Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Belarus (Ratification: 1956)

1. Article 2 of the Convention. Public service. The Committee notes that section 8 of the Public Service Act, 2003, provides that the remuneration of public servants shall consist of a salary, additional payments depending on the class of public servant and the length of service, as well as bonuses and other payments specified by legislation. While noting that section 24(2) of the Act prohibits discrimination based on sex in public service employment, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which it ensures that remuneration is established in accordance with the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

2. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government concerning the job evaluation provided for in the Uniform Wage Rates and Skills Handbook. The evaluation is based on an analytical appraisal of work difficulty using criteria such as the degree of difficulty in maintaining and using work tools, the complexity of the industrial process, the scope of the assigned work, the level of independence and responsibility, working conditions and the creative nature of the work. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether such an analytical job evaluation is also used in other wage rate handbooks, such as the one for directors, specialists and non-manual workers.

3. Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes that during the reporting period no separate item concerning equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value has been placed on the agenda of the National Council for Labour and Social Affairs. The Government indicates, however, that the Council discussed measures to regulate salaries in the industrial sectors in 2003 and issues concerning remuneration in agricultural organizations in 2005, including the calculation of the length of service for the purpose of determining pensions. Further, the Committee notes from the report that the 2004–05 General Agreement between the Government and the social partners dealt with issues of remuneration. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which the principle of the Convention has been taken into account in the deliberations and decisions of the National Council for Labour and Social Affairs on the abovementioned questions, as well as in the 2004–05 General Agreement.

4. Parts IV and V of the report form. Results of labour inspection and judicial decisions. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the legislation applying the Convention and the explanations concerning the tasks of the Department of State Labour Inspection in order to supervise its application. It asks the Government to provide information on the number and nature of infringements concerning remuneration detected by the labour inspectors, indicating also the number of cases involving violations of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Further, please indicate whether the courts have dealt with any such cases.

5. Assessment of the gender wage gap. The Committee notes from the statistical information provided by the Government that at the end of 2004, women earned on average 81.1 per cent of men’s monthly wages. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide updated statistical information on men’s and women’s earnings, as well as information on the distribution of men and women in the different sectors of economic activity.