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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Article 1(a) and (b) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to ensure that the definition of “work of equal value” in the amendments to the Labour Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) would be revised so as to give full legal expression to the concept of “work of equal value” as provided by the Convention. The Committee notes the adoption of the new Labour Law of the FBiH, which entered into force on 14 April 2016, section 77(1) of which obliges the employer “to pay equal salaries for work of equal value” to workers, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, sex and political and trade union affiliation, as well as any other discriminatory ground referred to in section 8(1) of this Act. Section 77(2) of the Law defines, however, “work of equal value” as “work which requires the same level of professional qualifications, same capacity for work, responsibility, physical and intellectual work, skills, working conditions, and results of work.” With respect to the Republika Srpska, the Committee notes that sections 19 and 22 of the new Labour Law of the Republika Srpska, which entered into force on 20 January 2016, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in conditions of work and all rights resulting from the labour relation, and that section 120(2) guarantees “equal wages for the same work or for the work of the same value”. However, section 120(3) of the same Law provides that “work of the same value shall imply work for which the same degree of professional qualifications, that is to say, education, knowledge and skills, is required, in which the same work contribution is realized, with the same responsibility”. The Committee notes that the definitions in both labour laws continue to limit the concept of work of equal value to the same level of qualifications, the same capacity to work and the same level of responsibility, physical and intellectual work, skills, working conditions and results of work, which is narrower than the principle set out in the Convention. The Committee therefore emphasizes, once again, that the concept of “work of equal value” must permit a broad scope of comparison including but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work of an entirely different nature which is nevertheless of equal value. While factors such as skill, responsibility, effort and working conditions are clearly relevant in determining the value of the jobs, when examining two jobs, the value does not have to be the same with respect to each factor – determining value is about the overall value of the job when all the factors are taken into account (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 673 and 677). The Committee asks the Government to amend the equal pay provisions in the Labour Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Labour Law of the Republika Srpska, in the near future, so as to ensure that the legislation provides not only for equal remuneration for men and women for equal, the same or similar work, but also addresses situations where men and women perform different work that is nevertheless of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any new initiatives to amend the current labour legislation, and trusts that its comments will be taken into account with a view to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention.

Furthermore, with respect to the application of the principle in the Labour Law of the Brcko District, the Committee had noted that prohibiting sex-based wage discrimination generally, as provided for in section 4, would not normally be sufficient to give effect to the Convention, as it does not sufficiently capture the principle of “work of equal value”. The Government had previously indicated that in the Brcko District, methods for the determination of rates of remuneration were not regulated in the legislation, but that new amendments to the Labour Law, would address this issue. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide further information on any developments in this regard. The Committee asks the Government to ensure that in the process of amending the Labour Law in the Brcko District, full legislative expression is given to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in accordance with the Convention, and to provide information on any developments in this regard.

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