Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee has taken note of the Government's report and the information provided in response to the Committee's previous comments.

1. The Committee notes that Ministry Instructions No. 7/1/6450 dated 4 September 1991 fix workers' wages according to categories determined by objective criteria connected with the nature of the work. According to the Government, the value of the work is taken into account in fixing wages, and it is of little import whether the work is done by a man or a woman since the wage will be the same for either.

With regard to the public sector, the Committee notes the model statute prepared by Decision of the Office of the President of the Council of Ministers No. 3803 of 1985, which defines the objective evaluation of jobs and lays down the criteria to be used for that purpose.

2. Furthermore the Committee finds that it is not in possession of sufficient information to assess how the principle of equal remuneration stated in the laws and regulations is applied in practice. It would therefore be grateful if the Government would supply in its next report:

(i) the wage scales applicable in the public service, indicating the distribution of men and women at the various levels (the Committee points out that it has not received the copy of the statistical table which the Government mentions in its report);

(ii) the text of the provisions fixing the levels of wages other than minimum wages in various sectors of activity, if possible indicating the proportion of women covered by these collective agreements and the distribution of men and women at the various levels;

(iii) statistical data on wage rates and the average earnings of men and women, if possible by occupation, branch of activity, seniority and level of qualifications, together with information on the corresponding proportion of women.

3. In addition, the Committee asks the Government to furnish information on the measures taken to supervise the application of the provisions governing equal wages and, in particular, the activities of the labour inspectorate (visits made, violations detected and penalties imposed), and also on the decisions of the courts.