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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Cuba (Ratification: 1954)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Evaluation of the gender pay gap. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide statistical information on the remuneration rates of men and women, by occupational category and in all sectors of economic activity, disaggregated by sex. In its report, the Government indicates that, in 2016, 36.25 per cent of persons in employment were women and the unemployment rate was 2.2 per cent. The Government also reports that women are mostly employed in sectors with higher wages such as health, education, judges and public prosecutors. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government has not provided more detailed statistical information on the remuneration rates of men and women, by occupational category, or by economic sector, nor on the wage scales applicable to the different categories. In this regard, it notes that, in its 2018 annual report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) regretted the limited official information available and encouraged the State to produce, in a regular manner, comprehensive statistics on discrimination against women and information disaggregated by sex, age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, disability status, sexual orientation and gender identity (Cuba: 2018 Annual Report, Chapter IV.B, 21 March 2019). With a view to determining the gender pay gap in the country and its evolution, the Committee urges the Government to provide statistical information on the remuneration rates of men and women by occupational category and in all sectors of economic activity.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on how the system of job descriptors is implemented, in practice, together with specific examples of objective job evaluations conducted in various enterprises or sectors. In this regard, the Government indicates that: (1) to implement job descriptors, each organization draws up a list of jobs in each unit in order to determine wages, using criteria such as the complexity of the work, the job level and requirements for occupying the position; (2) the job descriptors make it possible to determine the different jobs that are included in the same complexity group and that correspond to the current job classification; and (3) for example, for technical jobs, there is a common descriptor approved by ministerial decision. The Committee recalls that, whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias: it is important to ensure that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out are not discriminatory, either directly or indirectly. Often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 700–703). With a view to assessing whether the mechanisms implemented at national level apply the principle of the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) how the system of job descriptors is applied, in practice, both in the public and private sectors, together with specific examples of objective job evaluations conducted in various enterprises or sectors; and (ii) the measures adopted to enable workers to assert their right to equal remuneration on the basis of an evaluation of the value of their work, together with the right of recourse when it is demonstrated that the job evaluation systems are discriminatory.

Labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide specific information on the type of training provided to labour inspectors, particularly regarding the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. In this regard, the Government reports that in 2017, monthly training was provided to labour inspectors on new legal provisions, the Labour Code, wage standards and wage equality. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing specific information on the type of training provided to labour inspectors, particularly regarding the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and the number of complaints that have been dealt with in relation to allegations of wage discrimination between men and women for work of equal value.