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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1968)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government and the attached documentation.

1. The Committee notes from the Government’s report containing statistical data on the distribution of employees in the public service that women constitute 37.22 per cent and men 62.78 per cent of public service employees. The Committee hopes that the Government will also be able to answer its direct request of 1998 and supply with the next report data on the percentage of women officials in each of the categories (from A to D) provided in the Scale of Monthly Wages sent with the report of 1998.

2. The Committee notes that Decree No. 71-285 of 2 August 1971 was repealed by Decree No. 2000-1988 of 12 September 2000, under which regional committees on agricultural work determine remuneration rates and examine the difficulties which may arise occasionally on the professional classifications of agricultural workers. The Committee reiterates the hope expressed in its direct requests in 1997 and 1998 that the Government will provide information on the remuneration rates and occupational classifications established by the committees on agricultural work.

3. The Committee notes that the Government, in response to its previous direct request, provides a list of surveys and studies conducted by the Centre de Recherches, d’Etudes, de Documentation et d’Information sur la Femme (CREDIF). The Committee asks the Government to supply a copy of "Femmes et ville" (2000) with its next report. Furthermore, considering that except for this study, all the others date back to the years 1994-97, the Committee hopes that new inquiries or surveys will be carried out on the factors preventing or promoting the implementation of Convention No. 100. In this regard the Committee considers that studies on the situation of women in rural areas and in certain regions of the country are particularly needed given the regional disparities in the country. Please also supply information on the measures taken or envisaged to address existing inequalities between women and men in their access to education, vocational training and employment. Furthermore, taking into account that throughout the country women are affected by a high percentage of illiteracy, low educational levels and low participation rates in the labour market, as well as occupational segregation in both vocational training and employment, the Committee reiterates the direct request addressed to the Government in 2000 under Convention No. 111, as formulated in paragraph 1.

4. The Committee notes that the Government’s report indicates that Tunisian enterprises do not carry out any discrimination on the basis of sex in their human resources management. In order to assess the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the criteria employed in the private sector for the classifications of posts and determination of wages, and on measures taken to ensure that jobs are objectively appraised on the basis of the work performed. Moreover, noting that the Government indicates that it will send statistics as soon as they are available, the Committee hopes to receive with the next report statistical data on the distribution of men and women at the levels of the various wage rates and, if possible, by occupation, branch of activity, seniority and level of qualification, as they were called for in the direct requests of 1997 and 1998. In this regard the Committee refers to its general observation on this Convention in 1998.

5. As already stated in its direct request in 1998, the Committee hopes that the Government will continue to provide information on inspections and follow-up visits made by the labour inspectorate in agricultural enterprises, as well as cases in which violations of the principle of equal remuneration are reported, and the penalties and administrative measures applied.