Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Yemen (Ratification: 1976)

1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous direct requests. It takes due notice of the Government's statements that the Constitution of Yemen confirms a non-discrimination policy and that the principle of equality of remuneration between men and women for work of equal value is confirmed in sections 2, 5, 42 and 67 of the Labour Code. Nevertheless, as the Committee has noted in previous comments, the equal remuneration provision contained in section 67 of the Labour Code limits female workers' entitlement to wages equal to those of men if they perform the same work under the same conditions and specifications. The Committee has further noted that the same provision requires equal wages to be paid to Yemenis and non-Yemenis if their working conditions, qualifications, experience and competence are equal.

The Committee recalls that the principle of equality of remuneration within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention refers to equal remuneration for work of equal value, which includes, but goes beyond, the same work. As the Committee noted in its General Survey on equal remuneration, ILO, 1986, the ILO standards go beyond a reference to the "same" or "similar" work, in choosing the "value" of the work as the point of comparison. The notion of paying men and women in accordance with the value of their work necessarily implies the adoption of some technique to measure and compare objectively the relative value of the jobs performed. Such a technique is essential in determining whether jobs involving different work may have the same value for purposes of remuneration. Job evaluation, based on objective criteria such as the nature of the tasks to be performed and the skill and effort required, provides a way of extending equal remuneration to men and women when fair and just criteria are used that reflect job content characteristics of work which women tend to carry out as well as work which men tend to carry out. (See 1986 General Survey, at paragraphs 19 to 23, 52 to 70 and 138 to 152).

The Committee notes the Government's statements that the criteria concerning qualifications, experience and competence in section 67(2) of the Labour Code may be necessary for certain occupations, such as the medical profession. Moreover, it notes that the Government intends to establish a wage system to resolve the problem of equality of remuneration between female workers and foreign workers referred to by the Committee. In light of the above-referenced information and the requirements of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to provide information in detail in its next report on the measures taken to ensure that section 67 is being applied in conformity with the Convention, including the progress of the work on the above-referenced wage system.

2. In response to the Committee's previous direct requests for information regarding the implementation of sections 54 and 109 of the Labour Code, the Government's report makes reference to the "Occupational Scales and Categories in the Republic of Yemen", as well as to a system for the determination of skill levels. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply these documents as soon as they become available.

3. The Committee notes with interest the Government's statements that the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training plans to establish a technical working group to study wages in the private sector and submit proposals on minimum wages to the tripartite Labour Council contemplated under section 11 of the Labour Code. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to inform it of progress achieved concerning minimum wage fixing and to supply copies of the rates once established.

4. With respect to Law No. 19 of 1991, the Committee notes the Government's reference to section 12(c) of the Law. The Committee recalls the Government's statements in its 1993 report that sections 25(c), 44, 45, 171 and 173 of the Law ensure, through the application of objective criteria, that there is no wage discrimination in the government sector. The Committee requests that the Government supply, in its next report, a copy of the objective criteria used in government sector employee evaluations, referred to in section 173(d) of Law No. 19.

5. The Committee notes the Government's statements that it will provide the ILO with a copy of the 1994 General Census and hopes that the Government will supply this document as soon as it is available. The Committee asks the Government to provide it with any additional up-to-date statistical information which it may have reflecting the percentage of men and women in different jobs and on their respective salaries, in the public, private and mixed sectors. The Committee understands that relevant statistical information may be found in the Annual Statistical Report of the Ministry of Planning and therefore asks the Government to provide it with the most recent version of that report in order to assist the Committee in evaluating the application of the principles of the Convention.