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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Belgium (Ratification: 1952)

Wage gap between men and women. The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the two latest annual reports on “the remuneration gap between men and women in Belgium” published in 2009 and 2010 by the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IEFH). The data show that the remuneration gap calculated based on the gross annual salaries of part-time and full-time workers across all sectors has narrowed only slightly, from 25 to 24 per cent. As in previous years, the reports highlight considerable wage gaps for the different categories of workers and reveal that the largest remuneration gap is found among managers, where the gap is 34 per cent, and 22 per cent of these managers are women. The Committee notes that these reports now contain data disaggregated by nationality, which show that foreign women face double discrimination in terms of wages. The gap between the average gross hourly wage of male foreign workers and that of female foreign workers coming from the same countries is 14 per cent for those from the Maghreb countries and 12 per cent for those from other African countries, while the remuneration gap between female nationals of the Maghreb countries and other African countries and male Belgian workers is 37.9 per cent and 36 per cent respectively. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing up-to-date statistics on the remuneration gap between men and women in all occupational categories and to indicate any measures taken to reduce and eliminate the wage inequalities to which female workers from the Maghreb countries and other African countries are subject.

Implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value by means of collective agreements. The Committee notes with interest that collective agreement No. 25ter of 9 July 2008, which revises collective agreement No. 25 on equal remuneration between male and female workers and was made compulsory by Royal Order of 14 October 2008, explicitly provides that all sectors and enterprises must review and adapt their job classification systems (choice of criteria, weighting of these criteria, system of converting their evaluation values into remuneration components), where they are not gender neutral. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of these new clauses of collective agreement No. 25 on equal remuneration between male and female workers and on their impact on the job evaluation systems and pay classifications, as well as on the remuneration gap between men and women.

Measures to combat the remuneration gap between men and women and objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that the Minister of Employment and Equal Opportunities has asked all chairpersons of the joint commissions to put the issue of wage gaps back on the agenda of the sectoral negotiations and to tackle the issue of gender neutral job evaluation systems and then to produce a report on the progress made in that regard. The Committee also notes that the National Labour Council has been asked to make arrangements to establish a long-term plan of action by sector to achieve pay equality by 2015 or at the latest by 2019, which aims to establish compulsory wage determination and job classification on a neutral basis in all sectors of the economy. In this regard, in the report on the wage gap published in 2010, the IEFH emphasizes that the planned harmonization of the conditions of service of workers and employees provides an opportunity to restructure completely the job classifications and related salary scales. Finally, according to the Government’s report, it plans to amend the Royal Order of 14 July 1987 introducing measures for the promotion of equal opportunities for men and women in the private sector in order to lay down the minimum content of the equality opportunities plan and the annual report on that issue drawn up in consultation with workers and to adopt a Royal Order amending the model social report for enterprises by disaggregating it by sex. The Committee welcomes these initiatives which demonstrate a firm commitment to tackling the persistent remuneration gap between men and women and requests the Government to provide information on their implementation, as well as on their impact on the wages of men and women, by providing further information on the following points:

(i)    the discussions within the joint commissions on the issue of the wage gap and their impact on the adoption of neutral job classifications;

(ii)   the adoption of the long-term plan on pay equality and the measures taken in the context of that plan;

(iii)  the use in practice of the tools created for enterprises and the social partners, such as the guide on job classification and the non-sexist checklist.

The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the action taken to implement the recommendations made by the IEFH in its 2010 report on the wage gap, concerning the need to combat occupational segregation in vocational training and guidance and placement by professional services, and the measures aimed at women without qualifications, isolated mothers and women who are not European Union nationals.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the number of complaints of pay discrimination processed by the IEFH (6 in 2007 and 7 in 2008). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the complaints received by the IEFH, including the action taken in response to the complaints, the penalties imposed, compensation awarded or any other measures taken to correct the disparities noted. Please also provide a copy of any relevant court decisions.