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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to its previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wages. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that the establishment of the minimum wage constitutes one of the Government’s most significant steps towards regulating remuneration. The Government indicates that the monthly minimum wage is determined for simple and unskilled work not requiring a specified level of qualifications, and no one can be paid lower than the statutory minimum wage. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the national minimum wage, and recalls that this is an important means by which the Convention is applied. As women predominate in low-wage employment, and a uniform national minimum wage system helps to raise the earnings of the lowest paid, it is likely to have an influence on the gender pay gap (General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 682–685). The Committee asks the Government to provide information as to whether any groups of workers or sectors are excluded from the coverage of the minimum wage. Please also provide information on the level of the minimum wage, and the method used to set it. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the impact the introduction of the minimum wage has had on the gender pay gap.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee recalls that section 121(1) of the Labour Code of 2007 provides that the monthly wage of the employee shall depend on the qualifications of the employee, the complexity, amount and quality of the work performed, as well as the working conditions, and section 125 sets out the manner in which qualification requirements and levels of complexity of the different types of work are to be determined, namely on the basis of manuals elaborated by the state labour authorities. Pursuant to section 22(23), the worker has the right to be paid in accordance with these criteria. The Committee recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs; for the purpose of ensuring gender equality in the determination of remuneration, analytical methods of job evaluation have been found to be the most effective. (General Survey, 2012, paragraphs 695 and 700). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on job-evaluation methods used to compare different jobs, including any set out in the manuals of the state labour authorities, and to indicate how it is ensured that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out are not discriminatory, either directly or indirectly.

Articles 2 and 4. Collective bargaining. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that the Government states generally that labour relations may be regulated by collective agreements. The Committee asks the Government to provide summaries of any collective agreements expressly providing for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Please also provide information on specific measures taken in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to giving effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken by the competent authorities to ensure the effective monitoring and enforcement of the provisions of the Labour Code concerning remuneration. Please provide information on any complaints of such violations addressed by the courts, labour inspectors, or other authorities, and the results thereof.

Part V of the report form. Statistics. The Committee asks the Government to collect and provide statistical information on the situation on men and women in employment and their remuneration in the public and private sectors, by industry and occupation. Please also provide any available information on the gender pay gap and any analysis of the causes and evolution of the gender pay gap.