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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1955)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. While the Committee takes due notice of the legislation cited by the Government as confirmation of its intent to apply the principle of the Convention, the Committee observes that none of the provisions cited expressly establish the right of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Accordingly, the Committee reiterates its previous comments regarding the Government's repeal of Article 243 of the Labour Code and its hope that the Government will contemplate giving legislative expression to the principle of the Convention. In this context, the Committee notes the activities of the National Tripartite Co-operation Council, particularly with respect to its growing role in the Government's decision-making process concerning labour standards. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide, in its next report, information on the Council's activities relating to the application of the Convention, including any recommendations the Council may make regarding legislative reform.

2. The Government indicates that, in sectors where wages are determined by the State, equal remuneration for men and women is guaranteed by Cabinet Decrees Nos. 68/1996, 36/1997 and 14/1998, which provide for equal wages for all posts of the same level. The Government further indicates that wages are fixed by collective bargaining agreements in all other spheres of the public sector. The Committee would be grateful if the Government could provide copies of the above-referenced Cabinet Decrees as well as the texts of collective agreements fixing wages in various areas in the public sector and indicating, where possible, the percentage of women covered by such agreements and the actual hourly wages earned by women and men in those sectors.

3. The Committee notes, on the basis of the statistical information provided by the Government, that women hold more posts than men in the budgetary sphere of the public sector, comprising from 56 per cent to 80 per cent of the labour force, depending on the field of work. Women's average monthly earnings nevertheless range from 85 per cent to 91 per cent of the average monthly wage earned by men, again depending upon the field of work involved. The Government indicates that these differences "are due mainly to a different level of education, qualification and accrued working record by the women, arising from their family responsibilities". As an example, the Government refers to female employees caring for their ill children. The Committee recalls the language of Paragraph 6(c) of the Equal Remuneration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 90), which provides that, in order to facilitate the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, appropriate action should be taken, where necessary, to raise the productive efficiency of women workers by, inter alia, providing welfare and social services which meet the needs of women workers, particularly those with family responsibilities. The Government is asked to indicate whether and what kind of welfare and social services are provided or are proposed to be provided by the Government to meet the needs of workers with family responsibilities in the public sector and to indicate precisely in what manner family responsibilities are responsible for women's earning lower average wages. Further, the Government is asked to state whether any studies have been conducted on the impact of family responsibilities on women's earnings and supply copies of any such studies. In order to assist the Committee in evaluating the application of the Convention, the Government is asked to provide, in its next report, the fullest statistical information possible in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Committee's general observation on this Convention.

4. In its report, the Government states that objective appraisal of jobs is provided for during collective negotiations between trade unions and employers in the different branches and sectors of the economy and that the wage negotiations are differentiated by category and position, on the basis of various non-gender-based criteria, including education, qualifications and working conditions. The Committee welcomes these indications in the Government's report, since the concept of paying men and women equally in accordance with the value of their work implies the adoption of an objective method to measure and compare the value of the jobs performed. Moreover, because men and women tend to perform different jobs, a technique to measure the relative value of jobs with different content is essential to eradicate gender-based salary discrimination. However, since job evaluation is an inherently subjective method, care should be taken to prevent sex stereotyping from entering the process, which may result in an undervaluation of jobs held mainly by women or jobs requiring qualities regarded as essentially "feminine". Thus, the criteria utilized for the appraisal of jobs should not undervalue the skills normally required for jobs that are in practice performed by women, such as care-giving, human relations skills and jobs calling for manual dexterity. In comparing the work of men and women, care should be taken to balance the various job components to ensure a fair and just evaluation. (See General Survey on equal remuneration, ILO, 1986, paragraphs 133 to 152). In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the basis for the criteria used in the job appraisals conducted during the collective bargaining process and what methods, if any, have been applied to ensure that such criteria are consistently applied and weighted in a non-discriminatory manner.