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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Iraq (Ratification: 1963)

Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls its previous comments, drawing the Government’s attention to the need to revise section 4(2) of the Labour Code to give full expression to the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, as the provision limits equal remuneration to work of the same nature and the same volume performed under identical conditions. The Government had previously indicated that section 4 of the draft Labour Code provided for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and that the draft text would be discussed by the State Consultative Council. The Committee notes that the Government does not refer in its most recent report to any progress made in revising the Labour Code, stating generally that there is no discrimination in work undertaken by men and women, in law or in practice, and that the value of the work is determined by the occupation. The Committee again draws the Government’s attention to the fact that, in applying the principle of the Convention, jobs that are of an entirely different nature must be able to be compared to determine whether the jobs are of equal value. This is particularly important given the occupational sex segregation, which characterizes the Iraqi labour market. The Committee stated in its general observation of 2006 that legal provisions that are narrower than the principle as laid down in the Convention hinder progress in eradicating gender-based pay discrimination against women at work, because they do not give expression to the concept of “work of equal value”. Noting from the Government’s report under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), that the revision of the Labour Code appears to be ongoing, the Committee urges the Government to ensure that in the revision process, full legislative expression is given to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, without limiting it to work of the same nature and same volume performed under identical conditions, and ensuring that the principle applies to all workers, whether skilled or unskilled. Please provide specific information on the steps taken and progress made in this regard.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.