Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1989)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Wage gap and legislation. For a number of years the Committee has been referring to the lack of any definition of the terms “remuneration” or “work of equal value” in the legislation and to the gender wage gap. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that the gender wage gap in 2013 was 31 per cent when measured both by sector of activity and by level of education, and that the gender wage gap in hourly rates was 9 per cent (compared with 11.3 per cent in 2009). The statistical information supplied by the Government also shows that the gap is more pronounced in sectors where women predominate. For example, whereas the wage gap in the construction sector, where men predominate, is 5 per cent, in the sectors of education, social services and health, and domestic work, where women predominate, the respective wage gaps are 31, 35 and 51 per cent. This difference in favour of men is even more pronounced for higher management posts. The Committee also notes that the evaluation report on the first National Plan for Equality of Opportunities and Rights (PIODNA 2007–11) recognizes the persistence of the pay gap, particularly since 2009, and the existence of marked occupational segregation between men and women. In this respect, the Committee refers to its comments on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee also recalls that wages are fixed by tripartite wage boards for each category or sector. The Committee recalls that where wages are fixed at the sectoral level, there is a tendency to set lower wages for sectors predominantly employing women (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 683). In view of the persistent gender wage gap, occupational segregation between men and women, and the fact that wages are established by sector of activity, the Committee considers that giving full legislative effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is particularly important in order to ensure the application of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to adopt specific measures to give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and to define the term “remuneration” in legislation to reflect the definition in the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to take steps to reduce the gender wage gap, including by addressing the issue of occupational segregation between men and women and promoting women in better jobs in the context of any equal opportunities plans that are adopted. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, including statistics, on any developments in these matters.

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