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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1973)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Gender wage gap. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide up-to-date statistical information on the remuneration received by men and women in the public and the private sectors, disaggregated by sex and by sector of activity, and on the specific measures taken to reduce the wage gap and on the results obtained. The Committee notes the statistical information, provided by the Government in its report, on the wage gap in the private sector as of March 2018, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which confirms that, in almost all categories, men earn one percentage point more than women: among managers and administrators, men’s wages are 1.35 per cent higher than those of women; among professionals, men earn 1.23 per cent more than women; and men skilled workers earn 1.68 per cent more than women skilled workers. The Committee notes however, that the Government has not provided information on the measures adopted with a view to promoting the effective application of the principle of the Convention and the results achieved. In this respect, the Committee wishes to recall that, giving legislative effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is important, but not sufficient to achieve the goal of the Convention. It is also important to take effective measures in order to accomplish real progress in attaining the Convention’s objective of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 670 and 710). The Committee therefore requests the Government to: (i) take the necessary measures, without delay, to address the existing gender pay gap with a measurable impact, particularly through education and training measures for women that enable them to access a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher wages, including in sectors where men predominate, in both the private and public sectors; and (ii) provide statistical information on the labour market participation rates of men and women, disaggregated by sex, economic sector and occupation, as well as information disaggregated by sex on participation rates in education and vocational training.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Noting the absence in the Government’s report of specific information on the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to promoting the adoption of a method for the objective evaluation of jobs, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt a method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs in order to determine whether jobs are of equal value.

Monitoring application. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any measures adopted to establish suitable mechanisms for reporting cases of wage discrimination, the number of any such complaints filed and the action taken in this regard. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare has mechanisms to receive such complaints through the inspectorate units located in the nine departmental and 15 regional labour offices throughout the national territory, and that there were no complaints of wage discrimination in 2018. In this respect, the Committee wishes to recall that, where no cases or complaints, or very few, are being lodged, this is likely to indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, lack of awareness of rights, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals. The lack of complaints could also indicate that the system of recording violations is insufficiently developed. In its General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions (paragraph 871), the Committee invites member States to raise awareness of the relevant legislation, to enhance the capacity of the competent authorities, including judges, labour inspectors and other public officials, to identify and address cases of discrimination and unequal pay, and also to examine whether the applicable substantive and procedural provisions, in practice, allow claims to be brought successfully. The Committee also stresses the need to collect and publish information on the nature and outcome of discrimination and equal remuneration complaints and cases, as a means of raising awareness of the legislation and of the avenues for dispute resolution, and in order to examine the effectiveness of the procedures and mechanisms. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of the mechanisms for reporting cases of wage discrimination, the number of any such complaints filed and the follow-up given to these complaints.