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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Belarus (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s report and the attached information.

1. The Committee notes that in January 2000 a single wage scale was introduced and that differentiated wage rates and scales are determined after an appraisal procedure. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on how the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value is ensured in the context of this single wage scale. The Committee recalls that, because men and women tend to perform different jobs, an objective and analytical technique to measure the relative value of jobs with different contents is essential to eradicate gender-based wage discrimination. 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 and 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 of 1986 on equal remuneration, paragraphs 133-152). The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information with its next report on the criteria and methodology used to ensure that the single wage scale and job appraisals give equal consideration to the factors present in jobs which tend to be undertaken by women workers.

2. The Committee notes the statistical information concerning numbers of workers, hours worked and average monthly and hourly wages, disaggregated by sex, in specific sectors in October 1999. In reviewing these data it notes that women workers constitute 66.22 per cent of the total workforce and that the average number of hours worked by men and women differs by one and two hours per month in some sectors. For example, in the industrial sector women worked on average 169 hours while men worked 170. In the health-care sector men workers only represent 32.32 per cent of the workforce, but women workers earn only 64.24 per cent of the wages of men. In the education sector, women workers represent 89.1 per cent of the workforce and earn 79.92 per cent of men’s earnings on average, compared with 79.4 per cent in 1997, showing that the wage gap has persisted in this sector. In terms of hourly wages, the Committee notes that women workers throughout the country on average earn 86.12 per cent of the hourly wages of men. In the health-care sector this figure is 65.66 per cent, despite women working nearly the same number of hours as men. In the education sector it is 94.1 per cent. The statistical data supplied by the Government concerning the number and distribution of women in managerial positions in the different sectors in 1999 show that in all sectors taken together, 46 per cent of managers and senior specialists were women, while 41.2 per cent of managers of enterprises and organizations were women, and 45.4 per cent of directors of subdivisions and 54.5 per cent of senior specialists were women. The Committee notes this information and the substantial percentage of women in high-level posts. Nevertheless, the Committee concludes from the above that the wage gap persists and reiterates its previous request to the Government to indicate whether there are any studies or statistical data available that might indicate factors contributing to the persistence of the wage gap in these sectors and to provide copies of any such studies or data in its next report.

3. The Committee notes the general agreement concluded between the Government and the national employers’ associations and trade unions for 1998 2000 setting out the duties and actions to be undertaken. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any tripartite action taken to promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.