Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Benin (Ratification: 1968)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Causes of gaps in remuneration between men and women. Occupational segregation. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, according to the 2015 comprehensive modular survey on household living conditions (EMICoV), 89 per cent of economically active persons are employed in the informal economy. The survey also reveals that women’s activity rates stand at 60.7 per cent (75.9 for men) and that they are more affected by “visible underemployment” than men (42.8 per cent of women work fewer than 35 hours per week compared with 37.3 per cent of men). The dependent employment rate is lower among women (7.1 per cent) than among men (18.6 per cent). Referring to its comments on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee recalls that gender pay gaps stem mainly from the following factors: horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women into lower paying jobs and occupations and lower level positions without promotion opportunities; lower, less appropriate and less career-oriented education, training and skill levels; household and family responsibilities; perceived costs of employing women; and pay structures (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 712 and 869). The Committee also notes that the Government envisages conducting a survey on equal opportunities between men and women in employment and occupation in order to ascertain a clear picture of the situation in the country and develop a plan of action in that area. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the progress made regarding the planned survey and the measures envisaged to ensure that women have better access to paid work and the formal economy, and to a range of opportunities for vocational training and education, in order thereby to have access to a wider range of better-paid jobs with career development prospects. The Committee also requests the Government to take measures to combat stereotypes relating to the capacities and roles of women in employment and society in general. It requests the Government to provide available statistics on the situation of men and women in employment, disaggregated by sex, activity sector and occupational category and, in particular, on their respective rates of remuneration.

Article 2(2). Application of the principle of equal remuneration through collective agreements. The Committee notes that the Government’s report is silent on any amendments to clauses in collective agreements that are narrower than the principle set forth in the Convention (such as, equal salaries for “equal qualifications”, “for equal working conditions, length of service and professional qualifications” and “for equal working conditions, length of service and output”). The Committee therefore requests, once again, the Government to take the necessary measures to encourage employers’ and workers’ organizations to ensure that the provisions of collective agreements respect the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as set out in section 126 of the Labour Code, and to provide information on the progress achieved in this regard.

Determination of minimum wages. The Committee recalls that as women often predominate in low-wage jobs and that a national standard minimum wage system helps to raise the earnings of the lowest-paid workers, such a system therefore has an impact on the relationship between the wages of men and women, and on reducing the gender pay gap. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the revision of the minimum wage, following the adoption of Decree No. 2014-292 of 24 April 2014 issuing a rise in the minimum interoccupational guaranteed wage rates (SMIG), is not yet effective and that discussions with the social partners are under way to start the revision process. The Committee recalls that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value enshrined in the Convention allows for situations of occupational segregation between men and women to be identified, namely situations in which men and women do not perform the same type of work or are confined to different activity sectors or to posts of different hierarchical levels. In this regard, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that, because of this segregation, it is essential, when determining minimum wages or revising minimum wages at the sectoral level, to prevent gender bias and ensure that skills considered as inherently possessed by women (such as manual dexterity or care delivery) are not undervalued in comparison with skills considered as inherently possessed by men (such as physical strength). Remuneration rates should be fixed based on objective criteria, free from gender bias, to ensure that work in sectors employing a high proportion of women is not being undervalued in comparison with sectors employing mainly men. The Committee also wishes to recall that, in defining different occupations and jobs for the purpose of fixing minimum wages, gender-neutral terminology should be used to avoid stereotypes as to whether certain jobs should be carried out by a man or a woman (see the General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 683). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the discussions with the social partners and on the specific measures taken to ensure that minimum wage rates in branches of activity that employ exclusively or mainly women are not undervalued and are determined on the basis of objective criteria free from any gender bias, specifying the assessment method for jobs and the criteria used. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide any new text establishing wages by branches of activity.

Application of the principle and determining wages in the public service. The Committee recalls that Act No. 2015-18 issuing the general regulations of the public service does not provide for equal pay between men and women for work of equal value but specifies that “where the conditions of qualification are equal, the State must guarantee equal treatment for civil servants irrespective of the manner in which their work is performed” (section 67). With regard to the determination of wages in practice, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the process of reform wages in the public service has not been completed. In this respect, the Committee refers to the principles outlined in the above paragraph which are also applicable to the public service. It adds that, when determining the classification of jobs for the purpose of determining wages, it is essential that the method used to assess the tasks that comprise the jobs being classified is based on a set of weighed and objective criteria, such as qualifications (knowledge and skills), responsibilities and efforts (physical, mental and emotional), demanded by the job, as well as the conditions under which the work is carried out (physical environment and psychological conditions). Discrimination can in fact occur as a result of the criteria established to classify jobs, the underestimation of the activities carried out predominantly by women or the inequalities arising from payment of added benefits (bonuses, compensation, allowances etc.) when men and women do not have equal access to work, in law and in practice. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value is enshrined in the general regulations of the public service and that it is duly taken into account and recognized as a specific objective of wage reform. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress, method and criteria used, and the results of this reform. The Committee also requests the Government to ensure that public servants, both women and men, have equal access, in practice, to the various bonuses – which are part of the remuneration within the meaning of the Convention – provided for by the general regulations of the public service.

Enforcement. Labour inspection. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the principle of the Convention is enforced during inspections of enterprises and when advising the social partners. It also notes that no complaint of discrimination has been filed. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the monitoring activities carried out by labour inspectors concerning equal remuneration between men and women, specifying the number and nature of the inspections conducted, and information on the number and nature of the complaints dealt with by the Labour Inspectorate or the courts in this area.