Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Iraq (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes with regret that once again the Government’s report contains no reply to the comments it has been raising since 1996. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read in relevant part as follows:

The Committee reiterates the requests that it made in previous comments for recent information to be provided on the application of the Convention in practice, and particularly statistical data on the wage rates and the average actual earnings of men and women in the private, cooperative and mixed sectors disaggregated, if possible, by occupation, sector of activity, seniority and level of qualification, as well as information on the corresponding percentage for women.

The Committee recalls that section 4, II, of the Labour Code of 1987 provides for equal remuneration only for "work of the same nature and the same volume carried out in identical conditions", which is inconsistent with Article 1 of the Convention which provides that equal remuneration for men and women workers must apply to all work "of equal value". The Committee notes that the Government indicated previously that equality of remuneration for men and women workers who perform work of equal value, even if it is of a different nature, is applied through the work rules in the establishments that are covered by the Labour Code, and that it maintains in its latest report that equal remuneration for work of equal value applies throughout the private, cooperative and mixed sectors, that the Labour Inspectorate is responsible for ensuring that the law is applied and has reported no infringements in this respect. It again asks the Government to provide copies of these work rules with its next report.

The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that section 4 of the Labour Code does not give full effect to the Convention, which provides for equal remuneration for work of equal value. It would therefore be grateful if the Government would indicate the measures it plans to take to amend section 4 so as to bring the labour legislation into conformity with the Convention.

With regard to supplementary bonuses and indemnities that are determined as a function of the results of the enterprise and are assigned through agreements negotiated between organizations of employers and workers, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the bonuses and indemnities are granted without discrimination, as in the public service. It again asks the Government to provide examples of enterprise, corporation or other agreements, as well as statistical tables showing the distribution of bonuses and indemnities by category of worker and between men and women workers in both the public and private sectors, so that it may ascertain that the principle of the Convention is observed in respect of this type of remuneration.

The Committee also asks the Government to provide copies of collective agreements fixing wage levels in various sectors of activity, with an indication, if possible, of the percentage of women covered by such agreements and the distribution of men and women at the different levels.

With regard to the public service, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, remuneration is equal for men and women with the same skills, who are employed at the same grade and work in the same areas and conditions. It asks the Government to provide with its next report the salary scales applying in the public sector, with an indication of the percentage of men and women employed at the different levels.