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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Romania (Ratification: 1957)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls that, following its amendment in 2006, the Labour Code henceforth prohibits any discrimination in remuneration for work of equal value. It notes with interest the adoption of the Framework Act No. 330 on the unitary pay system for public sector employees, which expressly stipulates that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is one of the fundamental precepts of the pay system of the staff concerned. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the enforcement of section 3(d) of the Framework Act No. 330 in practice, specifying in which manner and under which authority respect for this provision is guaranteed, as well as the procedure allowing the staff concerned to enforce their rights in the event of wage discrimination.

Assessment of the gender pay gap. The Committee noted in its previous comment that gender pay gaps were particularly high in manufacturing (25 per cent), trade (20.4 per cent) and health and social work (20.6 per cent), and it asked the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to close the gender pay gap in these sectors. The Committee nevertheless notes that according to Eurostat statistics, the gap in average gross hourly earnings dropped from 12.7 per cent in 2007 to 8.1 per cent in 2009. Noting that the Government’s report does not reply to its previous request for information, the Committee asks the Government once again to indicate all measures taken to combat effectively the gender pay gap in the sectors where it is particularly wide. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the reasons for the closing of the gender pay gap in 2009, and to provide the most recent statistics available on the number of women and men in employment, by economic sector, and on their respective earnings.

Article 2. Application of the principle by means of collective agreements. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that the collective agreement concluded at the national level for the period 2007–10 reflected the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, whereas the Collective Agreement No. 710 for the automobile construction industry only provided for “equal salary for equal work between men and women”. It therefore asked the Government to take appropriate steps to ensure that collective agreements included the principle laid down in the legislation and in the Convention. In the absence of any information on this point, the Committee once again asks the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that collective agreements reflect the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on the measures taken in this respect as well as on any new collective agreement concluded at the national level. The Government is also asked to indicate the way in which the social partners determine the classification of jobs and, consequently, the corresponding levels of pay (criteria and methods of evaluation used).

Articles 2 and 3. Determination of remuneration and objective job evaluation in the public sector. The Committee notes that, under the Framework Act on the unitary pay system for public sector employees, basic wages are established according to level of education, occupational experience, level of responsibility and the complexity of the job, which, according to the Government, excludes any violation of the principle of equal remuneration between women and men, at least in theory. The Committee would nevertheless like to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that inequalities may still remain because of the criteria and methods used to classify posts, especially when women make up most of the workforce in certain categories of employment, which being often at the bottom of the ladder, are consequently the least well paid. As the Committee pointed out in its general observation of 2006, particular care must be taken to ensure that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out, are not inherently discriminatory. Often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male skills” such as heavy lifting. The Committee also considers that wage disparities between men and women in the public sector might be the result of disparities in the payment of certain supplementary wage benefits, such as housing allowances. In the light of its preceding comments, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to guarantee that the methods and criteria applied to classify jobs in the public sector are free from gender bias and to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value is applied effectively, especially with respect to the payment of additional benefits.

Monitoring of enforcement. Labour inspection. The Committee notes that the labour inspection services do not have disaggregated data based on the legal provisions monitored. The information provided by the Government nevertheless indicates that approximately 33,000 labour inspections were conducted in 2007, 2008 and 2009 under Act No. 202/2002 concerning equal opportunities as between men and women, and that the number of employers penalized had increased from 1,121 in 2007 to 2,551 in 2008 and 3,327 in 2009, whilst the total amount of fines had increased from 30,000 lei in 2007 to 309,500 lei in 2008, and decreased to 6,000 lei in 2009; furthermore, from 2008 to April 2010, the labour inspection services had recorded 78 complaints of discrimination at the workplace and only one complaint in 2007 with respect to equal remuneration. Taking note of this information, the Committee asks the Government to take steps to make labour inspectors more aware of the principles of the Convention and to train them accordingly, and to inform the workers, employers and their organizations of the provisions and applicable legal proceedings with respect to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Government is requested to continue providing information on cases of discrimination in terms of remuneration noted by labour inspectors, as well as on complaints lodged on this matter.