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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Georgia (Ratification: 1993)

Article 2 of the Convention. Promotion of the principle set out in the Convention in the public service. Legislation and application in practice.  The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comment, the Government reiterates that section 3 of the Law on Remuneration in Public Institutions of 2017 sets out the principle of equality and transparency of the remuneration system, and that this implies “equal pay for the performance of an equal job”, rather than work of equal value, despite the Committee’s previous indication that this wording is narrower than the principle of the Convention. Noting the absence of information provided in this regard, the Committee is once again bound to request the Government to clarify whether the new Law on Remuneration in Public Institutions provides for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, or merely equal remuneration for equal work. The Government is once again requested to provide statistics disaggregated by sex on the distribution of men and women in the various grades and occupations to allow the Committee to assess how the principle of the Convention is applied in practice.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation.  With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the coefficients and calculations applied in the new remuneration system of the Law on Remuneration in Public Institutions take into account tasks and categorize them into core functions and support functions. The Committee notes that this information is in itself not sufficient to understand the method used to classify jobs in the public service and therefore does not allow the Committee to assess the application of the Convention in practice. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, in the framework of the National Strategy of Labour Market and Employment Policy of Georgia 2019-23, guidelines on methodology will be elaborated so that the principle of equal remuneration is ensured and guaranteed. The Committee recalls that, whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias: it is important to ensure that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out are not discriminatory, either directly or indirectly. Often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 701). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the method used for the elaboration of the new remuneration system in the public service, including on how the coefficients and calculations were elaborated by the Ministry of Finance, and how it is ensured that this new job classification system is free from gender bias. Noting the Government’s statement that it is cooperating with the social partners to ensure that effect is given in practice to these principles, the Committee asks the Government to provide detailed and specific information on the concrete steps taken to promote the use of objective job evaluation or to develop such a method in the private sector, including training for those who undertake job evaluations and the results obtained.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations.  In its previous comments, the Committee noted that a meeting of the Tripartite Commission for Social Partnership adopted a new Action Plan 2018–19 and that it started active discussions on the concrete and specific requirements to comply with ratified ILO Conventions. The Committee notes the lack of information provided with regard to the specific activities undertaken under the Action Plan 2018–19, as well as on the results achieved. The Committee therefore reiterates its request for the Government to provide detailed information on the specific activities undertaken by the Tripartite Commission for Social Partnership to promote the principle of the Convention and, going forward, undertake an assessment of the results achieved and to provide information in this regard. Further, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on any other steps taken in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations to give full effect to the Convention.