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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Cabo Verde (Ratification: 1979)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislation. For many years now, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the fact that article 62 of the Constitution, which provides that men and women shall receive “equal remuneration for equal work”, and section 16 of the Labour Code, which provides that all workers have the right to fair remuneration according to the nature, quantity and quality of work, are inadequate to ensure the full application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value set out in the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s general statement, in its report, that this issue might be proposed for inclusion on the agenda for public discussion regarding a potential revision of the Constitution. The Government adds that, as a consequence, section 16 of the Labour Code might be amended in order to fully reflect the principle of the Convention. The Committee takes note of Judgment No. 233/15-16 of March 2016, forwarded by the Government, according to which, pursuant to article 62 of the Constitution, equal remuneration should be ensured to workers for equal work, being interpreted as an identical type of activity and seniority. Drawing the Government’s attention to the fact that such interpretation is narrower than the principle set out in the Convention, the Committee notes that, in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review, the United Nations Human Rights Council also recommended that the Government fully incorporate into its national legislation the principle of equal pay for men and women for work of equal value, in line with the ILO Conventions (A/HRC/39/5, 9 July 2018, paragraph 112). It observes however that the Government stated in this regard that its understanding was that this principle is already contained in article 62 of the Constitution and section 16 of the Labour Code (A/HRC/39/5/Add.1, 13 September 2018, page 3). The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the provisions of the Constitution and the Labour Code are not sufficient to ensure the full application of the principle enshrined in the Convention, as they do not encompass the concept of “equal value” and may therefore hinder progress in eliminating gender-based pay discrimination. It recalls that the concept of “work of equal value”, as provided for in the Convention, is fundamental to tackling occupational gender segregation in the labour market, as it permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompassing work of an entirely different nature (as men and women typically do not perform the same work), which is nevertheless of equal value. Moreover, while criteria such as quality and quantity of work may be used to determine the level of earnings, the use of only these criteria is likely to have the effect of impeding an objective evaluation of the work performed by men and women to determine the value of such work, comparing a wider range of factors which are free from gender bias, such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 672–675). The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to: (i) give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value set out in the Convention, in order to cover not only situations where men and women are performing the same or similar work, but also situations where they carry out work that is of an entirely different nature, but is nevertheless of equal value; and (ii) provide information on any progress made in this regard, as well as on any awareness-raising activities carried out with respect to the implementation of the principle of the Convention, including in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations. Noting that the Government does not provide information on the practical application of section 15(1)(b) of the Labour Code, which provides that “equity at work” includes the right to receive a special compensation which is not allocated to all workers, but which is based, among other grounds, on sex, the Committee again asks the Government to indicate the manner in which this provision is implemented in practice.

Articles 1 and 2. Gender wage gap and occupational gender segregation. Referring to its previous comments concerning the occupational gender segregation of the labour market and the lack of data on the distribution of men and women and their respective earnings in the public and private sectors, the Committee notes the Government’s general statement that there is no gender disparity in wages or career advancement, but that the labour market remains highly gender segregated, with women still being over-represented in determined sectors, such as domestic work, trade and education, while men are employed in construction and agriculture. The Committee notes that, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2017, women only represented 44.2 per cent of the employed population (compared to 55.8 per cent of men) and that the employment rate of women decreased from 48 per cent in 2016 to 45.5 per cent in 2017 (compared to 58.5 per cent for men). It notes that the employment rate of women in rural areas was particularly low (32.2 per cent compared to 51.7 per cent in urban areas) and remained substantially lower than that of men (51.5 per cent in rural areas). It further notes the Government’s indication that 52.4 per cent of public administration employees are women but that there are no available data on the average wage for men and women.

The Committee notes that UN Women recently highlighted that the informal sector is large, possibly as high as 59 per cent, with women comprising a majority of informal economy workers (Country Gender Profile, January 2018, page 17). It notes that, according to a survey on the informal sector in Cabo Verde, carried out in February 2017 by the Cape Verdean Institute for Gender Equality (ICIEG), in 2015, women represented 58.8 per cent of all workers in the informal economy and owned 62.2 per cent of informal production units. The Committee also notes that, according to the survey, in the informal economy, the average monthly wage of women is 29.5 per cent lower than that of men. It further notes the Government’s statement that an analysis of the average monthly wage shows that the earnings of half of working women are about 1,000 Cape Verdean Escudos (CVE) less than the average monthly wage, while half of men earn about CVE2,000 more than the average wage. The Committee notes that, in its 2018 concluding observations, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concern at the wide and persistent wage gap between men and women, the vertical and horizontal segregation in the labour market and the high proportion of women in precarious employment situations. Moreover, the CESCR indicated that women being predominantly involved in the informal economy, they are as a consequence less likely to be covered by contributory social security schemes and more likely to receive non-contributory social pensions, which currently cover only 20 per cent of the subsistence minimum. Women therefore have lower incomes and lower pensions, making them particularly vulnerable to poverty, especially in old age (E/C.12/CPV/CO/1, 27 November 2018, paragraph 26). In light of the substantial gender wage gap and the lack of legislation that fully reflects the principle of the Convention, the Committee urges the Government to: (i) strengthen its efforts to take proactive measures, including in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations; (ii) raise awareness, make assessments, and promote and enforce the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value; and (iii) provide information on the measures taken to effectively address the gender wage gap by identifying and addressing the underlying causes of pay differentials, such as occupational gender segregation and gender stereotypes, covering both the formal and informal economy, and by promoting women’s access to a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher pay, in particular in rural areas. Noting that the Government is in the process of developing, in collaboration with the ILO, a National Strategy for 2017–20 to encourage the transition from informal to formal employment, which will be especially important for women, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any progress made in the adoption and implementation of this strategy. It also asks the Government to provide statistical information on the earnings of men and women, in both the public and private sectors, disaggregated by sector of economic activity and occupation.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.