Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

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

Gender wage gap. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, according to a survey by the Ministry of Social Affairs published in 2006, the unexplained wage gap between the sexes, when all factors had been taken into consideration, was 15.7 per cent, decreasing by only 0.3 per cent since 1994. Noting that the gender wage gap has decreased very little since 1994, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to address this pay gap, including the contents and results of the action plan to achieve equal pay which was scheduled to be prepared in 2007.

Article 2 of the Convention. Collective agreements. The Committee recalls its previous request for information on the progress made in narrowing the gender wage gap through the application of collective agreements between the Government and the graduates’ unions, including the outcome of a planned study on the impact of these agreements, as well as on the activities carried out by the working group set up under the collective agreement between the State Treasury and the Union of Civil Servants. With regard to the former, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that the mentioned study has not yet been completed but is expected to be finalized by April 2008. As to the latter request, the Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that the working group established pursuant to the collective agreement between the State Treasury and the Union of Civil Servants (UCS) conducted a survey on equality covering all the government agencies where UCS members work; this survey was expected to be completed by the end of 2007. The Committee asks the Government to supply information with its next report on the findings of the study on the impact of collective agreements between the Government and the graduates’ unions in narrowing the gender wage gap as well as on the findings of the survey concerning civil servants. The Committee also reiterates its request for information on any measures taken or envisaged to allow the principle of the Convention to be implemented beyond the level of the same enterprise where wages are fixed at a wider than enterprise level.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that at present 15 unions have collective wage agreements with the City of Reykjavik which include provision for job evaluation. It also notes that, according to recent estimates concerning the period from November 2002 to November 2006, the gender pay gap among city employees had decreased; a more detailed analysis on the point was expected to be conducted in 2007. The Committee asks the Government to provide with its next report information on the results of the 2007 analysis on the gender wage gap among city employees. It also asks the Government to supply information on any measures taken or envisaged to promote objective job evaluation in the public and private sectors.

Part IV of the report form. The Committee recalls its previous comments on a ruling by the Supreme Court applying the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, which involved a comparison between jobs of a different nature performed by female and male workers. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Complaints Committee on Gender Equality has decided other cases concerning pay discrimination, determining whether jobs are of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the most relevant decisions of the courts and the Complaints Committee on Gender Equality concerning the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.