Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Lao People's Democratic Republic (Ratification: 2008)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Definition of remuneration. The Committee notes that in response to its previous comments, the Government indicates in its report that the term “remuneration” in section 15 of the Law on the Development and Protection of Women 2004 (LDPW) has the same meaning as “salary, wages, and other policies” in section 45 of the Labour Law of 2007. The Committee now notes that section 96 of the revised Labour Law of 2014 provides that female employees shall receive “salary or wages equal to that of male employees” and that section 106 defines the term “total salary” as “the money that an employee receives in total within a month, including basic salary, subsidies, per production unit pay and other policies”. Recalling the broad definition of remuneration set out Article 1(a) of the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to clarify whether the terms “wages and salary” in section 96 of the Labour Law 2014 refer to the “total salary” defined in section 106. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate whether the term “remuneration” contained in section 15 of the LDPW and “wages and salary” in section 96 of the Labour Law include the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary as well as any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly whether in cash or kind.

Article 1(b). Work of equal value. Private sector. Regarding the application of section 15 of the LDPW (equal remuneration and benefits for women and men who have the same position, task, work or responsibility) to jobs of an entirely different nature but of equal value, the Government indicates that section 15 is applied through equal remuneration “for men and women who perform the same work’s value at the same labour unit”. The Committee notes however that unlike section 45 of the Labour Law of 2007, the section 96 of the revised Labour Law 2014 no longer refers to “work of equal value”. The Committee draws the attention of the Government to the fact that only providing for equal salaries or wages between men and women generally may not be sufficient to give effect to the Convention as it does not capture the concept of “work of equal value”. The Committee recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” set out in the Convention permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value. Moreover, application of the Convention is not limited to comparisons between men and women in the “same labour unit” and 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 (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 673 and 697). The Committee asks the Government to provide information, including relevant judicial decisions, on the practical application of section 15 of the LDWP and section 96 of the Labour Law 2014 to jobs of an entirely different nature, involving different positions, tasks, work and responsibility, but which are nevertheless of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to clarify with respect to section 96 whether a claim can be brought for a violation of equal remuneration for work of equal value, if work compared is overall of equal value based on a range of factors and whether the legislation allows for broad comparisons between jobs performed by men and women in different labour units, enterprises or between different employers.

Scope of application. Public sector. The Committee notes that the categories of workers excluded from the Labour Law 2007 pursuant to section 6 remain the same in the Labour Law 2014, and include civil servants. The Labour Law 2014 in section 6 also provides that “household workers” must “comply with the working contract”, but it is unclear whether the Law covers household workers. Regarding the public sector, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that section 15 of the LDPW is applied through the Governmental Decree on Public Servants No. 82/PM of 2003 and that the “policy on position promotion, upgrading salary scale and others are implemented equally for men and women”. The right to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is however not set out in the Governmental Decree on Public Servants. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that challenges remain in implementing equal remuneration for men and women for those not covered by the labour law and that local administration takes responsibility for solving issues through mediation and advice. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is applied in practice for public servants, and to provide statistics on the distribution of men and women in the different posts of the public service and their corresponding levels of earnings. The Committee encourages the Government to examine whether the applicable substantive and procedural provisions, in practice, allow claims regarding equal remuneration for work of equal value to be brought successfully by civil servants particularly through local mediation (see General Survey, 2012, paragraph 871), and to provide information on the progress made in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate how the principle of the Convention is applied to household workers.

Article 2. Wage determination. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 108 of the Labour Law 2014 the State is responsible for determining the levels of minimum wage based on consultations, and that the “minimum wage can be determined for each sector”. The Committee notes that no information was provided on sector-specific minimum wages in legislation or collective agreements. The Government indicates however, that remuneration is usually higher than the minimum wage and that remuneration in the garment industry is between US$150 to $200 per month, in mining and steel production between $300 to $350 per month and in the service sector between $200 and $300 per month. In this regard, the Committee notes from the World Bank’s 2012 report “Labour Standards and Productivity in the Garments Export Sector” that the garment industry employs some 20,000 workers, of which 85 per cent are women. The Committee draws the attention of the Government to paragraph 683 of its General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, in which it noted the tendency to set lower wages for sectors predominantly employing women. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the method and criteria used for setting sector-level and industry-based minimum wages and how it is ensured that minimum wages in female-dominated occupations or sectors, such as the garment industry, are not set below the rates applying to male-dominated occupations or sectors involving work of equal value. Please also provide information on any collective agreements registered under section 170 of the Labour Law 2014, applying the principle of the Convention.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee welcomes the information provided on the measures taken by the Government to promote gender equality; it notes however that no information was provided regarding the promotion of objective job evaluation methods free from gender bias. The Committee recalls that the concept of “equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. There needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, undertaken on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias. Article 3 of the Convention presupposes the use of appropriate techniques for objective job evaluation, comparing factors such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions (see General Survey, 2012, paragraph 695). The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to promote objective job evaluation methods free from gender bias, in the public and private sectors.

Article 4. Cooperation with social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that leading up to the 2014 revision of the Labour Law, a Labour Law Revision Committee (LLRC) was established including employers’ and workers’ organizations as well as the Federation of Lao Women, and that during the revision process the LLRC took into account ILO technical advice and ILO Conventions. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide specific information on any cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, including by means of collective agreements.

Part IV of the report form. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that no claims of violation of section 15 of the LDPW were recorded during the reporting period. The Committee recalls that the absence of complaints does not necessarily mean that the Convention and the national legislation are effectively applied and is more likely to indicate a lack of awareness of the rights, a lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals (see General Survey, 2012, paragraph 870). The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on steps taken to raise awareness among workers, employers and their respective organizations and to engage in the capacity building of judges and the labour inspectorate to apply the principle of the Convention. The Committee further asks the Government to continue to provide information on any court or administrative decisions regarding the application of section 15 of the LDPW and section 96 of the Labour Law 2014, as well as information on any violations recorded by the labour inspectorate.

Part V. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that no statistics are collected on the respective earning levels of men and women in the different sectors of the economy and in different occupations. The Committee notes that according to section 156(5) of the Labour Law 2014, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare is responsible for conducting research on labour, statistics and information, and the labour market. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the importance of collecting data and undertaking research on the actual situation, including the underlying causes, for addressing appropriately discrimination and unequal pay, and determining if measures taken are having a positive impact (see General Survey, 2012, paragraph 869). The Committee asks the Government to make the necessary efforts to collect and analyse sex disaggregated data on the remuneration levels in the various industries, in the public and private sectors, and for the different occupational categories and to provide such data with its next report.