Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Guyana (Ratification: 1975)

Article 2. Minimum wage. The Committee recalls that a national minimum wage was introduced in 2013 in the country following consultations with the tripartite partners. In its latest comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide: (1) information on the proportion of men and women workers, disaggregated by sex, to which the new national minimum wage in the private sector and the minimum basic salary in the public sector apply; and (2) any information available, including studies, showing the impact of the introduction and increase of the national minimum wage and the increase of the minimum basic salary on the earnings of women in both the public and the private sectors and the gender pay gap. The Government indicates that it has established the National Tripartite Committee (NTC), but it has not started functioning yet and so it is not possible to forward the data requested by the Committee. It adds that the national minimum wage is fixed by the NTC through consultations and consensus and that wages and salaries are determined based on the portfolio and the labour market. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will be in a position in the near future to provide information on: (i) the proportion of men and women workers, disaggregated by sex, to which the national minimum wage (private sector) and the minimum basic salary (public sector) apply; and (ii) the impact of the introduction in 2013 of the national minimum wage and the minimum basic salary on the earnings of women and the gender pay gap.

Articles 2(2)(c), 3 and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. Objective job evaluation and wage determination. Previously, the Committee asked the Government to take concrete steps to raise awareness among workers’ and employers’ organizations about: (1) the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value; and (2) the need to use objective job evaluation methods and criteria to avoid under valuating jobs traditionally performed by women when fixing rates of remuneration. It further asked the Government to indicate whether rates of remuneration are determined by collective bargaining in the public sector. The Government states that the newly established Ministry of Labour (2020), that is distinct from a department within another ministry, intends to amplify its efforts to increase awareness and sensitization on labour conditions, including on the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It also confirms that, regarding the public sector, the Government is engaged with the Guyana Public Service Union to negotiate wages and salaries but indicates that successive governments have not been able to finalize any formal agreement. In light of the above, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) any development relating to the industrial relations climate through sustained social dialogue which can lead to national social agreements; (ii) any measures taken by the Ministry of Labour to increase awareness among workers and employers and their organizations about the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and the crucial role of objective job evaluation methods to achieve this objective and avoid gender bias in the process; and (iii) the manner in which rates of remuneration are determined by the social partners, including on the method and criteria used.

Statistics. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it does not collect the data requested but that efforts are being made to improve data collection in the Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour. In order to better promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, the Committee recalls that appropriate data and statistics are crucial in determining the nature, extent and causes of discrimination and unequal remuneration, to set priorities and design appropriate measures, to monitor and evaluate the impact of such measures and make any necessary adjustments (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 891).  Therefore, the Committee urges the Government to provide information on the steps taken to collect periodically statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution of men and women in the various economic sectors and occupations, and on their corresponding earnings, in both the public and private sectors.