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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Egypt (Ratification: 1960)

Wage determination. According to the Government’s report, the members of the National Wages Council (NWC), which determines the structure of wages, do not have adequate knowledge of the concept of “work of equal value” and a training session is being prepared in this respect for all the persons concerned. While noting this information, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the method used by the NWC to determine wages, including minimum wages, in the different activities and occupations and to indicate how it is ensured that such determination is free from gender bias.

Awareness raising and enforcement. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that several symposia were held on the rights provided by the Convention and were attended by the social partners. The Government indicates that it is envisaged to organize training sessions for labour inspectors on wage discrimination within the framework of the Administrative Training Centre at the Ministry of Manpower and Migration. With respect to complaints mechanisms, the Committee notes that the National Council of Women (NCW) is competent to deal with cases of wage discrimination. Taking due note of this information, the Committee asks the Government to provide specific information with respect to the following:

(i)    any enforcement activities carried out by labour inspectors in the field of wage discrimination (inspection visits carried out, cases identified, sanctions imposed, etc.);

(ii)   the number and nature of cases dealt with by the NCW, including information on their outcome;

(iii)  the manner in which the Public Department of Labour Inspection and the NCW collaborate in enforcing equal remuneration legislation;

(iv)  any judicial decision relating to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women.

Assessment of the gender remuneration gap. The Committee welcomes the statistics regarding the average weekly wages of men and women by occupation and by sector of the economy as well as the occupational classification which were annexed to the Government’s report. According to the statistics for October 2007 which cover 14 sectors of the economy, overall women in the private sector earned some 90 per cent of men’s weekly wages. The Committee notes that women earn higher weekly wages than men in a number of areas, including construction, transport and financial intermediation, which might be due to the fact that women working in these sectors, in which men predominate to a very large extent, occupy higher level positions. Since the participation of women in the private sector is very low (around 22 per cent), the Committee considers that it is difficult to assess accurately the existing gender remuneration gap and have an adequate picture of wages differentials. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to consider undertaking a study to determine the nature, extent and causes of any pay differentials that may exist both in the private and the public sectors, in order to design and implement appropriate mechanisms and measures to address effectively such differentials; this study could also include the review of the occupational classification to ensure that the terms used to describe a category of workers are gender neutral. The Government is also asked to continue to provide statistical information on wages, disaggregated by sex and sectors of the economy, including the public administration.