Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Cuba (Ratification: 1954)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Work of equal value and legislation. In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that, according to the Government’s report, the expression “equal pay for equal work” is applied in practice in the same way as the expression “equal remuneration for work of equal value”. The Committee expressed the hope once again that the Government would consider the possibility of amending its legislation. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to its 2006 general observation on the Convention which, in the light of experience in the application of the Convention, emphasizes the relevance and need for legislation to give full expression to the principle of the Convention. Paragraph 6 of the general observation reads as follows: “Noting that several countries still retain legal provisions that are narrower than the principle as laid down in the Convention, as they do not give expression to the concept of ‘work of equal value’, and that such provisions hinder progress in eradicating gender-based pay discrimination against women at work, the Committee urges the governments of those countries to take the necessary steps to amend their legislation. Such legislation should not only provide for equal remuneration for equal, the same or similar work, but also prohibit pay discrimination that occurs in situations where men and women perform different work that is nevertheless of equal value.” Consequently, the Committee again asks the Government to enshrine in its legislation the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and to keep it informed in this respect.

2. Application in practice. With reference to its previous comment, in which the Committee requested the Government to supply information on the practical application of the principle of the Convention, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, the general regulations on wage structures establish a scale of complexity of work in which an individual group in the scale includes different jobs defined according to complexity, content and qualifications. It also indicates that although sectors exist in which women are in the majority (72 per cent in education, 70 per cent in health), this does not mean that these jobs are undervalued, and the abovementioned percentages include work done by teachers and high-level specialists. The Government also indicates that women occupy 60 per cent of managerial posts in the judiciary at national level, 66.6 per cent of all technicians and professionals, 48.9 per cent of researchers and 51.2 per cent of workers in the scientific sector. Noting that approximately 70 per cent of posts in education and health are occupied by women, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the number of women and men at each wage level in these sectors.

3. The Committee notes that resolution No. 30 of 25 November 2005, of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security establishes a single scale for occupational categories. The Government states that by referring to different work in different groups, this gives expression to the concept of “equal remuneration for work of equal value” since it establishes a single scale. The scale covers 22 groups, with wages ranging from 225 pesos for Group I to 650 pesos for Group XXII. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the distribution of men and women in each group covered in the scale and also the total percentage of wages for each group, disaggregated by sex.

4. Statistics. With reference to its request in paragraph 1 of its direct request of 2003 that the Government should supply statistical information disaggregated by sex and that information should include not just the minimum wage but also the emoluments referred to in Article 1(a) of the Convention, the Committee notes the statement in the report that, as from 2008, the national statistical system will present information on wages in the form requested. The Committee welcomes that the instruments for the collection of information by the National Statistical Office were revised in order to be able to collect the appropriate statistics needed under the Convention and hopes that the Government will be in a position to supply the requested statistical information in its next report.