Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Norway (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the observations by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and by the Norwegian Confederation of Unions for Professionals (UNIO) attached to the Government’s report.

Article 1 of the Convention. Principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Further to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee notes the adoption by Storting (Parliament) of a white paper on Gender equality in practice – Equal opportunities for women and men (2015–16) and the Government’s indication that its efforts towards gender equality in working life include helping to provide more opportunities for young men and women who choose education and occupations that promote a less gender-divided labour market. The Committee notes the various programmes undertaken to address the gender-segregated higher education studies which are aimed at broadening choices and breaking down gender-segregated occupational barriers associated with pay disparity. However, the Committee also notes the lack of any mention among Government aims to specifically reduce the gender pay gap or better promote equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the specific policy and programmes developed to explicitly tackle the gender pay gap and promote equal pay for work of equal value.

Article 2. Legislation. The Committee notes the information concerning the obligation under the Gender Equality Act of 2013 in sections 23 and 24 concerning the active duty and reporting requirements of all employers in the private and public sectors to promote gender equality in, inter alia, recruitment, pay, working conditions, promotion, and development opportunities. The Committee welcomes the introduction of the new rule under which an employee who suspects wage discrimination may require the employer to provide written information about wage levels and about the criteria used to determine wages for comparable employees. It notes that the purpose of introducing a duty to disclose wage information was to promote greater wage transparency in the workplace and to equalize pay between men and women. The Committee agrees with the Government that transparency in matters of compensation is an important factor in preventing discrimination, and asks the Government to provide information on the types of measures that have been taken to target and address pay inequalities in the workplace reported by employers pursuant to their obligations in sections 23 and 24 of the Gender Equality Act, as well as information on the implementation of the duty to disclose wage information. The Committee refers to its comment under Convention No. 111, including the observations of the LO and UNIO, concerning the ongoing work on the consolidation of gender equality and anti-discrimination legislation and asks the Government to provide information on any impact the new law will have, including on the duties set out in sections 23 and 24, on the legal protections and the practical implementation of equal pay for work of equal value.

Articles 2 and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes the adoption of Parliamentary Decision No. 612 in which Parliament requested the Government to demand a timetable from the social partners on their efforts to reach equal pay between men and women. The Decision also gave the proposed tripartite collaboration on equality a mandate to work with equal pay issues. The Committee notes the Government’s intention to further develop the tripartite collaboration to promote gender equality in working life. The Committee further notes the LO’s observation that collective bargaining, wage agreements and policy-making are also most important to promote women’s equality. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of Decision No. 612 including the agenda and timetable of actions of the social partners to achieve equal pay between men and women in both the private and public sectors. Please provide information on the specific measures taken by the social partners, and through tripartite cooperation, including any agreements reached to address pay inequalities, and any activities undertaken to raise awareness of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value among workers, employers and their representatives, and the results thereof.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that job evaluation is not extensively used and that the Equal Pay Commission concluded some years ago that it was not seen as a good strategy towards equal pay. It also recalls the Government’s indication that, in the context of equal pay cases lodged before the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsperson, equal remuneration for work of equal value is ensured through an overall objective assessment of the work. Noting the persistence of the gender pay gap and the time lapse since the determination of the Equal Pay Commission, the Committee hopes the Government, in cooperation with the social partners, may reconsider the appropriateness of using objective job evaluation methodologies to achieve equal pay. Please also provide information on any action taken to address pay differentials between female- and male-dominated occupations so as to determine whether the work is of equal value, based on objective criteria free from gender bias.

Enforcement. The Committee refers to its comments under Convention No. 111 and the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), on the findings of the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombudsperson’s Survey on discrimination due to pregnancy and parental leave in the workplace and the impact this may have on equal pay. In this regard, it notes that 21 per cent believed that they had not had the opportunity to make wage demands or be considered in pay negotiations due to being on parental leave and that 37 per cent of female employees believed that they had not received adequate information on important matters at the workplace, such as restructurings and pay, and that 18 per cent of permanently employed female employees believed that they had not gotten a pay rise because they were on parental leave. The Committee also refers to its comment under Convention No. 111 and the observations of the LO and UNIO on the recommendations concerning the reorganization of the enforcement system on gender equality and non-discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the number and outcome of equal pay cases addressed by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsperson and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. Please also provide information on the impact of the measures taken to follow up the findings of discrimination particularly as they relate to pay issues and on any other measures taken to strengthen guidance, monitoring and enforcement of the equal pay provisions of the Gender Equality Act. Please also continue to provide the statistical information on equal pay cases.

Statistical information. The Committee notes from the statistical information provided by the Government that although the gender pay gap decreased slightly between 2012 and 2015 in manufacturing, in the overall economy there was a very slight widening of the gender pay gap between 2012 and 2015 within full-time employment (women in full-time employment earned an average 88.3 per cent of men’s in 2012, 87.9 per cent in 2013, 88.4 per cent in 2014 and 87.7 per cent in 2015). It further notes that when adjusted for qualifications, sector, industry and occupation, the wage gap is slightly less than 7.5 per cent, according to the Institute for Social Research. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that Statistics Norway will by the end of 2016 have a much larger statistical database on wages than today and this will open up the possibility to have more detailed wage statistics for different subgroups by, for example, industry and occupation. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide statistical information on the evolution of the gender pay gap in the public and private sectors, by subgroups within industry and occupation to the extent possible.