Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Saudi Arabia (Ratification: 1978)

In the comments it has been making for many years on the application of the Convention, the Committee has noted that no national legislation exists to give effect to the Convention and that, in the absence of statistical data, it has not been in a position to evaluate how the Convention is being applied in practice.

1. The Committee notes that, according to the Government's report, there has been no new legislative measure adopted concerning the application of the Convention. The Government states again that the Labour Code does not authorize discrimination in remuneration between workers for equal work and in equal working conditions since its section 8 requires the subcontractor to provide workers in his service with the same rights as those given by the initial employer. It mentions a decision of the Higher Commission for the Settlement of Disputes according to which a worker can claim equal treatment as compared to colleagues only when circumstances and qualifications are equal.

The Committee recalls that by virtue of the provisions of Article 2 of the Convention the Government has committed itself to promoting and, where necessary, ensuring the application of the principle of the Convention by means of national laws, legally established or recognized machinery for wage determination, collective agreements or a combination of these various methods. To date, none of these measures appears to have been used to apply the Convention in the private sector. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take appropriate measures, for example by inserting a specific clause in the Labour Code concerning equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value or through a decision of the Higher Commission for the Settlement of Disputes specifically on this issue, so as to impose expressly on employers in the private sector the obligation to apply the principle contained in the Convention. It hopes that the next report will indicate progress made in this direction.

2. The Committee notes the Government's statement that it still does not have statistics concerning wage levels and average income of men and women in the private sector. In this respect, the Committee refers to paragraph 248 of its 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration and its 1990 general observation, in which it stresses the importance of having adequate statistical data so as to have a clear indication of the nature and extent of inequalities and to elaborate measures to overcome them. The Committee reiterates its hope that the Government will take the necessary measures, perhaps using the technical assistance of the Office, to collect statistical data concerning wage levels and average income of men and women in the private sector, broken down if possible by profession, branch of activity and level of qualifications, and that it will be able to provide this information in its next report.

3. With regard to the public service, the Committee notes that the Government repeats its description of the classification of jobs established by the Public Service Council and repeats its statement that the principle of the Convention is applied in practice. The Committee is pursuing this question in an observation under Convention No. 111.