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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Chile (Ratification: 1971)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report and attached statistical information.

1. The figures provided by the Government for 1993 indicate that significant salary differentials remain between men and women, with women workers consistently earning less than men. The wage gap widens with age, with younger women (25-29) earning 83 per cent of men's average monthly wage and women between the ages of 30 and 65 earning between 57 and 69 per cent of men's average monthly wage. The greatest disparity is found in the 45-54 age group, where women earn an average of 57 per cent of men's average monthly salary. Women professionals/technicians earned 55.5 per cent of the corresponding wage for men in 1993; women managers/supervisors earned 48 per cent of the wages earned by their male counterparts. The Committee notes this information and asks the Government to continue to supply relevant statistical data, including detailed information on the measures it is taking or contemplates taking to reduce the existing wage gap.

2. The Committee takes due notice of the Government's statements contained in this and in past reports that the application of the principle of the Convention is ensured in article 19 of the Constitution and section 2 of the Labour Code. The Government also cites Acts Nos. 18.834 and 18.883 which regulate labour relations between the Government and public sector employees and between municipal governments and their employees, respectively. The Commission notes that the provisions cited in the report refer generally to equality before the law. The Government again states that there are no legislative provisions that conflict with the Convention but that, if there were, they would conflict with the Chilean Constitution and would be declared inapplicable in an action brought before the Supreme Court of Justice under article 80 of the Constitution. The Committee recalls that court decisions based upon constitutional provisions considered to be self-executing have in some countries played an important role in applying the principle of the Convention (see General Survey on equal remuneration, ILO, 1986, paragraph 38). Thus far, the jurisprudence provided by the Government addresses general questions of equality before the law. In a country where the Constitution remains the basis for application of the Convention, general provisions in the Constitution may be supplemented by an additional legislative provision expressing the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value (see General Survey, paragraph 39). Accordingly, the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether it contemplates giving legislative expression to the language of Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

3. The Committee notes that section 41 of the Labour Code excludes a number of benefits from its definition of remuneration, including family allowances, moving allowances, travel allowances, allowances for wear and tear on tools and for food expenses. The Committee recalls that the definition of remuneration under the Convention is couched in the broadest possible terms, seeking to ensure that equality is not limited to the basic wage. Article 1, paragraph (a), includes the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary, and any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker's employment (see General Survey on equal remuneration, ILO, 1986, paragraphs 14 to 16). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 41 of the Labour Code, including copies of any jurisprudence interpreting this provision.

4. The Government indicates that there have been no equal pay cases where an employer has been found to have engaged in salary discrimination on the basis of gender, nor have employers' or workers' organizations complained of discriminatory practices in the area of equal remuneration. The Government is asked to provide full information in its next report on the measures taken to promote and ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1, including disseminating information regarding the rights of men and women workers to equal pay, and cooperating with employers' and workers' organizations within the meaning of Article 4.

5. The Government again indicates, in response to the Committee's repeated requests, that it does not have access to either the collective agreements or statistics sought. The Government is again asked to supply this material and, in any event, to supply information on the progress made by the Council of Women and the Ministry of Labour in their efforts to update relevant statistics.