Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Japan (Ratification: 1967)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s report and the attached documentation, as well as a communication dated 31 October 2002 received from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which has been sent to the Government for comment. It recalls the observations received from the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO), the Japanese National Hospital Workers’ Union (JNHWU), JNHWU’s Tokyo District Council, the Fukuoka Women’s Association Union, and the joint communication from the Community Union’s National Network, the Edogawa Union, the Nagoya Fureai Union, the Senshu Union, and the Ohdate Labour Union concerning the application of the Convention in respect to non-regular employees, including part-time workers and wage-based staff. The Committee also recalls the observations received from the Nomura Securities Labour Union, as well as the joint communication received from the Zensekiyu Showa Shell Union, the Shiba Credit Bank Employees’ Union, the Tokyo Union, the Women’s Labour Union and the Shonai Economic Federation Labour Union alleging that career tracking systems are being used by companies to discriminate against women in respect to wages and promotions.

2. Recalling that the promotion of equality of men and women in society in general is essential for the full application of the Convention, the Committee notes the Basic Act for a gender-equal society (Act No. 78) of 1999. The purpose of the Act is to promote equal opportunities for women and men to participate as equal partners in all areas of society, including workplaces, schools and at home. The Committee notes that under the Act the Government is to draw up and implement a basic plan for gender equality and to establish a council for gender equality within the Prime Minister’s Office. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the Act’s implementation, including on the manner in which the principle of equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal value is being taken into consideration in the development and implementation of policies and programmes to promote gender equality. Further, the Committee wishes to recall that neither the Labour Standards Act nor the Equal Employment Opportunity Act fully reflects the principle of equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal value, as contained in the Convention. The Government is asked to indicate whether it is considering amending the relevant provisions of these Acts to include the Convention’s principle and, in the meantime, to provide information on its application in practice, including relevant judicial decisions.

3. With reference to its previous comments concerning the high wage differential in the average earnings of men and women, the Committee notes that according to the Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2000 women earned 65.5 per cent of the monthly contractual cash earnings received by men. Earnings differentials continue to be lower at higher levels of education. Among university graduates, women earned 69.3 per cent of men’s earnings, for graduates of higher professional schools and junior colleges the ratio was at 77.1 per cent, while the greatest difference exists at the junior high school level (60.3 per cent). The Committee also notes that the earnings of women compared to men continue to decrease significantly with increasing age: while women in the 20-24 age bracket received 91 per cent of men’s earnings, the same percentage for women in the 50-54 age range is as low as 55.3 per cent. Comparing data for 1998 and 2000 on the gender composition of the labour force classified by age brackets, it appears that the participation of women remains largely unchanged and characterized by marked decline in the 25-29 age bracket. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide statistical information that would enable it to continue to assess the trends in the labour force participation and levels of remuneration of women and men. Noting that the Basic Survey on Wage Structures only covers regular employees, apparently excluding part-time and temporary workers, which contain a heavy concentration of women, the Committee can only discern that the actual remunerations gap between women and men is larger than the figures indicated in the Basic Survey on Wage Structures. It once again draws attention to its general observation on the Convention adopted in 1998 and asks the Government to provide full statistical information, taking into account the earnings of non-regular male and female workers, if possible classified also by average hourly earnings.

4. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that research on the issue of wage disparity between men and women was currently being carried out by a group of experts. The Committee understands that the group is analysing the underlying factors as well as the effects of wage and management systems of businesses on wage disparities, with a view to developing a future framework for their reduction. Recalling that some of the disparity is due to low post assignment and lack of promotion of women, the Committee notes the proposal on promoting positive action for women in employment. Noting from the Government’s report that the proposal is also intended to clarify the standards concerning personnel appraisal systems, the Committee asks the Government to provide additional information on the proposal’s nature, content, implementation in practice, and any results achieved. The Committee also wishes to be kept informed of the results of the work of the group of experts mentioned above, including any follow-up action taken on the expert’s findings. Noting that the Government planned to set up a working committee in 2002 in order to form a consensus about what constitutes indirect discrimination, the Committee hopes that the group will take into account the effect of indirect discrimination on pay levels of women and men and looks forward to receiving information on the results and findings of this working committee.

5. With reference to its previous comments concerning wage-based employment in Japanese national hospitals and sanatoriums and the observations of the JNHWU and the JNHWU’s Tokyo District Council on this matter, the Committee recalls that it considered the extensive utilization of temporary labour in a predominately female sector to have an indirect impact on wage levels in general, inevitably broadening the wage gap between men and women. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that between 1996 and 2002 (fiscal years), the number of wage-based employees in hospitals and sanatoriums decreased by 2,240 employees, while the number of permanent employees increased by 1,587 employees, whereas external contracting for technical and practical tasks, such as cleaning or laundry, was introduced. The Government also states that it has held yearly meetings with the JNHWU and that mutually agreed "Guidelines for wage employees" concerning the treatment of these employees had been sent to the respective establishments every year. In reply to the JNHWU’s observation that in 2001, due to a recommendation of the National Personnel Authority, the wages of wage-based employees - despite its objections - were not increased and bonuses were reduced, the Government states that at the 2001 annual meeting an agreement has actually been reached between the employer and employees. The Committee asks the Government to continue to take measures to enable hospitals to harmonize their employment practices with their personnel needs in the light of the requirement under the Convention to ensure equal pay for work of equal value and to take measures taken to reduce the wage differentials between the wage-based and permanent staff.

