Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Brazil (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its reports, which include statistical data and a court decision.

1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government indicating that there continues to be a wage gap, albeit reduced, between men and women, although it is more accentuated for black or mulatto women, who earn on average 60 per cent of the wages of white men. It also notes that the percentage of women earning the minimum wage (24.7 per cent) is greater than that of men (17 per cent) and that 75 per cent of the highest-paid workers, earning more than 20 times the minimum wage, are men. In addition, it notes that the percentage of women who work fewer than 40 hours a week is twice that of men.

2. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), included in document CEDAW/C/BRA/1-5 of 7 November 2002, for 2002, among workers with schooling in San Pablo, white men earned approximately 6.30 reales an hour; black men and white women earned on average 4.5 reales, and black women 2.92 reales. It also includes statistical information indicating that the percentage of women employed in sectors such as the provision of services and social assistance, in which the wages are normally lower than in other sectors and where there is a major concentration of women, (30.2 per cent and 17.2 per cent of all active women, respectively), is higher than that of men (12.4 and 3.9 per cent, respectively). With reference to its previous comments, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide updated statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various jobs and levels of the public administration.

3. The Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on the results achieved by the measures adopted to improve women’s access to higher paid jobs in both the private and public sectors, to equalize remuneration levels and hours of work with men; and to overcome the occupational segregation, particularly with respect to black and mulatto women.

4. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 10.244 of 27 June 2001 repealing section 376 of the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT) which prohibited women from working overtime.

5. With reference to Article 3 of the Convention on the adoption of measures to promote the objective appraisal of jobs, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities that are being adopted for this purpose in the private sector and for their application in the public sector. The Committee also reiterates its request for information on the existence of clauses in the collective agreements guaranteeing equal remuneration for men and women. It further repeats its request for information on the number and types of industries in which collective agreements are being negotiated and the percentage of agreements which include clauses guaranteeing the application of the principle of the Convention.

6. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the number of complaints that have been investigated coming from units, established to promote equality of opportunity and combat discrimination in regional labour departments, reporting violations of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as well as for violations of Act No. 9799 of 26 May 1999 prohibiting gender from being used as a factor in the determination of remuneration.