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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1955)

1. The Committee notes from the information contained in the Government's report that a Bill to amend the 1987 Labour Code has been submitted to Parliament.

The Committee recalls that section 243 of the 1987 Labour Code provides that equal pay shall be due for equal work and that work shall be considered equal whenever the results of it, the complexity and the demands of the job and the conditions in which it is performed are equal. Section 242 of the 1987 Labour Code provides that remuneration shall be determined according to the quantity and quality of the work performed by the employee and that it shall be evaluated in accordance with the results of the activities performed by the working collective in the enterprise, and the employee's personal contribution, with due consideration for the complexity and demands of the job and the conditions in which it is performed. The Committee refers to its previous comment wherein it pointed out that the criteria of quality and quantity are not sufficient to permit a comparative evaluation of different work carried out by men and women which may be of equal value.

The Committee hopes the Government will take into account its comments on the application of this Convention and it trusts the proposed new labour legislation will guarantee equal remuneration for work of equal value between men and women in compliance with the requirements of the Convention.

2. The Committee notes that for some years, the Government has not provided information sufficient to enable an appraisal of the extent to which the wage differential has been reduced through application of the principle of the Convention. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, full information concerning the implementation in practice of the Convention, including (i) the salary scales applying in the public sector, with an indication of the percentage of men and women employed at different levels; (ii) statistical data concerning the minimum or basic wage rates and the average actual earnings of men and women in the economy, broken down, where possible, by occupation or sector of employment, seniority or skill level as well as information on the percentage of women employed in different occupations or sectors; and (iii) information regarding any surveys or studies undertaken or envisaged with a view to determining the reasons for wage disparities and details on any measures to remove the barriers to the full implementation of the Convention.