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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - French Polynesia

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Application in practice of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women. Measures to combat the underlying causes of the wage gap. In its previous comment, the Committee urged the Government to take the necessary steps to promote access for girls and women to education and vocational training in branches enabling access to skilled and better paid jobs, to combat social stereotypes of certain types of work as being more suitable for men than women and traditional stereotypes regarding the role of women in society, and to establish mechanisms to allow both women and men to achieve a better work–life balance. It also requested the Government to continue sending statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various sectors of activity and on their respective wages. The Committee notes that the statistical data provided by the Government on the distribution of men and women by sector of activity as well as on average full-time equivalent wages by sex and sector of activity (by year) indicate that: (1) occupational segregation persists; women, who made up 45.4 per cent of all employees in 2017, were under-represented in certain sectors (7.7 per cent of employees in the construction sector and 24.8 per cent in industry), but 73.5 per cent of employees in the health and social services sector and 65.6 per cent in the financial activities and insurance sector; (2) the overall wage gap between men and women in 2017 was 3.7 per cent, a decrease of one percentage point from 2014; and (3) in the above-mentioned sectors that predominantly employ women, the wage gap in 2017 was 30.1 per cent in the health and social services sector (32.3 per cent in 2014) and 24.1 per cent in the financial activities and insurance sector (23.8 per cent in 2014). The Committee also notes the Government’s statements that women have more formal qualifications than men, but work less and occupy less influential positions. However, women are more often found in trades that were previously practised only by men. The Government recognizes that it lacks the objective data and in-depth studies to inform public strategies relating to gender equality. Beginning in 2019, it plans to work on: (1) a training initiative for the heads of public departments and institutions; (2) the development of an indicators framework harmonized with that of the Pacific countries and territories; (3) the collection and formalization of gender-disaggregated analyses; (4) the adoption of a decision requiring all sectors to produce gender-specific data; and (5) the creation of an equality observatory for centralizing and disseminating statistical and qualitative data. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information, including statistical information, on the distribution of women and men in the various sectors of activity and on their respective wages. It also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of all the measures planned for 2019 referred to above. Lastly, it once again requests the Government to provide information on any other measures to promote access for girls and women to education and vocational training in branches where they are under-represented, combat traditional stereotypes regarding the role of women in society and establish mechanisms enabling both women and men to achieve a better work–life balance.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee previously requested the Government to indicate the measures adopted to promote the use of objective job evaluation methods. Noting that the Government reiterates the information provided in its previous report, the Committee is bound to once again draw the Government’s attention to the difference between performance appraisal, which aims to evaluate the way in which a worker performs his or her duties, and objective job evaluation, which seeks to measure the relative value of jobs with varying content on the basis of the tasks to be accomplished. Objective job evaluation is concerned with evaluating the job, not the individual worker. Although the Convention does not determine any particular method for undertaking such an evaluation, Article 3 presupposes the use of appropriate techniques for objective job evaluation, comparing factors such as the skills required to accomplish the tasks concerned, the effort involved, and the responsibilities and working conditions in the post or job in question (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 695–696). The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted to promote, especially for the social partners, the use of objective job evaluation methods, as provided for in Article 3 of the Convention, with a view to ensuring that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is reflected in any methods for determining or revising job or post classifications and consequently in pay scales.

Enforcement. The Committee notes that the Government has once again indicated that pay disparities have not been reported to the labour inspectorate nor recorded by labour controllers, and that there are no disputes in this respect. In view of the statistical data indicating the persistence of a gender wage gap, the Committee once again encourages the Government to conduct awareness-raising activities for labour inspectors on this subject. It requests the Government to provide information on any prevention or enforcement measures adopted by the labour inspectorate to promote and enforce the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to send extracts of inspection reports recording any pay disparities and copies of any court decisions relating to this issue.