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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Congo (Ratification: 1999)

Work of equal value. Legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 80(1) of the Labour Code restricted equality of remuneration for all workers regardless of sex to the existence of “equal conditions of work, qualifications and output”. The Committee further notes that section 56(7) in the Labour Code provides that collective agreements must contain provisions on the ways and means of applying the principle of “equal pay for equal work” to women. According to the Government, equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is laid down in the Constitution, according to which “women have the same rights as men” (article 8) and in section 80 of the Labour Code. The Committee refers to its general observation of 2006 and again points out that the concept “work of equal value” is broader than that of “equal work” and goes beyond “equal conditions of work, qualifications and output”. Where men and women do different work, there must be some comparison of the value of the different jobs in order to determine whether they are of equal value. Although a job may require different qualifications or skills and involve different conditions of work or output, it may nevertheless be of equal value overall. Consequently, in order effectively to prevent and combat discrimination in remuneration, the Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to amend sections 80(1) and 56 of the Labour Code so as to reflect the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value established in the Convention, and to supply information on any measures taken to this end.

Application of the principle in the public sector. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, in the negotiations of 5 August 2010 the Government and the trade unions agreed on the need to amend and supplement the provisions of Act No. 021/89 of 14 November 1989 reforming the General Conditions of Service of the Public Service. It also notes the Government’s statement that as a result of the negotiations, Decree No. 91-049 of 5 March 1991 establishing the pay scales for state employees (including contractual staff) without distinction as to gender, is to be replaced by a new decree updating the pay scales. The Committee points out in this connection that pay scales applying to all employees without distinction as to gender are not enough to exclude wage discrimination entirely; such discrimination can arise from the criteria applied in classifying jobs and from an under-evaluation of the tasks performed largely by women, or from inequalities in the payment of some supplementary wage benefits (General Survey on equality of remuneration, 1986, paragraphs 206–214). Observing that the General Conditions of Service of the Public Service contain only one general provision banning all discrimination between men and women (section 200), the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether it intends expressly to include the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value among the amendments resulting from the negotiations of 2010 between the Government and the trade union federations. It asks the Government to supply a copy of the Decree establishing the pay scales of state employees replacing Decree No. 91-049 of 5 March 1991, as soon as it has been adopted, and to specify the methods and criteria used to adjust pay scales, indicating in particular the extent to which the principle laid down in the Convention is taken into account.

General appreciation of the application of the Convention. Statistics. The Committee again asks the Government to provide available statistics on the distribution of men and women in the various categories of jobs and posts, and their remuneration in the public and the private sectors, that allow a determination of whether there are any pay gaps between men and women.