Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Kyrgyzstan (Ratification: 1992)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. The Committee notes from the National Review of Kyrgyzstan on the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (the Beijing +25 report) that, as women usually work in low-paying jobs, women’s earnings in 2017 amounted to 75.2 per cent of those of men. The Government also indicates in its report that the pay gap is explained by the fact that men work in areas of economic activity with higher wages, such as the extraction industry and construction, while women work in the social sector, where wages are not as high (education, health care, social protection, etc.). The Committee asks the Government to provide updated statistics regarding the gender pay gap, by sector if possible. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken or envisaged to address wage differentials between men and women and horizontal and vertical occupational gender segregation, including the measures adopted to remove the legal barriers regarding women’s access to certain jobs with higher pay, increase the number of women in male-dominated sectors and ensure that female-dominated occupations are not undervalued in terms of remuneration.

Article 1(a). Definition of remuneration. With respect to payments in kind, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is prohibited to pay wages in the form of promissory notes, vouchers, food or goods cards, or other similar substitutes for cash, and that in-kind remuneration is not therefore used to pay for the labour of men and women, or for additional payments, including premiums or bonuses.

Article 1(b). Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls section 17 of the Gender Equality Act of 2003, which provides that persons of different sexes are entitled to equal wages given the same qualifications and the same conditions of work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, further to the analysis made for the Beijing +25 report, amendments to the Act will be considered by the National Tripartite Commission. In this context, the Committee recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” is fundamental to tackling occupational gender segregation, which is an important feature of the labour market in Kyrgyzstan, as it permits a broad scope of comparison between different jobs requiring different skills, responsibilities, efforts and performed in different working conditions, but which are nevertheless of equal value in their totality. This requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. For instance, the principle has been applied to compare the remuneration received by men and women engaged in different occupations, such as wardens in sheltered accommodation for the elderly (predominantly women) and security guards in office premises (predominantly men), and school meal supervisors (predominantly women) and garden and park supervisors (predominantly men). In light of the persistent and high gender pay gap, the Committee once again asks the Government to take steps to amend section 17 of the Gender Equality Act in order to give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on the steps taken in this regard, so as to ensure that men and women receive equal remuneration not only for “work of a similar nature”, but also for work that is of an entirely different nature but nevertheless of equal value.

Article 2. Promoting the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the public sector. Noting that the Government’s report is silent on this subject, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in the public sector and statistical information on the number of public employees by occupation and position disaggregated by sex and the corresponding wage scales.

Articles 2(c) and 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. Collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, at the meetings of the National Tripartite Commission in 2017–19, the issue of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value was not discussed. The Government also indicates that this issue will be included in the draft new General Agreement 2020–22. It adds that, on 10 December 2018, the first Women’s Trade Union Conference for workers in the construction and building materials industry discussed the introduction of a gender-based approach in collective agreements. Referring to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the importance of implementing a gender equality approach in relation to equal pay so as to ensure that the measures foreseen in “women’s sections” in collective agreements do not reproduce gender stereotypes and prejudices. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on any activities carried out by the National Tripartite Commission in relation to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It also asks the Government to provide information on: (i) the anti-discrimination provisions included in the new General Agreement 2020–22; and (ii) any measures envisaged or taken in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations to implement the principle of the Convention, including with respect to the promotion of objective job evaluation methods.

Enforcement and awareness-raising. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, during the reporting period, no equal pay complaints or appeals were received by the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate. The Committee wishes to recall that, not only is it essential to acknowledge that no society is free from discrimination, and that continuous action is required to address it, but also 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 or cases could also indicate that the system for recording violations is insufficiently developed (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 870). The Committee further recognizes the particular difficulties faced by labour inspectors in identifying cases of wage discrimination or in determining whether equal pay is provided for work of equal value, especially where men and women do not perform the same work. It therefore wishes to emphasize the importance of training labour inspectors so that they are better able to prevent, detect and remedy such cases. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the number and outcome of equal pay complaints submitted under the Labour Code and the Gender Equality Act. It also encourages the Government to develop training programmes to enhance the capacity of labour inspectors to deal with gender-based discrimination, and particularly wage discrimination cases, as well as awareness-raising initiatives on equal remuneration for workers, employers and their organizations. Noting that the report is silent on this point, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Council for Women, Family and Gender Development in relation to equal remuneration for men and women.