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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Malta (Ratification: 1988)

Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention. Minimum wages. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report, that the wage councils were replaced by the tripartite Employers Relations Board (ERB), composed of three employers’ representatives, three workers’ representatives as well as three Government’s representatives. It notes the Government’s repeated indication that the standard national minimum wage, wage regulation orders as well as collective agreements do not allow wage differentials on the basis of sex. The Committee wishes to point out that, even when regulations determining the minimum wage do not explicitly provide for different remuneration rates for men and women or when they only prohibit sex-based wage discrimination, this will not normally be sufficient to give effect to the Convention as it does not fully capture the concept of work of equal value set out in the Convention. Furthermore, in practice, minimum wages are often set at the sectoral level, and there is a tendency to set lower wages for sectors predominantly employing women. Therefore, special attention is needed in the design or adjustment of sectoral minimum wage schemes to ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias, and in particular that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued (see General Survey of 2012 on fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 676 and 683). In light of the persisting occupational gender segregation, the Committee asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that, in the minimum wage-fixing process, in particular in the framework of the ERB, rates are fixed based on objective criteria, free from gender bias (such as qualifications, effort, responsibilities and conditions of work) and that occupations predominantly carried out by women are not undervalued in comparison with those predominantly undertaken by men. It further asks the Government to provide information on any activities undertaken to raise awareness of the principle of the Convention among the members of the ERB, as well as workers, employers and their representatives, and on any cooperation undertaken with employers’ and workers’ organizations in this regard.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in 2016, three cases dealing with equal pay were brought before courts of which one was concluded in favour of the complainant. The Government adds that an investigation was conducted in 2015 by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) on a gender discrimination case where it was found that a female manager was paid less than her male counterparts, and that as a result the female manager received a substantial salary increase and a press statement was issued by the NCPE to raise further awareness of employers and enhance transparency in the way in which wages are set. The Committee notes the Government’s general statement that inspectors reported ten cases of discrimination relating to equal treatment in 2015, none in 2016 and one case in 2017. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on the number and nature of cases related to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value dealt with by courts, labour inspectors, the NCPE, as well as any other competent authorities, including on the sanctions imposed and remedies provided. In light of the low and decreasing number of cases concerning inequality of remuneration officially registered, it asks the Government to provide information on any activities undertaken or envisaged to raise public awareness of the relevant legislative provisions, the procedures and remedies available related to the principle of the Convention, and on their impact.