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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Mongolia (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Occupational segregation and gender pay gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that women continue to receive lower wages than men in most sectors of the economy. It notes from the statistical information provided by the Government in its report that women’s remuneration represents, on average, 87 per cent of the remuneration received by men. It also notes that the widest gender pay gaps are found in the sectors of manufacturing, construction, information and communication, finance and insurance. The Committee further notes that women workers are concentrated in specific sectors, such as hotel and hospitality services, education, health and social support services, as well as wholesale and sales. The Committee notes the concerns expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) with regard to the persistence of deep rooted patriarchal attitudes and discriminatory stereotypes concerning the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family, which are reflected, inter alia, in women’s educational and professional choices and the continued occupational segregation in the labour market (CEDAW/C/MNG/CO/8-9, 10 March 2016, paragraph 16). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the awareness-raising campaigns carried out with a view to addressing gender stereotypes concerning the role of women in Mongolian society. In particular, the Media Council under the National Committee on Gender Equality (NCGE) has produced a handbook on gender-sensitive indicators for the media that are currently being tested by the television and the daily newspaper media. The Government also acknowledges that more work needs to be done to reduce the gender pay gap and address persisting stereotypes, including strengthening institutional capacity on these themes. The Committee again asks the Government to indicate the specific measures adopted or envisaged to reduce the gender pay gap, including in the framework of the State Policy on Remuneration. It also requests the Government to continue to undertake sensitization programmes and awareness-raising activities to overcome traditional stereotypes regarding the role of women in society and to promote the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on the impact of these measures on the reduction of the gender pay gap. Please also provide information on the impact of the use of the gender-sensitive indicators developed by the NCGE on overcoming gender stereotypes conveyed by the media. The Government is further asked to continue to supply statistical information on the wage levels of men and women in various industries and occupations in the private and public sectors, and to indicate the corresponding distribution of men and women in these areas.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, despite the adoption of the recommendation on remuneration for entities (RRE) by the National Tripartite Committee on Labour and Social Consensus (NTCLSC) – which provides for the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and sets out five distinct methods of job evaluation – some entities still have not established procedures or methods of job evaluation when setting wages. The Committee also notes that the Government’s report does not provide further information on the specific procedures entailed by each of the methods indicated in the RRE. The Committee notes that the Government has availed itself of ILO technical cooperation in order to develop and promote methods of job evaluation free from gender bias and is currently testing these methods in two pilot sectors, that is, construction and mining. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote methods of objective job evaluation free from gender bias and how they are applied in practice, including information on the pilot experiences in the construction and mining sectors. Please also provide specific information describing the procedures required by each of the five methods listed in the RRE.

Article 2(2)(b). Minimum wages. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in the public sector, wages are established according to a salary table that sets wage levels per categories of jobs and grades of posts without distinguishing between men and women workers, but taking into account factors such as expertise, skills, experience required and level of decision-making involved. Regarding sector-specific minimum wages, the Government indicates that it is not in a position to assess whether sectors dominated by women consistently see lower minimum wages than those dominated by men, due to the lack of sufficient data. The Committee recalls that 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” or, the work in sectors with a high proportion of women, are not undervalued. It also wishes to underscore that the fact that regulations determining the minimum wage do not make a distinction between men and women is not sufficient to ensure that there is no gender bias in the process (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 683). The Committee again asks the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that agreements to set sector-specific wages do not undervalue jobs predominantly occupied by women in comparison to those occupied by men. It also encourages the Government to step up its efforts to assess and monitor the application of the principle of the Convention in the setting of minimum wages and to provide information in this respect.

Enforcement. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that a number of trainings have been undertaken concerning the principle of the Convention, including capacity building targeting the Ministry of Labour and a training for gender focal points, organized respectively by the ILO and the NCGE. It also notes the Government’s indication that no information is available with regard to reports by labour inspectors and complaints concerning the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee notes that an initiative has been launched in collaboration with the National University of Mongolia with a view to obtaining information on labour-related complaints registered with the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, including cases concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the cases concerning discrimination in remuneration lodged before the National Human Rights Commission and their outcome, as well as on the number, nature, and outcome of complaints addressed by judicial and administrative bodies. It also asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate to prevent, detect and address violations of the principle of the Convention. Please also continue to provide information on any training undertaken or envisaged regarding the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.