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

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

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report.

1. The Committee notes the attached report of the National Meeting on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women, held in April 2001 in conjunction with the International Labour Office. The meeting adopted an action plan to promote equal remuneration in two phases: the short-term action plan is to be implemented in 2001-02 and the long-term action plan in 2003-05. The Committee notes that the short-term action plan includes the following action: a committee is to be established to follow up national action; seminars are to be organized to change women’s professional attitudes; and girls are to be encouraged to participate in education. The Committee notes that the long-term action plan includes the following action: analysis of equal remuneration in the informal and agricultural sectors; the development of vocational training for women; the review of collective agreements; the revision of the general status of public service workers; and the revision of the Labour Code. The Committee welcomes this initiative and asks the Government to provide full information on the promotional measures taken to implement these actions plans.

2. With respect to the National Directorate for the Promotion of Women (established by Ordinance No. 99-009/P-RM of 1 April 1999) and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Promotion of Women (established by Decree No. 99-156/PM-RM of 16 June 1999), the Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on these bodies and copies of any studies or reports arising from their activities on measures taken to promote the principle of equal pay for men and women workers for work of equal value, and in particular on promotional measures taken to promote the access of girls to all levels of education. The Committee recalls that the above action is crucial to increasing the participation of women in the employment market, including at decision-making levels.

3. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that at present it is unable to carry out any objective job evaluations and that it requests the technical assistance of the ILO in this respect. The Committee hopes it will be possible to provide such assistance in the near future. In the meantime, it asks the Government to refer to paragraphs 19-23 and 52-70 of its 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration, which provides clarifications regarding certain evaluation methods. It would also be grateful if the Government would keep it informed of all future developments in this respect.

4. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is ensured by the central and regional labour inspections, tribunals and by employers’ and workers’ organizations. It also states that supervision of the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is carried out in many different ways, such as visits to the workplace, regular controls of employment contracts, examination of employers’ registers of workers and remuneration and by questioning workers. The Committee asks the Government to provide information with its next report on all of these measures and their results in ensuring the application of the principle set out in the Convention.

5. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that all collective and enterprise agreements are stating "equal pay for equal work for men and women". The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of these collective and enterprise agreements and to provide information on measures taken to extend the equal pay guarantee to work of equal value, as stated in the Convention.