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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ratification: 1969)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value and application of the principle to all aspects of remuneration. The Committee recalls that section 86 of the Labour Code, which provides that with equal conditions of work, vocational qualifications and output, the salary is equal for all workers, irrespective of origin, sex or age, is not in conformity with the Convention, which requires measures to promote and ensure equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It recalls its previous concerns that the Labour Code currently provides for equality only in respect of the salary (section 86) and accommodation and accommodation allowances (section 138), and that the term “remuneration” as defined in section 7(h) includes additional payments, such as commissions, payments in kind, bonuses, etc., whereas it is provided that transport allowances, family allowances, accommodation and accommodation allowances and health care are not considered part of the remuneration. In this context, the Committee had drawn the Government’s attention to the Government’s obligation under the Convention to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is applied to all aspects of remuneration, as broadly defined in Article 1(a), and that women and men should have the right to equal remuneration not only where they have the same working conditions, vocational qualifications and output, but also where they have different vocational qualifications and when they work in different working conditions, so long as the work performed is of equal value. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has taken due note of the Committee’s comments and will take them into consideration in the context of a future revision of the Labour Code. The Government also envisages defining a wage policy which takes account of all the elements of remuneration. Recalling its 2006 observation which calls on States which have not yet done so to ensure that their legislation fully reflects the principle of the Convention, the Committee once again asks the Government to take the necessary steps to bring the legislation into line with the Convention with a view to ensuring that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women is fully reflected in the legislation and that it applies to all the elements of remuneration, as defined in Article 1(a) of the Convention. It hopes that this will be done in the very near future. The Committee also asks the Government to provide further details of the wage policy, which it hopes will cover all elements of remuneration.

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