Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Slovakia (Ratification: 1993)

Wage Gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that wage differentials based on gender are due to many factors including the undervaluing of women’s competences and skills, the hierarchism and the lower remuneration of “female jobs and industries”, stereotyped perceptions and expectations relating to women’s “primary” role in society as a mother, as well as women’s educational level and age. The Government also indicates that women are highly concentrated in the lowest wage bands and in part-time positions. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report that the gender wage gap is approximately 20 per cent. The Committee reiterates its request for information on any measures taken to reduce differences in remuneration between men and women and to improve the access of women to higher paid jobs, as well as the impact of such measures. The Committee asks the Government to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, concerning wage differentials in different sectors of activity.

Scope of comparison – same employer. The Committee recalls its previous comments regarding section 119a(3) of the Labour Code which limits the scope of comparison to jobs performed by men and women for the same employer. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that even though the application of the principle is limited to the employer who provides the remuneration, it can be extended to groups of employers or specific groups of employees following higher-degree collective agreements concluded under the Act No. 2/1991 Coll., on Collective Bargaining. The Committee also notes that in the public sector, a specific higher-degree collective agreement has been concluded following the Act No. 553/2003 Coll., on the Remuneration of Certain Employees Performing Work in the Public Interest, providing for minimum amounts of employers’ contributions, such as in increases of wage tariffs. While noting the Government’s explanation, it remains uncertain how such collective agreements allow for claims of equal remuneration for work of equal value to invoke comparisons that go beyond the individual employer. The Committee recalls that ensuring a broad scope of comparison is essential for the application of the principle of equal remuneration given the continued prevalence of occupational sex segregation. The Committee asks the Government to clarify how the higher level collective agreements allow for a comparison of jobs beyond the same employer in a claim for equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the principle of the Convention is promoted through labour inspection, in pursuance of the Act No. 125/2006. The Committee notes from the concluding observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee that the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (2010–13) was adopted (CCPR/C/SVK/CO/3, 29 March 2011, paragraph 10). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that according to the labour inspectorate and the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights there were no complaints pertaining to the application of section 119a of the Labour Code. The Committee recalls that the absence of complaints is likely to indicate a lack of awareness of the legal provisions, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or a fear of reprisals. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on the activities of labour inspectors to promote equal remuneration for work of equal value. Please also provide information concerning measures taken to assist labour inspectors and others responsible for the enforcement of section 119a to better detect and address unequal remuneration, as well as any measures to increase public awareness of the relevant provisions and procedures. It also asks the Government to provide further information on the results of labour inspections including any data collected on employers’ compliance with section 119a of the Labour Code. The Committee also asks the Government to provide more detailed information on measures adopted under the National Action Plan for Gender Equality in order to promote the principle of the Convention.

Collective agreements. The Committee notes that in January 2010, the Act No. 564/2009 amended the Act on Collective bargaining which resulted in the absence of extensions of higher-degree collective agreements. This was due to the obligation imposed on entrepreneurs to adopt specific measures aimed at responding to the financial crisis. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that small and medium-size entrepreneurs, as well as transnational companies protested against this amendment. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Act No. 557/2010, Coll. entered into force on 31 December 2010, amending once again the Act on Collective Bargaining. This amendment allows the Government to extend higher-degree collective agreements where joint written proposals of the contracting parties and an agreement of the employer are submitted to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. The Committee further notes that in 2010, four higher-degree collective agreements were concluded in the state sector and eight were concluded in the private sector. The Government indicates that collective bargaining is currently under way over the conclusion of a higher-degree collective agreement for members of the Police Corps and of the Prison Service and Court Guards. The Committee asks the Government to provide summaries of the provisions of higher-degree collective agreements concluded in the public sector relevant to wages and to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Please also provide information on any developments concerning collective bargaining for the Polices Corps, the Prison Service and the Court Guards as it relates to the principle of the Convention.

Article 3. Job Evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that when employers decide to conduct objective job evaluation pursuant to section 119a, and if the criteria used are biased or discriminatory, employees can complain to a labour inspector in accordance with section 150 of the Labour Code. In the public sector, the Committee notes that a uniform analytical method of job evaluation is used for assigning activities under salary classes, based on the demands carried out by the inter-sectoral Commission for occupational activities evaluation. The Committee further notes that catalogues of occupational activities in the public sector have been created, setting a baseline for differential treatment according to the following criteria: demands of vocational preparation and experience, complexity and responsibility, as well as physical and mental demands of particular occupational activities. The Committee asks the Government to provide information concerning the catalogues on occupational activities in the public service, such as salary classes, statistical data on women and men in each class and the impact these catalogues have on applying the principle of the Convention.

Statistics. The Committee recalls that in order to evaluate accurately the nature and extent of unequal remuneration between men and women and better address the issue, it is necessary to collect statistical data disaggregated by sex and by occupation. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution and remuneration of men and women in different branches of activity in the public and private sectors.