Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Madagascar (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Malagasy Revolutionary Workers (FISEMARE), received on 1 September 2022.

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. For several years, the Committee has been emphasizing that the provisions of section 53 of the Labour Code are more restrictive than those of the Convention, as they limit the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value to persons engaged in the same job and with the same vocational qualifications. The Committee notes that a draft text to revise the Labour Code has been prepared by the Government and was forwarded to the Office in February 2022 for technical comments. The Office suggested that section 53(1) of the Labour Code should be reworded as follows: “[For equal work or work performed under equal conditions, and for work of a different nature but nevertheless of equal value], wages shall be equal for all workers irrespective of their origin, colour, national extraction, sex, age, trade union membership, opinion or status under the conditions set out in the present Chapter”. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication in its report that the amendment of section 53 of the Labour Code was discussed with the social partners during a tripartite consultation held in March 2021. The Government adds that a preliminary draft of the Bill to issue the new Labour Code was submitted in September and October 2021 to the National Labour Council (CNT) with a view to hearing the views of the social partners, and then in December 2021 and January 2022 to the Commission on the Reform of Business Law (CRDA). Moreover, with reference to the observations by the Autonomous Trade Union of Labour Inspectors (SAIT) received in 2021, the Committee recalls that, while the Convention applies to all workers, it exclusively covers wage inequalities or remuneration gaps between men and women for work of equal value. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Labour Code will be amended in the near future and that the new wording of section 53 will give full expression to the principle of equal remuneration, not only for equal work or work performed under equal conditions, but also for work of an entirely different nature that is of equal value overall. It requests the Government to provide information on this subject and on any other measures adopted or envisaged to promote and ensure in practice equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.