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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2022, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.

Repetition

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Payment of employment benefits. Family allowances. For a number of years the Committee has been emphasizing that, when both husband and wife are entitled to family allowances, these are still paid primarily to the husband if he works, and it has been asking the Government to change this practice. The Committee welcomes the communication by the Government of a draft amendment to section 47(1)(a) of the Social Security Act aimed at allowing both working fathers and mothers to receive family allowances, provided that they no longer collect them from other public bodies. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to enable the adoption of the amendment to the Social Security Act in order to allow women workers to be treated on an equal footing to men with regard to the payment of family allowances. The Government is requested to provide information on the progress of this draft amendment and to provide a copy of the text once it is adopted.

Severance pay in the event of marriage. The Committee recalls that the principle of the Convention applies to remuneration as defined by the Convention, that is to say not only the basic salary but also any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment. In this regard, the Committee recalls that it has previously asked the Government to amend the Labour Code and section 50 of the Social Security Act, which provide for severance (or end-of-service) pay for women who resign upon marriage. For several years, the Government indicated that this issue was covered by the new draft Labour Code. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information in this regard. The Committee is therefore bound to repeat its request to the Government to ensure that the new Labour Code gives men and women equal entitlement to severance pay and that section 50 of the Social Security Act is consequently amended. Meanwhile, the Committee once again requests the Government to ensure that the application in practice of this provision on severance pay in the event of marriage does not have the effect of reinforcing traditional attitudes and stereotypes regarding the role of women in society and their aspirations and preferences, including those relating to household and family responsibilities.

Article 2. Domestic workers. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Minimum wage. The Committee recalls that domestic workers, the majority of whom are women, are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code of 1946 (section 7(1)) and, consequently, the provisions of sections 44 et seq. on the minimum wage do not apply to them. It also recalls that a standard employment contract for foreign domestic workers was adopted in 2009, under which the employer must pay a monthly salary to be agreed upon by both parties. In its report on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Government only indicates that domestic workers are governed by the Code of Obligations and Contracts, that the bill applicable to this category of workers is still being drafted and that a Bill on the application of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), is being prepared. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate whether providing for a minimum wage in the Bill on the employment of domestic workers is envisaged. Pending the adoption of the Bill, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any legal or practical measures taken or contemplated to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value also applies to domestic workers. The Government is also once again requested to indicate any measures adopted, in cooperation with the social partners, to inform employers that, when wages and additional emoluments for domestic workers are fixed, domestic work usually carried out by women must not be undervalued as a result of gender stereotypes in comparison to domestic work usually carried out by men and that, more generally, domestic work must not be undervalued in comparison to other types of work. Lastly, the Committee once again asks the Government to take steps to collect and send data, disaggregated by sex, on the number of men and women domestic workers and their wages.

Application in the public service. In its previous comments, the Committee highlighted the low representation of women in better paid positions in the public service. The Committee welcomes the recent statistical data disaggregated by sex communicated by the Government on the composition of the workforce in public bodies (2016), according to which 43.3 per cent of public administration officials were women, of which 25.4 per cent were in the highest category of the hierarchy. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the report does not contain any information on the remuneration of men and women in the public service. The Committee recalls that, in the public service, inequalities of remuneration may exist, despite the existence of categories of staff and pay scales, owing to the criteria used to classify posts, undervaluation of the tasks carried out mainly by women or even inequalities in the payment of certain benefits (bonuses, benefits, allowances, etc.) to which men and women do not have equal access in law or in practice. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to encourage the employment of women in posts in the higher categories of the public service and to ensure that men and women in the administration have equal access to allowances and benefits which, within the meaning of the Convention, form an integral part of remuneration. The Government is also requested to collect and provide information on the remuneration of men and women in the public service and on any analysis of gender pay gaps.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that, despite its repeated requests, the Government’s report still does not contain any information on this point. The Committee is therefore bound to once again request the Government to explain in detail the methods and criteria used to determine pay levels within the new job classification system in the public administration, and how gender bias has been avoided. Recalling that the implementation of job evaluation exercises has been shown to have a measurable impact on gender pay differentials, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to ensure that the methods and criteria used by private employers to establish job descriptions and determine the corresponding pay structure are free from gender bias and do not undervalue tasks performed by women.