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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes that the Government provides little and general information in reply to the specific points made by the Committee in its previous direct request. The Committee asks the Government to make every effort to provide full information on the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. Determination of rates of remuneration. The Committee notes from the Government’s report and the observations of the Council of Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan, submitted by the Government in its report of 2011, that for workers in establishments and organizations financed out of the State budget, as well as state-owned enterprises, the minimum level of remuneration is fixed by legislation. The following methods are used in establishing rates of remuneration: the Unified Rate Schedule (ETS) for the public sector which contains 22 categories and which is binding upon the State sector; the updated Government approved labour remuneration systems for medical personnel, public education employees and employees of the National Television and Radio company; sector-level rate schedules approved in consultation with trade unions; and local labour remuneration regulations adopted by enterprises in consultation with trade union committees or other representative bodies of workers. In practice, the minimum monthly wage determined by Presidential Decree serves as the basis of determination of rates of remuneration, as well as collective agreements for amounts higher than the minimum wage. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on how it is ensured that rates in the Unified Pay Schedule, sector-level pay schedules and the monthly minimum wage are fixed using objective criteria, free from gender bias, to ensure that “female jobs” are not undervalued in comparison with work of equal value performed by men. Please provide the most current rates of remuneration set under the Unified Pay Schedule, and the labour remuneration systems for medical personnel, and employees in public education and the National Television and Radio company, and sector-level pay schedules, including information on the distribution of men and women in the different pay scales.

Collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the 2014–16 General Agreement on Social and Economic Affairs between the Cabinet Ministers, the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reflects the requirement for parties to observe strict compliance with the Convention. The Government also indicates that efforts are being directed towards reflecting this condition, including a collective agreement template. The Committee notes however that no information was provided regarding the specific details of the general agreement, which was not joined with the Government’s report, and that the template, while providing some protections for women, does not include any reference to equal pay for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on how the 2014–16 General Agreement reflects the requirement for parties to observe strict compliance with the Convention, and on any measures taken to update the collective agreements template to reflect the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been urging the Government to provide specific information on the job evaluation methods used in the public and private sectors. The Committee notes the Government’s very general reply, that in agreement with trade unions, objective job appraisal is undertaken by analysing work processes which enable the classification of job categories irrespective of sex and that there exists no wage discrimination on the basis of sex. The Committee notes from the Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment report 2014 of the Asian Development Bank, that women’s income is on average, 64 per cent of men’s income and that the sectors in which women dominate, particularly education and health, are low paying, whereas men are overly represented among the workforce in fields with comparatively high salaries (paragraphs 52 and 63). In this regard, the Committee recalls that particular care must be taken to ensure that job evaluation is free from gender bias as often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 701). The Committee once again asks the Government to provide specific information on the job evaluation methods used in the public and private sectors and to indicate how it is ensured that the criteria established are not gender biased, and that jobs predominantly performed by women are not undervalued compared with those performed by men.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates generally that cooperation is carried out in an appropriate manner with organizations of workers and employers with a view to implementing the provisions of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the nature of the cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, and the impact of such cooperation in giving effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 29 of 19 February 2010 specifies that the State Labour Inspectorate is subordinate to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and that one of its main goals is to prevent discrimination in industrial relations. The Committee further notes that the schedule approved by the Coordination Council and the State Labour Inspectorate involved labour inspections of 374 economic bodies and 1,221 state-funded organizations during which more than 17,600 violations of labour law were identified, 3,366 of which concerned wages. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the number, nature and outcome of any violations of the labour law which relate specifically to pay discrimination between men and women. Please also provide information on any cases dealt with by the Procurator-General’s Office, the courts or the ombudsperson which relate to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Statistics. The Committee notes from the Government’s Fifth Periodic Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that statistical digests of basic gender indices are being generated, with the last report published in 2012; a round table was held in January 2014 on the topic “Improvement of Collection, Analysis, and Use of Gender Statistics”, during which the first website on gender statistics, developed by the Republic of Uzbekistan State Committee on Statistics was presented (CEDAW/C/UZB/5, 10 April 2014, paragraphs 78 and 79). In this regard, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on progress made in the collection of statistics on the distribution of men and women in the various economic sectors and occupations and their respective earning levels, and to provide any data available in its next report. Please also provide a copy of the most recent statistical digest, Men and Women of Uzbekistan.