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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Egypt (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the Government's report and its annexes.

1. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 151 of the Labour Code of 1981 provides for equal remuneration for men and women for "the same work" and for equal qualifications, length of service and experience. The Committee notes the Government's statement that there would be no purpose in amending the legislation on this subject as the Committee requested and that, in practice, the principle of equality in employment between men and women is strictly applied, in accordance with the national Constitution and the provisions of the law. The Committee asks the Government to refer to its 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration, and particularly, paragraphs 19 to 21 which define the scope of the notion "equal value" contained in Article 1 of the Convention, and paragraphs 44 to 78 explaining the concepts of equality. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps to amend section 151 so that it explicitly establishes the principle of equal remuneration for work of "equal value", to bring it into line with the Convention in this respect. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on this matter in its next report.

2. With regard to the practical effect given to the Convention, the Committee notes that the Government will shortly send information on the distribution of men and women at the various levels in state departments. It also notes Decision No. 395 of 19 July 1992 sent by the Government as an example of the application of Conventions Nos. 100 and 111. It notes that, by virtue of this Decision of the Ministry of Manpower and Training, 38 officials have been appointed to the Cabinet of the Ministry at various levels, only one of whom is a woman. Noting that the Government considers this appointment to be a measure which is in line with the promotion of equality, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts in this respect. The Committee has noted on many occasions that the aim of eliminating discrimination between men and women workers in respect of remuneration for work of equal value cannot be reached in a satisfactory way unless national policy also aims at eliminating discrimination on the basis of sex in respect of access to the various levels of employment, as provided by Convention No. 111. (See paragraph 100 of the above-mentioned General Survey.) It therefore asks the Government to inform it of the specific measures it plans to take to promote women's access to the various levels of employment, particularly in occupations where there are few women, and to guarantee them equality of remuneration.

3. With regard to the private sector, the Committee notes the copies that were sent by the Government of the 1992 and 1993 collective agreements concerning the adjustments made in wages to keep up with those of the public service. The Committee would appreciate receiving precise information on the wages actually paid to men and women workers. It therefore asks the Government to provide statistics on the average earnings of men and women and the proportion of women working in sectors where average earnings are high, such as the armed forces, universities, the petroleum sector, the magistrature, companies and banks. It would also be grateful if the Government would indicate the percentage of women covered by the collective agreements, and the distribution of men and women at various levels.

4. The Committee notes that the Labour Inspection Department, which is responsible for supervising the application of the provisions of the law that concern the area covered by the Convention, has received no complaints and that no infringements have been recorded. While noting the Government's statement that the Convention is applied fully and without difficulty, the Committee is bound to point out that, in the absence of precise and specific information on the practical application of the Convention, it is not in a position to check this assertion. It recalls that in paragraph 253 of the above-mentioned General Survey it points out that, "by its nature, by the way in which it develops, and as a result of the equivocal character of discrimination with regard to remuneration, the application of the principle of the Convention will necessarily unearth difficulties". The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would provide recent information enabling it to ascertain how the principle of equal remuneration is monitored in practice (visits, labour inspectorate studies or surveys) and particularly the measures taken to ensure access to means of redress in the event of non-compliance with the law.

5. The Committee asks the Government to inform it of the measures taken or envisaged to facilitate the application of the Convention, for example, by implementing, with the cooperation of employers' and workers' organizations, public education and information programmes on current legislation concerning equal remuneration for men and women. In this connection, the Committee asks the Government to refer to Paragraph 6 of the Equal Remuneration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 90).