. In this respect it refers to the explanations given in paragraphs 22 and 23 and in paragraph 100 of its 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration.