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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 2002)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report, and asks the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

1. Part I of the report form. Legislation and regulations relating to the application of the Convention in the civil service. The Committee notes the Civil Service Act, 1989, which replaces the 1962 Civil Service Act, and that section 26(a) of the Act upholds regulations issued under the Civil Service Act of 1962, as valid until replaced by new regulations. The Committee further notes the Police Force and Prisons Service Commission Act of 1990 and the Teachers’ Service Commission Act of 1989. In order to undertake a more complete examination of the application of the Convention with respect to the public service, the Committee asks the Government: (i) to confirm in its next report whether the abovementioned legislation is still in force; (ii) whether it applies to civil servants in both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar; and (iii) to provide copies of any regulations adopted by the commissions established under the respective Acts relevant to the application of the Convention in the public service.

Mainland Tanzania

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Legislation. The Committee notes with interest that article 23(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania provides for the right to equal remuneration without discrimination. It also notes with interest the adoption of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004 (ELRA), which appears not yet to have come into force, and which applies to "all employees, including those in the public service", except members of the peoples’ defence forces, the police force, the prisons service and the national service. The Act prohibits indirect and direct discrimination based on sex in any employment policy and practice, including remuneration (sections 7(4) and (9)), and requires employers to take positive steps to guarantee equal remuneration for men and women performing work of equal value (section 7(10)); section 7(2) of the ELRA provides that an employer shall register with the Labour Commissioner a plan to promote equal opportunity and to eliminate discrimination in the workplace. The Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report whether and when the ERLA has entered into force and to provide information on its practical application in both the public and private sectors. Please also provide information on whether any equality plans have been registered with the Labour Commissioner which include measures to eliminate wage discrimination and to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

2. Wage boards. The Committee notes that, according to sections 35(1) and 36 of the Labour Institutions Act of 2004, the Minister may appoint a tripartite wage board in respect of an area or sector to investigate remuneration and terms and conditions of employment. Based on the recommendations and findings of the wage board, the Minister can make wage orders determining minimum wages and conditions of employment for a particular sector or area. The Committee further notes with interest that section 37(a-b) of the Act provides that the wage board shall take into account article 23 (equal remuneration) of the Constitution and any applicable ILO Conventions or Recommendations. The Government is asked to provide copies of relevant wage orders made by the Minister in the various sectors of the economy and an indication of the men and women covered by them. Please also provide information on the manner in which the wage boards ensure the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the determination of minimum rates of remuneration, so as to avoid gender bias and discrimination based on sex.

3. Collective agreements. The Committee notes that section 8(1)(b) and (c), prohibits trade unions or employers’ organizations from discriminating directly or indirectly on the grounds of sex in any employment policy or practice, including with respect to remuneration (section 7(9)(c)), and in collective bargaining agreements. It asks the Government to provide copies of relevant collective agreements and information on the methods used by the social partners to determine rates of remuneration without discrimination based on sex. The Committee would also be grateful to receive information on the manner in which the Government is promoting the inclusion of equal pay provisions in collective agreements.

4. Article 3. Objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on this point, the Committee recalls that the adoption of techniques to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs is critical to eliminating disparities in the remuneration levels of men and women. It asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote an objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed in both the public and private sectors. Please also provide information concerning the extent to which employers and workers have embarked upon fixing wages in collective agreements on the basis of objective job evaluation free from gender bias.

5. Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that Part II of the Labour Institutions Act, 2004, establishes a Labour, Economic and Social Council, comprised of equal representatives from the Government, employers’ organizations, employees’ organizations and experts on economic and social affairs, to advise the Labour Minister on issues related to the promotion of economic growth and social equality and policies, as well as labour market policies. The Government is asked to indicate in its next report whether the Council has given any consideration to the issue of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value. Please also provide additional information on the measures that have been taken to promote cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations and what results have been obtained from these measures.

6. Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the manner in which the labour inspectorate services supervise and ensure the application of the relevant legislation and the application of equal remuneration for work of equal value between men and women, including information on the methods used. Please also provide information on whether any administrative or judicial decisions have been issued involving the principle of the Convention, including information on their findings, remedies and sanctions.

7. Part V of the report form. Practical application and statistics. The Committee notes the data provided by the Integrated Labour Force Survey 2000/2001 showing that the overall average monthly income of Tanzanian women is consistently lower than their male counterparts across all industries and occupations (with women’s average monthly income being 71.4 per cent of men’s). For example, women’s mean monthly income is significantly lower than men’s among professionals (63.8 per cent of men’s), clerks (68.8 per cent), service and shop workers (48.3 per cent), skilled agriculture and fisheries workers (52 per cent), craft and related workers (55.4 per cent), plant and machine operators (65.8 per cent) and elementary occupations (75.6 per cent). Similarly, women’s average monthly income is lower as compared to men’s in the various industries such as mining and quarrying (34.8 per cent of men’s), manufacture (34.6 per cent), electricity and gas (51.3 per cent), trade (62.3 per cent), agriculture/forestry/fishing (68.5 per cent), personal services (71.9 per cent), construction (89.1 per cent) and finance (94.1 per cent). Furthermore, women earn only 59.3 per cent of men’s mean monthly income in the housework duties sector, where wages are often below the official minimum wage. On the other hand, the figures show that the gender income gap is relatively small for paid employment in the central/local government and parastatal organizations where women’s average income is respectively 91.5 per cent and 92.7 per cent of men’s. The Committee notes that the survey indicates that one of the possible reasons for the existing income gap could be the fact that very few women are employed in higher paid occupations. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the full application of the Convention, to address existing wage and income inequalities between men and women in the various occupations and industries and to promote the employment of women in higher paid jobs. Please also continue to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the income levels of men and women in the various sectors, occupational groups and levels of employment in both the public and private sectors in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Zanzibar

8. Article 1(a) and (b). Giving legal expression to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee understands that Zanzibar has recently adopted the Employment Act, 2005, a copy of which has not yet been received by the Office. The Committee notes that in 2003, the Office commented extensively on the draft Employment Bill and recommended, among other things, the insertion of a definition of remuneration that would more fully reflect the notion of remuneration set forth in Article 1(a) of the Convention. Furthermore, although section 10 (prohibition of sex discrimination in employment policy and practice) and sections 11(6) and (10)(d)(iv) of the draft Bill (promoting equality of opportunity and the elimination of discrimination in employment policy and practice, including remuneration) provided a good basis for legal protection from employment discrimination on the basis of sex, including with regard to remuneration, a provision explicitly requiring employers to guarantee equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value would have greatly improved the Bill. The Committee hopes that the new Employment Act of 2005 has taken into account these recommendations, and it asks the Government to provide a copy of the Act and an indication of its entry into force.

9. Article 2. Methods for determining rates of remuneration. The Committee notes that under the former Labour Act No. 3 of 1997, wages, including minimum wages, could be set by a contract of employment, collective agreement or wage orders. Similarly, under the draft Employment Bill, wages are fixed by an employment contract, by collective agreement or by a wage order, including minimum wage orders, established upon recommendation of the Wages Advisory Board (draft section 89). The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of wage orders that have been established under the former Labour Act of 1997 and which are still in force, and relevant collective agreements setting wage scales and minimum wages in the various sectors of the economy. Please also provide information on the methods and criteria used by the social partners and the Wages Advisory Board to determine rates of remuneration without discrimination based on sex.

10. Article 3. Objective appraisal of jobs. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on this point, the Committee recalls its comments under paragraph 4 of this direct request, and asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote an objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed in both the public and private sectors. Please also provide information concerning the extent to which employers and workers have embarked upon fixing wages in collective agreements on the basis of objective job evaluation free from gender bias.

11. Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that the composition of Zanzibar’s Wages Advisory Board established by section 90 of the draft Bill will be tripartite. The Committee would be grateful to receive information on the manner in which the Wages Advisory Board will be promoting the inclusion of equal pay provisions in collective agreements. Please also provide additional information on any other measures that have been taken to promote cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations and state what results have been obtained from these measures.

12. Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the manner in which the labour inspectorate services supervise and ensure the application of the relevant legislation and the application of equal remuneration for work of equal value between men and women, including information on the methods used. Please also provide any relevant administrative or judicial decisions involving the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, and an indication of how wage discrimination complaints have been handled, including information on their findings, remedies and sanctions.

13. Part V of the report form. Practical application and statistics. The Committee notes that the Government provides no information on the practical application of the Convention. It asks the Government to provide such information, including (but not necessarily limited to) statistical data disaggregated by sex (as described in the 1998 general observation on this Convention), legislation, reports, guidelines and other publications, and information on any measures to promote or to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value in Zanzibar.