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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Tokelau

The Committee notes the observations of Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) communicated with the Government’s report. Both organizations raise issues regarding the implementation of the Convention. The Committee notes more particularly that (1) the NZCTU questions whether the Convention is applied in Tokelau in any meaningful manner; and (2) Business New Zealand considers that the Convention tends to be too prescriptive to have strict relevance in Tokelau where the income is generally seen as household rather than individual income. The Committee takes note of these observations and wishes to recall, in that regard, that the obligation of any State in ratifying the Convention is to “promote” the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value by means appropriate to the methods in operation for determining rates of remuneration; and to “ensure” its application to all workers, insofar as this is consistent with such methods. While the Convention allows no compromise in the objective to be pursued, it provides flexibility regarding the measures to be used and the timing in achieving its objective (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 659 and 670). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken: (i) to raise public awareness of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, in particular among workers, employers, their respective organizations, and enforcement officials; and (ii) to promote its application both in the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of social partners.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Addressing the underlying causes of the gender pay gap. Occupational segregation. The Committee notes, from the 2016 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings, that more men than women are in paid employment (70.0 per cent and 49.9 per cent respectively) and almost all Tokelauans who have full-time paid employment are employed in the public sector. It further notes, from the statistical information provided by the Government in its report, the distribution of men and women in the public service (national level only) in the different grades, and particularly that, both in the general and specialist scales, women represent 60 per cent of the national public servants. It notes however that, in the three higher bands of the pay range, as regards the general scale, two women are employed compared to one man, while as regards the specialist scale where remuneration is higher, 6 women are employed compared to 16 men. On the other hand, in the three lower bands of the pay range, in the general scale, 14 women are employed compared to 8 men (no specialist scale). The Committee asks the Government to supply information on any measures taken or envisaged: (i) to reduce vertical and horizontal occupational segregation, including steps taken to increase women’s access to education and training in sectors that are predominantly occupied by men; and (ii) to enhance the economic participation of women in the private sector.

Articles 2 and 3. Application of the principle of the Convention. Objective job evaluation. Public service. The Committee previously noted that the National Human Resource Manager had been instructed to implement the new Remuneration Framework that was endorsed by the competent authority in March 2016 with a view to aligning all salaries of national and village employees. It requested the Government to indicate how the application of the principle of the Convention had been ensured in the context of the new framework. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, that the Hay job evaluation method was used to evaluate all positions in the Tokelau public service and the evaluation focused purely on the key duties and responsibilities of the job. The Government adds that two job evaluation training workshops were held for heads and managers of government departments and village Council Office in order to enable participants to apply and use this job evaluation method. The Committee notes that the application of the new Remuneration Framework was conducted by Human Resources Officers both at the villages and national levels. The Committee welcomes this information. Referring to its previous comments concerning the review of the Human Resources Manual (HRM), which provides that an employer may, in exceptional cases, place an employee on any salary step they deem fit notwithstanding the normal salary range applying to the position, it notes the Government’s statement that the review of the HRM is still ongoing. The Government adds that the Office of the Tokelau Public Service Commission will conduct the remaining consultations across the villages and the public service before the final version is submitted to the competent authority for consideration. Concerning the possibility to consider the salary levels in the home market of non-Tokelauan applicants when determining the remuneration for senior management positions in the public service, which may result in pay differences between women and men for the same position when women senior officials are recruited locally and men senior officials are recruited from outside Tokelau, the Committee notes the repeated lack of information provided by Government concerning the form of such pay differences. In the absence of further clarifications, the Committee again asks the Government to indicate whether differences in salary between Tokelauan and non-Tokelauan employees take the form of a difference in the basic wage or additional allowances and how the issue has now been dealt within the new Remuneration Framework. It also asks the Government once again to take the necessary measures to ensure that the principle of the Convention is taken into account in the review of the HRM, and to provide information on any progress made in the review.