Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Algeria (Ratification: 1962)

1. For a number of years, the Committee has been attempting to obtain information on the application in practice of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value enshrined in the Convention and, at national level, in section 84 of Act No. 90-11 of 21 April 1990 regarding industrial relations. For this purpose, it has requested the Government to supply the wage scales determined by collective agreements or other means which are applicable in the occupations and sectors employing a large number of women, with an indication of the distribution of men and women at the various wage levels. It has also requested indications on the distribution of men and women in the 20 categories set out in the national indicative scale of remuneration for officials and employees in public institutions and administrations. In its previous reports, the Government stated that it was in the process of assembling the information and would send it to the Committee as soon as possible. The Committee notes that in its most recent report, the Government merely affirms that the wage scales determined by collective agreements or in the model conditions of service for employees in public institutions and administrations do not make any distinction on the basis of sex. The Committee nevertheless recalls that the adoption of a single wage scale is a prerequisite for achieving equal remuneration but is not sufficient since discrimination may also arise out of the existence of occupational categories and jobs reserved for women. This is why the fact that women workers are more heavily concentrated in certain jobs and in certain sectors of activity has to be taken into account if it is wished to avoid or redress a biased evaluation of jobs traditionally considered as "peculiar to women". In this respect, the Committee reminds the Government of paragraphs 22 and 23 of its 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to supply the information necessary to enable it to assess the application in practice of the principle of the Convention, and particularly information on the occupations and sectors employing a large number of women (in both the private and public sectors) and the distribution of men and women at the various wage levels.

2. The Committee notes the information to the effect that Decree No. 82/356 of 20 November 1982 determining the national method for the classification of jobs has been repealed and that, henceforth, wages will be fixed by collective bargaining. On this matter, it recalls that although Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention does not lay down the obligation to adopt measures for objective appraisal of jobs, nevertheless, the adoption of the concept of work of equal value implies logically a comparison of tasks and therefore the existence of machinery and procedures for providing appraisal free of any discrimination based on sex. The Committee also points out that under Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention the obligation on each Member to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration is limited to the fields in which its action is compatible with the methods in operation for determining rates of remuneration. In any event, as the Committee stressed in paragraph 27 of the General Survey mentioned above, if the State intervenes in fixing minimum wages, it is barred from referring to the principle of free collective bargaining to escape this obligation. In addition, the Committee notes, again under Article 2 of the Convention, that in cases where the Government is excluded from wage fixing because of the right to collective bargaining, it must encourage application of the principle and, under Article 4 of the Convention, shall cooperate as appropriate with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

3. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken or contemplated: (a) to ensure application of the principle of equal remuneration in the spheres in which it can exert direct or indirect influence on determining wage scales; (b) to encourage application of the principle of equal remuneration in cases where the Government is excluded from the wage-fixing machinery; and (c) to cooperate with employers and workers for the purpose of giving effect to the Convention and national legislation on the subject.