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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Poland (Ratification: 1954)

The Committee notes the report of the Government and the attached information, including statistical data.

1. The Committee notes that the Government is considering introducing in the national labour law the concept of "work of equal value" and criteria to determine the value of different kinds of work. It welcomes this initiative and requests the Government to provide information on the relevant legislative developments, including the development of criteria to be used in assessing equal value.

2. The Committee notes the Act of 23 December 1999 "concerning the shaping of the means for remuneration in the state budgetary sphere and concerning the change of some Acts", which has replaced the Act of 23 December 1994. The Committee also notes that according to the paper "Structure of wages and salaries by occupation in October 1999", in the public sector female employment is predominant and amounted to 56.5 per cent in October 1999. Noting that under section 7 of the Act, the annual average indexes for remuneration increases are subject to negotiation in the framework of the Tripartite Commission of Social and Economic Affairs, the Committee requests information on any measures taken or envisaged by this Commission to guarantee equal remuneration for work of equal value between men and women in the state budgetary sphere.

3. The Committee notes that, according to the statistics provided in the Government’s report, from 1991 to 1999 women’s participation as full-time employees in the lowest decile group of remuneration decreased from 68.4 per cent to 55.6 per cent and their representation in respect to men diminished from 2.2:1 to 1.3:1. In the highest decile group of remuneration, women’s participation increased from 21 per cent to 29.4 per cent. However, their participation in respect to men’s did not improve; it remained steady at a ratio of 0.3:1. The Committee also notes that according to the statistical data included in the abovementioned paper, in October 1999 men’s hourly earnings were 17 per cent and monthly earnings were 25.1 per cent higher than women’s in spite of the fact that "women are in general better educated than men and more often perform work demanding higher qualifications" (page 34). Recalling the Government’s acknowledgment included in its previous report that in order to address the wage differential between male and female workers, particular activities to promote women into better paid areas and posts are required, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to reduce the existing pay gap between men and women.

4. The Committee notes the Act of 25 June 1999 on "Social insurance cash benefits for sickness and maternity". It also hopes that the Government would continue to provide information on any measures which, though related to Convention No. 100, fall within the scope of other ILO instruments such as Convention No. 111 (ratified) and Convention No. 156 (not ratified). As frequently emphasized by the Committee, a comprehensive approach in the area of equality of opportunity and treatment is of particular importance for the application of Convention No. 100.

5. In the absence of any information from the Government, the Committee asks again that the Government consider the possibility of examining the job evaluation systems in operation to ensure that the factors used capture all the different aspects inherent in the work undertaken by both sexes. It reiterates its observation that, in general, the factors used in job evaluation schemes often tend to favour one sex and the factors which are likely to be present in jobs undertaken mainly by women are sometimes omitted and, therefore, not valued.