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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 2001)

Article 1(a) and (b) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee has been referring for many years to the need to amend the Labour Code to give full legislative effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee notes with satisfaction that the new Labour Code of 30 November 2015 provides that the employee shall have the right to “equal payment for work of equal value without any discrimination” (section 22(15)), and that section 6 prohibits discrimination based on, among other grounds, sex. The Committee requests the Government to provide examples of the practical application of these provisions including any relevant administrative and judicial provisions applying the principle of the Convention.

Articles 1 and 2. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that nominal average monthly wages were 144,200 Kazakhstan tenge (KZT) for men and KZT96,500 for women in 2014, showing a significant gender wage gap of 37 per cent. The Government further indicates that the gender pay gap is explained by the high concentration of women in sectors like education, health care and social welfare, where wages are lower than in industry; and that men mostly work in industrial sectors (oil and gas, mining and processing), transport and construction, where working conditions are generally difficult or hazardous, wages are higher than the national average and the use of women’s labour is often prohibited because it is difficult and dangerous. In this regard, the Committee notes that section 105(1) of the Labour Code provides that “workers at jobs with hard and/or hazardous working conditions shall be entitled to a higher remuneration as compared to those having normal working conditions …”. In this regard, the Committee refers to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), concerning jobs with hard or hazardous working conditions for which it is prohibited to engage women. The Committee also refers to its comments under Convention No. 111 relating to occupational gender segregation in the labour market and the prevailing stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women in the family and in society as caregivers. The Committee recalls that occupational gender segregation with women clustered in lower paying jobs or occupations or positions without career opportunities has been identified as one of the underlying causes of the gender pay gap. Historical attitudes towards the role of women in society along with stereotypical assumptions regarding women’s aspirations, preferences and “suitability” for certain jobs have contributed to such occupational segregation in the labour market, and an undervaluation of so-called “female jobs” in comparison with jobs performed by men (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 697 and 712). The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken or envisaged in order to reduce the significant gender wage gap. Noting the Government’s indication that wage inequalities may arise due to the segregation of men and women into certain sectors and occupations, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to improve the access of women to a wider range of job opportunities including into higher-level and higher-paid occupations, as well as in sectors in which they are currently absent or under-represented, with a view to reducing inequalities in remuneration that exist between men and women in the labour market. The Committee further asks the Government to provide detailed and up-to-date comparable statistics on earnings of women and men, including sex-disaggregated data by industry and occupational category.

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