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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Israel (Ratification: 1965)

Gender pay gap. The Committee previously noted that, calculated on the basis of gross monthly salary, the gender pay gap in 2009 was 34.29 per cent for the total population, 38 per cent for the Jewish population and 23.1 percent for the Arab population. The Committee also noted the important gender pay gap in the civil service (24 per cent). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that efforts are being made to tackle the problem of the gender pay gap and provides information concerning the increase of representation of women in the highest positions in the civil service. The Committee further notes that in its report concerning the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Government indicated that the Ministry of Economy appointed a committee to examine the gender pay gap which submitted an interim report in November 2012. One of the initial recommendations in this report was to improve balance between work and family responsibilities. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide detailed and updated statistical information disaggregated by sex on the distribution of men and women in the different sectors and occupations (including caregivers) and their corresponding earnings since 2009, including data for the different population groups, so as to allow an evaluation of the progress made over time to reduce the gender pay gap. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the findings and conclusions of the latest report of the Authority for Advancing the Status of Women and corresponding follow-up.

Measures to promote equal remuneration. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the project “Equal females for advancement of equal pay” conducted in cooperation with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the New Israel Fund committed to equality and social justice (Shatil) and other Israeli institutions. The project aims at collecting and gathering information on wage gaps as well as data disaggregated by sex and sector, raising awareness and capacities of employers; developing a simulator for the measurement of the wage gaps and encouraging policymakers to adopt the necessary legislative provisions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information of the impact of the project as well as of any other concrete measure adopted in order to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Scope of comparison. The Committee has been referring to the need to extend the scope of comparison beyond the same employer or workplace as provided for under section 2 of the Male and Female Workers Equal Pay Law, 1996. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide additional information in this respect. Given the occupational sex segregation in certain sectors, the Committee asks the Government once again to indicate what measures are being taken or envisaged to extend the scope of comparison to ensure that the principle of the Convention can apply even in the absence of a male comparator in the same workplace or with the same employer.

Article 3 of the Convention. Objective job evaluation. The Committee referred in its previous report to two cases filed with the Labour Court by the Equal Opportunity in Employment Commission with a request for the appointment of a job evaluation expert under section 5 of the Male and Female Workers Equal Pay Law, 1996. These cases involved the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Capital Studios Group. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that these cases are still pending. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the final result of the judicial procedures as well as on all the concrete measures being adopted with the objective of establishing a mechanism for the objective evaluation of jobs.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that according to the Government, there is strong cooperation between the EEOC and the employers’ organizations for the adoption of the Diversity Management Model. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the Diversity Management Models implement the principle of the Convention and to provide information on any additional measures adopted in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government, in particular, to provide information on any activities of the Advisory Committee established under section 18(g) of the Employment (Equal Opportunity) Law, 1988 which includes representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations.

Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the Supreme Court ruling requiring employers paying different wages to men and women to prove it is not due to gender discrimination as well as of any other judicial decisions concerning the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Please provide information on any progress made in adopting legislation on compensation in equal pay cases.