Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Mexico (Ratification: 1952)

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee notes with regret that the Government did not take the opportunity of the recent reform of the Federal Labour Act to include the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as set out in the Convention. Indeed, section 86 of the Act continues to provide that there shall be equal pay for equal work performed in the same post, the same working day and conditions of efficiency. However, in its previous observation, the Committee noted the Mexican Standard on Equality at Work for Women and Men, which broadens the concept of equal wages to that of “equal wages for work of comparable value”, and it requested the Government to clarify the scope of the term “comparable value”. The Committee observes that, according to the Government’s explanations, the Standard is a certification that is individual in scope and is granted to entities which apply practices aimed at equality at work, but that it does not explain the meaning of the term “comparable value”. The Committee recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” is the cornerstone of the Convention and that it is applicable to all workers. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to give full legislative expression to the principle of the Convention and to provide information on any developments in this respect.

Gender pay gap. The Committee notes that the information provided by the Government does not enable it to determine the current situation with regard to the remuneration gap between men and women. The Committee notes that according to the study “Poverty and Gender in Mexico” prepared by the National Council for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy in 2012, there is major occupational segregation and the labour market participation gap between men and women is higher in the poorest sectors, including and particularly for youth. The Committee recalls that in 2009 the pay gap measured in terms of average income was 29.3 per cent. The Committee referred previously to the comments of the National Union of Workers (UNT) on the absence of an adequate system for the compilation of statistics. The Committee notes the Government’s indication concerning the adoption of key labour market indicators for inclusion in the national catalogue of indicators. The Committee recalls that pay differentials continue to be one of the most persistent forms of inequality between women and men, and that the persistence of these disparities requires governments, together with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to take more proactive measures to raise awareness, assess, promote and give effect in practice to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The compilation, analysis and dissemination of statistical data are fundamental to detecting and addressing inequalities in remuneration. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the arrangements that are implemented for the compilation of statistics make it possible to determine in a satisfactory manner the gender pay gap and trends in that gap, and to take specific measures for its reduction. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

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