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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Haiti (Ratification: 1958)

1. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes that section 317 of the Labour Code of 1961, revised in 1984, lays down the principle set forth in the Convention by providing that, for work of equal value, women shall receive a salary equal to that paid to male workers. The Committee also notes that the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights has begun a review of the legislation in force, with a view to carrying out a revision of laws which discriminate on the basis of gender. The Committee notes, in particular, that this review of legislation also concerns the Labour Code provisions governing domestic workers. The Committee notes that this group of workers is often seriously affected by wage disparities between men and women for work of equal value and by the segregation of women in undervalued jobs. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its review of the legislation in force so as to identify and eliminate discriminatory provisions, and asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken in practice to promote and apply equal remuneration for domestic workers. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 317 of the Labour Code.

2. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that men and women receive the same salary for equal work. The Committee reminds the Government that although equal remuneration for equal work is a considerable step forward in the application of the Convention, the concept of equal remuneration for work of equal value goes beyond a comparison of remuneration between identical or similar jobs and extends to jobs of a different nature but which are nevertheless of equal value. This concept allows for the remedying of cases of discrimination which arise when women are more heavily concentrated in certain jobs and in certain sectors of activity where salaries are low in relation to the value of the work performed. The Committee recalls that an objective job evaluation allows posts in which men are predominant to be compared with those in which women are predominant in order to identify the jobs of equal value for which it would be appropriate to implement equal remuneration for men and women. The Committee previously noted that an objective appraisal of jobs for the purpose of fixing wages was to be carried out by the National Tripartite Committee. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any progress made or measures envisaged with regard to carrying out objective job evaluation.

3. Application of legislation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the investigations carried out by the General Inspection Service of the Labour Directorate did not reveal any violation relating to the existence of a wage gap between men and women. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information on the inspections carried out in the workplace, in particular on the number of inspections and the sectors concerned. The Committee asks the Government to send information on any preventive or promotional measures taken by the labour inspectorate to strengthen the application of the Convention in the workplace, including on the training and awareness-raising programmes which enable inspectors to improve how they identify and deal with violations of the principle of equal remuneration. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to promote the principle set forth in the Convention, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations and through awareness-raising and training activities. The Committee asks the Government to send information on any decisions pronounced by the competent administrative or judicial authorities in pursuance of section 317 of the Labour Code.

4. Part V of the report form. Statistics. The Committee notes that the Haitian Institute for Statistics and Data Processing carries out regular investigations to monitor wage rates. The Committee asks the Government to provide, in so far as is possible, statistics disaggregated by sex and sector of activity.