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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Comoros (Ratification: 1978)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Workers of Comoros (CTC), received on 1 September 2011, stating that the principle of equal remuneration between women and men in the private and parastatal sectors is far from being respected because there is no wage scale or indicator to which employers might refer. According to the CTC, the Convention is only applied in the public sector. The CTC also points out that the draft decree relating to the guaranteed interoccupational minimum wage (SMIG), that has been in the process of being adopted for six years, has still not been adopted. The CTC adds that, given the socio-economic situation in the country, its content is no longer valid and needs to be updated. The Committee invites the Government to submit any comments that it would like to make in reply to the observations of the CTC.

The Committee notes, moreover, that it has still not received the Government’s report. It hopes that a report will be provided for examination by the Committee at its next session, and that it will contain full information on the points raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 3 of the Convention. Objective job evaluation. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether, in order to facilitate the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, objective job evaluation in the private sector has been undertaken or is being contemplated and, if so, to state the methods used.

Minimum wage. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the draft decree relating to the guaranteed interoccupational minimum wage (SMIG) has still not been adopted. According to the Comoros Employers’ Organization (OPACO), the body which concluded the agreement on the minimum wage, namely the Higher Council for Labour and Employment (CSTE), has not been convened and is therefore not in a position to relaunch the process of adoption of the abovementioned decree. The Committee asks the Government to supply further information in this respect, particularly as regards the convening of the CSTE, and also precise information on the progress of the adoption of the decree relating to the guaranteed interoccupational minimum wage. It also asks the Government to supply a copy of the decree once it has been adopted, and also to provide information on the steps taken to ensure a strict application of any minimum wage fixed in this way.

Public sector. The Committee notes the statistical information sent by the Government concerning the numbers of men and women working in public service categories A, B and C within the General Treasury Department. However, it notes that this information does not enable it to evaluate the level of application of the Convention in the public sector. It also notes that OPACO states, in its communication of 1 September 2009, that there are no statistics on pay for men and women in the public sector or on the respective numbers of men and women in the various categories of public sector jobs and posts. The Committee notes the Government’s reply referring OPACO to its report. The Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary steps for the collection of such data to make it possible to analyse the posts and wages of men and women in the public sector, determine whether wage gaps exist and take the necessary steps to eliminate them.