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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Panama (Ratification: 1958)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report and the various annexes and statistical data attached.

1. The Government had indicated in its previous report that problems of unequal wages occur in practice and that between 35 and 39 per cent of the wage gap is caused by discrimination, with the widest gap (50 per cent) occurring in the case of women with postgraduate studies and also in the private sector. Moreover, Act No. 4 of 29 January 1990, establishing equality of opportunity for women, does not envisage a specific policy to promote equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee had requested the Government to provide information on the measures and action taken in the context of public bodies for the promotion of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

2. The Committee notes that, according to the statistics provided by the Government in its last report, the wage gap has been reduced in various sectors, for example in the commercial sector, where women on average earned 95.27 per cent of the wages of men in 1999, with this figure rising to 98.73 per cent in 2000. Despite the above, the statistics show that wage gaps between men and women persist in both the public and private sectors. Moreover, in most of the public administration the number of women employed at the higher paid levels is substantially lower than the number of men. Whilst this latter issue is related to the application of Convention No. 111, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the wage gap between men and women is also related to the horizontal and vertical segregation which may prevent women from obtaining higher paid jobs.

3. The Committee notes the commitments made by the Ministry of Labour and other government and private entities to give effect to the provisions of Executive Decree No. 53 of 25 June 2002, with particular reference to the provisions relating to: the employment of women in new occupations or in those traditionally considered to be male dominated (sections 42, 45 and 48); the establishment of a mechanism requiring the inclusion in collective agreements of a compulsory clause for parity in the distribution of women and men in the various jobs (section 50); the introduction of economic incentives in the private sector for the application of the provisions of the Convention (section 52); and the carrying out of an assessment of the situation of women domestic employees (section 56). The Committee trusts that the Government in its next report will be able to indicate the progress made in practice in reducing the wage gap between men and women for work of equal value in both the public and the private sectors. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of collective agreements which implement the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

4. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report on the provisions of section 41 of Executive Decree No. 53 of 25 June 2002 establishing machinery to receive and investigate violations reported by women workers in relation to discrimination on grounds which include sex. The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will provide information on the progress achieved in this matter in relation to the processing of complaints of violations of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee also wishes to draw the Government’s attention, in relation to the reference that it made in its report to the data on labour inspections contained in Annex 1 of the report under Convention No. 87, to the fact that it is not possible to deduce from these data whether violations of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value have been identified. For the above reasons, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report where possible on the existence of violations relating to the application of the Convention in practice.