Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 1969)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Remuneration. In earlier comments the Committee noted from a 2007 Government report that pay differentials between men and women are linked, inter alia, to the fact that family allowances and tax relief for family expenditure are granted to the man unless the woman expressly requests otherwise. The Committee notes that in its report, the Government states that family benefits are payable to the mother or, failing that, to the father of the child. The Committee asks the Government to provide clarification as to the emoluments, payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker arising out of the worker’s employment, specifying the additional emoluments available to men and women workers. Please indicate whether in practice they tend to benefit men or women or both on a par and specify to what extent they are a source of wage disparity between men and women.

Article 2. National policy on equality. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government concerning the national employment policy, pursuant to which it is foreseen to mainstream the gender dimension and gain a better understanding of the specific issues affecting women’s employment. It also notes the information regarding the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the Committee notes the adoption in 2009 of a national gender policy, which appears to replace the 2004 women’s advancement policy and which aims, among other things, to eliminate inequality between men and women in all areas. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures to reduce and eliminate the pay gap between men and women that have been adopted and implemented under the employment policy and the national gender policy, and to report on their impact. In the absence of a reply on the matter, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on specific measures taken for the development of education and the diversification of vocational training for girls and boys and for men and women in order to combat occupational segregation in the labour market and improve women’s and men’s access to better paid jobs, occupations and posts.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government to the effect that it plans “to undertake a job classification shortly, taking account of new jobs”. Referring to its observation, the Committee reiterates its previous comments and again points out that if the principle of equal remuneration for men and women is to be applied effectively, it must be possible to determine the value of work by comparing the tasks it involves on the basis of objective criteria that are free of stereotyping and gender bias, in order to classify them according to the value thus obtained and establish rates of pay accordingly. Although the Convention does not prescribe the use of a particular evaluation method, the Committee emphasized in its general observation of 2006 that for the purpose of ensuring equality of remuneration between men and women, certain analytical methods of job evaluation have been found to be the most effective. These allow a systematic comparison of jobs based on explicit, clearly defined criteria, thus reducing the risk of subjective decisions. Such methods analyse and classify jobs on the basis of objective factors relating to the jobs to be compared – skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions (see General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 700–703). It is important 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. Noting that the Government intends shortly to undertake a classification of jobs, the Committee asks it to provide detailed information on the measures taken or envisaged, in cooperation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations, to develop a method for evaluating jobs on the basis of objective, non-discriminatory criteria going beyond the qualifications and experience required for a job, and to promote the use of such a method in both the public and the private sectors. Please provide information on the progress made in the classification of jobs.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on arrangements for institutional cooperation with the social partners (Labour Advisory Committee (CCT), annual Government/union meetings, the Joint Committee on Wage Bargaining in the Private Sector (CMPNSSP) and the National Safety and Health Technical Advisory Committee), and notes that according to the Government, the CCT has not as yet issued an opinion on the matter of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Recalling the importance of the role played by employers’ and workers’ organizations in the effective application of the principle of the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to encourage the social partners to address the matter, particularly in the CMPNSSP. Please provide information on progress made in this regard.

Monitoring and enforcement. The Committee notes that according to the Government, the labour inspectors responsible for enforcing the principle of equality and reporting inequalities have attended training courses on issues pertaining to enforcement of the law, including enforcement of the principle of equality. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the specific activities undertaken by the labour inspectorate to enforce in enterprises the application of the legislation on equal remuneration for men and women together with particulars of infringements reported or detected, remedies provided and penalties imposed, providing extracts of relevant inspection reports. Please also send information on any court decisions relating to unequal remuneration.

Statistics. The Committee notes that for the time being the Government is unable to ensure the compilation of data on the distribution of men and women in the public and private sectors and their remuneration, because of the geographical spread of workplaces and the economic situation. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to take steps to set up an appropriate framework in the near future for the collection and analysis of such data due in particular to the operation of the National Observatory for Employment and Vocational Training, mentioned in the report, and asks it to provide information on progress made in this regard together with all available data on the gender pay gap.