6. Recalling its request to the Government to provide information on the utilization of wage-based staff in all sectors, the Committee notes that the Government once again states that in institutions under the national authority, other than hospitals and sanatoriums, wage-based employment did not exist. The JNHWU states that according to a survey conducted by the Administrative Affairs Agency, there are 229,407 temporary employees working for the Government. Noting that the Government applies a specific definition of wage-based employment, the Committee asks the Government to provide full information on the various types and extent and sex composition of temporary employment, including wage-based employment, used in the public and the private sectors.

7. The Committee notesRENGO’s statement that, given the high percentage of women engaged in part-time work, ensuring equal treatment for regular and part-time workers is of importance in improving wage inequalities between men and women. Similarly, the joint observations of the Community Union’s National Network and other unions state that women part-time workers in the private and public sectors are often being discriminated against in respect to remuneration which amounts to indirect discrimination against women under the Convention, as most of the part-time workers were women. According to the latter observations, 37.4 per cent of all women workers were employed on a part-time basis and 93 per cent of all part-timers were women, while female part-time workers earned 44 per cent of the average hourly wage of a male regular employee and 68.4 per cent of the average hourly wage of a female regular employee (as of 1999). In its reply, the Government points out that efforts are being made to promote a balance between the working conditions of part-time workers and regular workers as provided for in section 3 of the Part-Time Work Act. Consultations were held during 2000 and 2001 with employers and employees, interest groups and experts on the desired future policy concerning temporary employees, including the treatment of part-time workers. The Committee observes that in situations where part-time workers are mostly women, a generally lower level of remuneration for part-timers has an adverse impact on the overall wage gap between men and women. It also recalls that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value applies to all workers, including part-timers. Noting that apparently in many cases part-time employees carry out very similar or identical job duties, the Committee recalls that under the Convention levels of remuneration are to be compared through an objective job appraisal on the basis of the work performed and not on the basis of the sex of the worker or the status of the contract. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to promote wage parity for part-time workers, taking into account the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It also asks the Government to provide updated statistical information, the extent to which male and female employees are hired on a part-time basis in the various economic sectors, as well as on their levels of remuneration as compared to full-time employees, on the basis of average hourly earnings.

8. Recalling its comments concerning the use of career tacking systems in Japan as a gender-based employment management system, the Committee notes that according to the Basic Survey of Employment Management of Women 2000 the ratio of companies using such systems which employ both men and women on a "super track" (engagement in planning jobs with possibility for transferral throughout the country) increased to 46.5 per cent in 2000 from 42.4 per cent in 1998 and that the number of companies using career tracking systems decreased for the first time. The Government considers that this development may be the result of the administrative guidance, including corrective measures against employers, given by the Equal Employment Departments of the Prefectural Labour Bureaux in relation to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the guidelines concerning employment management differentiated by career track. The Committee notes that the statistical information provided by the Government does not allow for an assessment of the extent to which women are actually employed on career tracks, where such exist. The Committee also notes from the joint communication from the Zensekiyu Showa Shell Union and other workers’ organizations that, in practice, the existence of the two-track system provides opportunities for distinctions to continue to be made indirectly on the grounds of sex, which negatively impact on women’s ability to earn remuneration equal to that of men for work of equal value. With reference to the comments received from the Nomura Securities Labour Union, the Committee notes the decision of the Tokyo District Court of 20 February 2002 in respect to Cases Nos. 24,224 and 12,628. In this case brought by a group of female employees against their employer, the Court held that the separate-track hiring and treatment of women and men applied by the employer was gender based and violated article 14 of the Constitution (equality under the law), and section 6 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The Committee urges the Government once again to take the necessary measures to ensure that career tracking systems are not being used in a manner either directly or indirectly discriminatory against women and to provide information on the application and monitoring of the guidelines concerning employment management differentiated by career track at the enterprise level, as well as information on the guideline’s impact on the wage differential between men and women, including statistics on male and female participation in each track.

9. Measures of redress. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that dispute adjustment commissions to be established at the Prefectural Labour Bureaux under the Act on promoting the resolution of individual labour disputes of 2001 replace the Equal Opportunity Mediation Commission under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the cases concerning wage discrimination on the basis of gender brought before the dispute adjustment commissions under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The Committee notes that during the period from 1996 to 2001 labour inspectors found 58 cases of violations of section 4 of the Labour Standards Act, but that no case was referred to the Prosecutor’s Office. Noting that a referral to the Prosecutor’s Office would be made in cases of "grave or flagrant violation", the Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the nature of the violations found and provide examples of what would be considered a "grave or flagrant violation" of section 2 of the Labour Standards Act. Please also continue to supply information on any judicial decision relevant to the application of the Convention.