Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes the Government’s report, which attached a communication from the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska.

1. Article 2(2)(b) and (c) of the Convention. Recognized machinery for wage determination and collective agreements. The Committee noted in its previous comments that the Labour Act of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides for the establishment of wage rates through a rule book or collective agreements. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the methods and criteria used by private employers and by the Government in determining wage rates.

2. Article 3. Job evaluation. The Committee notes that in the context of the adoption of the Law on Gender Equality, it would be opportune to adopt tools to assist in implementing the principle of equal remuneration. The Committee recalls that the notion of equal remuneration for men and women necessarily implies the adoption of some techniques to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs performed, namely, job evaluation. The Committee would welcome receiving information from the Government on any initiatives to develop or adopt tools, including job evaluation, to implement the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

3. Part V of the report form. Statistical information. The Committee welcomes the provision in the Law on Gender Equality aimed at ensuring statistical data is disaggregated by sex (sections 21 and 27), recalling in this regard its general observation of 1998 on the importance of statistical data to evaluate the application of the principle of equal remuneration. The Committee hopes that such statistics will be included in the Government’s next report.

4. Trade union comments. The Committee notes that in its communication, the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska submits that the transfer of property to the State has resulted in layoffs of thousands of workers, and lack of payment of wages and contributions for pension, health, disability and unemployment insurance, in breach of Convention No. 100. The Committee recalls that Convention No. 100 covers discrimination in respect of remuneration on the basis of sex. It does not cover the more general issue of non-payment of wages and benefits unrelated to sex. The situation as described by the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska does not appear, on the basis of the information provided, to give rise to issues under the Convention.