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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Ratification: 2001)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Horizontal and vertical occupational segregation and gender pay gap. Referring to the comments it made in 2020 on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee points out that, in its 2015 concluding observations, the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) noted with concern: (1) the clear horizontal segregation of the labour market and the concentration of women in low-income occupational categories; and (2) the lack of a comprehensive and integrated strategy to address ideological and structural barriers that discourage girls from participating in non-traditional academic and technical-vocational subjects (CEDAW/C/VCT/CO/4-8, 28 July 2015, paragraphs 28(c) and 30). Similarly, the Committee notes that, in its 2019 concluding observations, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) expressed concern about: (1) the persistence of stereotypes regarding the position of women in society; and (2) the fact that women remain under-represented in both the public and private sectors, particularly in decision-making positions (CCPR/C/VCT/CO/2/Add.1, 9 May 2019, paragraph 14). Noting that horizontal and vertical occupational segregation contribute for a large part to the gender pay gap, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to: (i) combat traditional gender stereotypes and norms on sex-appropriate roles in society as well as in employment and occupation; and (ii) encourage girls and women to enrol in traditionally “male” fields of study or vocational training, and the results achieved, in terms of the number of girls and women enrolled in those fields.

Article 2(2)(b). Determination of wages. Promotional measures. The Committee notes that, as it did in its last report (2015), the Government indicates once again that it will take proactive measures on the next revision of the Wages Regulations Orders to ensure that wage councils would fix wages in a manner that promotes the principle of the Convention. The Committee notes, however, that the Government gives no indication on the measures taken since 2015 nor envisaged for the next revision. The Committee recalls that, previously it had taken note of the Government’s indication that the dialogue between the Department of Labour, the Gender Affairs Division and the National Council of Women would soon resume. In this regard, the Committee notes the assurance of the Government that the dialogue between the Department of Labour, the Gender Affairs Division and the National Council of Women is ongoing with a view to promote vigorously the principle of the Convention. It also notes the information provided by the Government on the promotional measures taken regarding minimum wages (information on the Department of Labour’s website and radio programmes) but would like to underline that, although minimum wages are an important tool to implement the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, they are neither equivalent nor sufficient to ensure full implementation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information regarding the latest revision of the Wages Regulations Orders and the measures taken on this occasion to ensure that wage councils do promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee also requests information on the measures taken, in collaboration with the Gender Affairs Division and the National Council of Women or otherwise, to promote a better understanding of the principle of the Convention among the social partners, public officials (including labour inspectors and judges), other legal professionals and the public in general.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on how it promotes the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and to adopt measures to ensure objective job evaluation in the public sector and promote it in the private sector. It notes the Government’s statement that it is unable to provide the requested information without further explanation. The Committee reiterates its requests to the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to ensure objective job evaluation in the public sector and promote it in the private sector. It also wishes to remind the Government that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s “overall satisfaction that workers in general have knowledge of the minimum wages within their respective sectors” and that the complaints and dispute resolution mechanisms are easily accessible. Once again, the Committee wishes to emphasize that the principle of the Convention is not limited to minimum wages but concerns equal remuneration for work of equal value. In addition, it recalls that the absence of complaints on pay inequalities between men and women for work of equal value does not mean that there are no such inequalities in practice but may result from a lack of knowledge among workers, as well as law enforcers, of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value as enshrined in the Convention. The Committee requests the Government: (i) to provide examples of measures taken or envisaged to increase workers’ awareness of the principle of the Convention and of the dispute resolution machinery in place; (ii) to improve the capacity of labour inspectors to promote and enforce this principle, as well as to identify cases of discrimination; and (iii) to supply information on any violations detected by or brought to the attention of the labour inspection services, the sanctions imposed and the remedies granted, as well as information on any judicial decisions relating to the application of the Convention.

Statistics. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that 5,000 of the 7,000 or so civil servants are women but that the statistical data on occupations is not disaggregated by sex. Nevertheless, the Government provides sex-specific information for the top three classification levels of the public service (grades A1, A2 and A3) for the 2021 fiscal year, which shows that, out of 59 filled positions, 36 (i.e. 61 per cent) are occupied by women. For the private sector, however, this information is not available. The Committee recalls once again that, in its 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions (paragraph 888), it stressed that an analysis of the position and pay of men and women in all job categories, within and between sectors, is required to assess and, if necessary, to address fully the continuing remuneration gap between men and women and that, if such information is not yet available, Governments should supply all the information that is currently available and continue to work towards the compilation of full statistical information. In this regard, it notes that in its 2015 concluding observations, the CEDAW also called upon the Government to implement systems of collection, analysis and dissemination of data disaggregated by sex (among others) and encouraged it to develop gender-sensitive indicators that could be used in the formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and, when necessary, review of gender equality policies (CEDAW/C/VCT/CO/4-8, paragraph 47). Recalling that technical assistance was provided by the ILO to the country as from 2011 to strengthen its labour market information system as a pilot project to develop labour market information systems in all the countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Committee requests the Government to indicate the steps taken or envisaged as a follow up to enhance the collection of statistical data on salary levels and occupations, disaggregated by sex, both in the public and the private sectors. In the meantime, it encourages the Government to continue to provide any statistical information available, especially disaggregated by sex for higher-level positions.