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

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

1. Assessing the gender pay gap. The Committee notes that a new Earnings Statistics Act entered into force on 1 January 2007, which enables more comprehensive data collection on remuneration and hence, as of 2008, more precise information on equality in remuneration will be available. It notes that the Act provides for the collection of data on earnings, structure of earnings and labour costs. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the Act’s implementation and on the manner in which it is contributing to a better assessment of the extent and evolution of the gender pay gap. It also asks the Government to continue to provide the most recent statistical data on the earnings received by men and women, both in the private and public sectors.

2. Promoting equal pay through collective agreements and workplace practices. The Committee notes that the Government has published in 2007 an updated version of the guidelines for the implementation of the principles of equal remuneration for women and men for equal work and work of equal value (“Fair p(l)ay – Equal pay for women and men”). The Committee welcomes these guidelines which provide an introduction to the issue of equal pay, relevant legal provisions, objective job evaluation, as well as practical recommendations to collective bargaining parties, work councils, and workers and employers. The Committee notes that the Government is encouraging collective bargaining parties to undertake joint initiatives and to promote the systematic analysis and redrafting of collective agreements, and that an analysis of the Federal Employees Collective Agreement to identify potential discrimination is still ongoing. The Committee asks the Government to:

(a)   continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, including indications as to the results achieved by such action (e.g. examples of changes made in collective agreements with a view to promoting equal pay or information on the extent that objective job evaluation methods are being used in practice);

(b)   indicate the outcomes of the analysis of the Federal Employees Collective Agreement with regard to potential discrimination and on how the results of the analysis have led to any changes in the collective agreement.

3. Enforcement. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning an equal pay case brought by a works council before the Hamburg Labour Court in 2007, which was the first case brought under the General Equal Treatment Act. The case was settled with an agreement that men and women performing the same work in the same unit of an enterprise cannot be remunerated under different collective agreements. The Committee notes that collecting and publishing court cases on equality is an important aspect of promoting respect for the legislation and to assess compliance. The Committee asks the Government whether any consideration is being given to collecting and publishing systematically information on court decisions concerning equality, including equal remuneration for work of equal value. Please continue to provide information on relevant jurisprudence.