Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Gibraltar

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender remuneration gap. The Committee notes from the Employment Survey Report 2013 published by the Statistics Office that the gender pay gap slightly decreased but remains significant. Based on average monthly earnings for full-time employees, the gender pay gap decreased from 27 per cent in 2009, to 26 per cent in 2013. With respect to average weekly earnings for full-time employees, the gap decreased from 33 per cent in 2009, to 32 per cent in 2013. The Committee notes from the Employment Survey Report the persistent vertical and horizontal occupational gender segregation which exists in Gibraltar where, for example, in 2013, women represented only 26 per cent of the managers and senior officials employed on a full-time basis while they represented 69 per cent of the administrative and secretarial workforce. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report that the Ministry for Enterprise, Training and Employment set up a Research Department, tasked with the production of detailed statistics on the composition of the workforce, by age, gender and skills and by economic sector. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to address the persistent gender remuneration gap, including measures promoting women’s access to a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher pay, and to provide information on any measures taken in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to provide detailed statistics, disaggregated by sex on the earnings of men and women and on the gender remuneration gap, in all sectors of the economy, as well as any study undertaken by the Research Department identifying the underlying causes of such gap.

Legislation. The Committee notes that section 31 of the Equal Opportunities Act, 2006, allows men and women to bring equal pay claims against their employers using comparators employed by the same employer or by any “associated employer” in Gibraltar. The Committee recalls that the application of the Convention’s principle is not limited to comparisons between men and women in the same establishment or with the same or associated employer. It allows for a much broader comparison to be made between jobs performed by men and women in different places or enterprises, or between different employers. Ensuring a broad scope of comparison is essential for the application of the principle of equal remuneration given the continued prevalence of occupational sex segregation in the country (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 697–699). The Committee requests the Government to consider reviewing section 31 of the Equal Opportunities Act, 2006, to ensure that the right to equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value is not restricted to the same or associated employer. In the meantime, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide specific information regarding the application in practice of section 31 of the Act, including any administrative or judicial decisions relating to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Articles 2 and 3. Application of the principle in the public sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the public sector has specific salary scales and job descriptions which apply irrespective of gender and therefore apply the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. In this regard, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the adoption and application of wage scales without distinction based on sex in the public service is not sufficient to exclude any gender discrimination in relation to remuneration. Indeed, such discrimination may have its roots in the criteria used for the classification of jobs and the establishment of the wage scales, including the under-evaluation of the work performed mainly by women, or may come from inequalities resulting from the provision of certain accessory benefits (bonuses, indemnities, allowances, etc.) to which men and women do not have access on an equal footing by law or in practice. In the light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it ensures the application of the principle of equal remuneration (basic wages and additional emoluments) between men and women for work of equal value, with an indication of whether any objective job evaluations have already been undertaken or are envisaged in the public service.

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