Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Gambia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Definition of remuneration. The Committee notes that section 2 of the Labour Act 2007 defines remuneration as “all things of monetary value received by an employee in exchange for his and her services”. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in response to its previous comments concerning the meaning of this definition – which reproduces section 2 of the Labour Bill 2005 previously examined – that “all things of monetary value” include salaries, allowances, bonus, housing allowances, medical allowances, etc., whether direct or indirect. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any judicial or administrative decisions addressing the meaning of “remuneration” in section 2.

Article 1(b). Legislation providing for equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes that, when adopting the new Labour Act in 2007, the Government did not seize the opportunity to include in its labour legislation provisions expressly providing for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee further notes that, while reiterating that in practice and in law there is no such discrimination between men and women under any circumstances, the Government indicates that the issue will be referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for redress. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to include provisions in the legislation that give full expression to the principle of the Convention, in order to ensure the effective implementation of the right of men and women to equal remuneration for work of equal value. It asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in this regard, in particular on any recommendations made by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Articles 2(2)(c) and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the collective agreements for CFAO (Gambia) Limited and the MRC Laboratories The Gambia provided by the Government. Noting that none of these agreements contain a clause reflecting the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the application of the principle in the collective bargaining process and on the manner in which it cooperates with the social partners to give effect to the Convention.

Article 3. Job evaluation. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the “Scheme of service” of various departments for the classification of jobs and the determination of the corresponding wages. The Committee understands that “Scheme of service” means the qualifications and levels of experience required for entry into, and employment in, a public office. It wishes to point out that, while such criteria are important factors to establish a job classification, they may not be sufficient to ensure the absence of indirect gender‑based discrimination against women in such classification of jobs and the corresponding wages. Objective job evaluation is also important to ensure an equitable comparison of different jobs. Other criteria, such as responsibility and effort required, may also be needed to permit a comparison between different jobs or posts in order to determine whether they are of equal value and ensure the effective application of the principle of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to its 2006 general observation in which it points out that, in order to establish whether different jobs are of an equal value, there has to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, based on entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid an assessment being tainted by gender bias. As regards the private sector, the Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that the National Training Authority (NTA) has yet to conduct job evaluations and occupational classifications. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be able to provide information on the concrete steps taken by the NTA, in cooperation with the Labour Advisory Council, to undertake the objective evaluation of jobs performed by men and women, and details on the evaluation method and the criteria envisaged or used to that end. The Government is also requested to supply information on job evaluation in the public service.

Part V of the report form. Statistics. Noting that no information has been provided in response to the Committee’s previous request, the Committee once again asks the Government to supply all available statistics indicating the distribution of women and men in the public and private sectors and their level of earnings in accordance with its general observation of 1998 on this Convention.