Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Rwanda (Ratification: 1980)

Further to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, as part of the structural adjustment programme, reforms were planned in the private sector and that an administrative reform project was under way in the public sector with a view, inter alia, to developing a job evaluation system that would apply the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value even if the work is of a different nature. It notes with interest from the report that the reform in the legislation and the labour market are still being implemented in the context of the structural adjustment programme and that the Government has already adopted a Presidential Order organizing the placement of workers and the supervision of employment as part of the reform. It asks the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the progress of the reform and, in particular, the arrangements made or envisaged in the context of the reform to set up an objective job evaluation system based on the work involved and to ensure the promotion or application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Please refer in this connection to paragraphs 138 to 150 of the Committee's 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration in which it deals with objective job appraisals and their use in applying the principle of the Convention. It would also appreciate receiving copies of laws and regulations adopted in the context of the reform, including the Presidential Order organizing the placement of workers and the supervision of employment.

2. The Committee notes from the report that the classification of workers by occupational category, defined in the Ministerial Order of 3 May 1976, has not yet been amended but that a draft revision of the classification has already been proposed as part of the structural adjustment programme. The revised classification would replace the occupational classification produced by the public authorities which, in the future, would simply determine the minimum basic wage at recruitment for labourers, leaving the wages of the other occupational categories to be negotiated by the workers and employers. The Committee hopes that the revised text will guarantee observance of the principle of the Convention as regards both minimum wages and wages above the legal minimum and that, unlike the 1977 occupational classification which is still in force, it will reflect the positions of the social partners. In this connection, the Committee refers to its previous comments and asks the Government to indicate the measures taken and the results obtained as regards setting up structures for an employers' association and revitalizing the organization of workers and, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention, the arrangements made for cooperation with the social partners in the implementation of the above-mentioned reforms and with a view to giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

3. The Committee notes the Government's statement that, in practice, the equality of remuneration laid down in section 82 of the Labour Code (which provides that "for equal conditions of work, occupational qualifications and output, wages shall be equal for all workers regardless of their sex ...") is implemented by means of the wage scales fixed in enterprises. The Committee recalls that Article 1(b) of the Convention specifies that equal remuneration for men and women must be understood to be "for work of equal value", and asks the Government to indicate measures planned in the context of the current reform of the labour legislation, to bring section 82 into conformity with the Convention.

4. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the arrangements made or planned in the context of the current reform of the labour legislation to provide for specific penalties for any breach of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

5. The Committee notes with interest that by a circular addressed to employers, the Government has recently drawn their attention to the fact that certain enterprises are in breach of section 82 of the Labour Code and Article 1(a) of the Convention for having excluded women from the payment of certain allowances, including reimbursement for telephone, water and electricity bills. It asks the Government to provide information on the number of women workers affected and the enterprises concerned and to indicate the measures that these enterprises have taken as a result of the above circular to remedy the situation and, where they have failed to do so, the steps taken by the labour inspectorate and, if applicable, the competent courts to end such practices. The Committee would appreciate receiving copies of extracts of labour inspection reports and of court decisions concerning these cases and other instances of infringements of the Convention.

6. The Committee notes from the report that the figures it requested in its previous direct request are not available. It again expresses the hope that the Government will be able, with the cooperation of employers' and workers' organizations and enterprises, to collect and send with the next report recent statistical information enabling it to ascertain how the Convention is applied in practice, and particularly: (a) the salary scales applicable in the public sector, with an indication of the percentage of men and women employed at different levels; (b) statistics of the basic wage rates and the average earnings of men and women in the private sector, if possible broken down by occupation, branch of activity, seniority and level of qualifications, as well as the corresponding percentage of women.

7. With regard more particularly to the public administration, the Committee notes the Government's statement that basic wages in the public administration were fixed by the Presidential Order of 19 March 1974 and that the emoluments additional to the wage (bonuses, indemnities, allowances in kind, etc.) are granted to all workers without distinction as to sex under the various implementing texts, and particularly the ministerial instructions and decisions of 1 January 1977 and 6 April 1991 concerning, respectively, compensation for overtime and for occupational hazards. With reference to the information supplied by the Government in answer to the 1990 direct request, to the effect that a job appraisal system was being developed in the public sector as part of the administrative reform project, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the progress of the reform and the steps taken or planned to ensure that the new texts resulting from the reform take account of the definition of remuneration in Article 1(a) of the Convention.