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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Ukraine (Ratification: 1956)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes from the information provided by the Government and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on average monthly wages and salaries of women and men, that the gender wage gap was 22.8 per cent in 2013 and 24 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 (compared to 23 per cent in 2009). Data from 2013 also show a significant gap in the monthly wages of women and men in certain sectors of the economy, particularly in manufacturing (30.3 per cent), postal and courier services (35.4 per cent) and sports, entertainment and recreation (37.8 per cent). The Government indicates that differences in wages are largely due to the system of the gender division of labour, with women being concentrated in sectors with relatively high educational requirements, but lower wages, primarily in the public sector. The Government also indicates that the State Programme to Ensure Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, 2013–16, includes activities aimed at reducing the gender gap in wages between men and women. Noting that the gender wage and salary gap has not been reduced since 2009, the Committee asks the Government to intensify its efforts to reduce the gender pay gap, including through identifying and addressing its underlying causes, and to provide specific information on any activities undertaken by the State Programme to Ensure Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, 2013–16, in this respect. Please also continue to provide statistical data on the wages and salary levels of men and women, by sector of employment and occupation, and in the various grades and levels of the civil service, as well as by occupational group.

Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislation. For a number of years, the Committee has been commenting on section 17 of the Law on Ensuring Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Women and Men, 2006, which requires the employer to ensure equal pay for men and women for work involving equal skills and working conditions, which is more restrictive than the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value set out in the Convention. Moreover by linking the right to equal remuneration for men and women to two specific factors of comparison, the Committee considered that section 17 may have the effect of discouraging or even excluding objective job evaluation on the basis of a wider set of criteria, which are crucial in order to eliminate effectively the discriminatory undervaluation of jobs traditionally performed by women. In the absence of information provided by the Government in this respect, and noting that the Labour Code is being amended, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in both the Law on Ensuring Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Women and Men and in the draft Labour Code, and to indicate any progress made in this regard. Please also provide information on the implementation and enforcement of current section 17 of the Law on Ensuring Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Women and Men, including the number and outcome of any relevant cases brought before the competent authorities.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that, in response to its previous comments, the Government merely repeats its description of the manner in which salary rates are established for employees of institutions and organizations financed by the State budget, and in which wages are set in sector-level agreements for employees in the private sector. Salaries and wages are broken down by occupation and skill levels, without distinction based on sex. It therefore continues to be unclear whether the methods used to evaluate the work performed in the different jobs and occupations are appropriate to eliminate gender bias in determining wage rates, including the undervaluation of jobs and occupations that are predominantly carried out by women, resulting in lower wages compared to those in jobs and occupations predominantly carried out by men. The Committee recalls that, while the Convention does not prescribe a specific method for measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs, whatever methods are used, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias. The Committee refers the Government to paragraphs 695–703 of its General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, for further guidance on objective job evaluation. In light of the persistent gender wage gap and the gender division of labour recognized by the Government, the Committee urges the Government to take specific measures to promote the use of objective job evaluation methods free from gender bias in the public and private sectors, with a view to ensuring the establishment of wages and salary scales in accordance with the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect. The Committee encourages the Government to seek ILO technical assistance in this regard.

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