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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Sao Tome and Principe (Ratification: 1982)

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislative developments. The Committee notes that the Government affirms, in its report, its belief that the national legislative framework is now in conformity with the principle enshrined in the Convention, in response to the Committee’s previous comments on section 234(5) of the Labour Code. It notes however that this section requires “identical contractual conditions” for the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, and thus does not fully reflect the principle of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) requested the Government to inform it about steps taken to amend the Labour Code to ensure the principle of equal pay for work of equal value (CEDAW/C/STP/Q/1–5, 7 March 2022, paragraph 16(d)). The Committee requests the Government to consider amending section 234(5) of the Labour Code to ensure that the overall value of the job is considered without limiting the comparison to “identical contractual conditions” and that the definition allows for the comparison, free from gender bias, of jobs of an entirely different nature, not necessarily in the same enterprise, but which may be shown, after examination, to be of equal “value”. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the application in practice of sections 22(1) and 234(5) of the Labour Code, including any cases or complaints concerning inequality of remuneration dealt with by the labour inspectorate, the courts or any other competent authority, specifying the penalties imposed and the compensation awarded; and (ii) the awareness-raising activities undertaken on the new legislative provisions and on the principle of the Convention, including in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Articles 2 and 3. Reducing the gender wage gap. In response to the Committee’s request for information on measures taken to assess and address the gender wage gap in the formal and informal economy, the Government states that it is above all focusing its efforts on the transition from the informal to the formal economy in order to extend social protection to the entire population, still largely affected by informality. The Government recalls in this regard that there are different minimum wages applicable in the private and public sectors, determined by Decree No. 24/2015 of 18 December 2015, and that no worker may be paid less than the wage defined in that Decree. The Committee also notes, from the data provided by the Government in its report to CEDAW, that the level of labour income is relatively higher for men than for women throughout the life cycle, and that the surplus labour income of men aged 22 to 76 is about 11 times that of women, resulting in low levels of empowerment of women and girls (CEDAW/C/STP/1–5, 29 November 2021, paragraphs 59 and 60). Recalling that a National Statistical Development Strategy, adopted in 2018, is under implementation, with a view to reinforcing the National Statistics Institute, the Committee again requests the Government to provide updated information on the pay gap between men and women, the distribution of men and women in the different economic sectors and occupations and their respective incomes, in the public and private sectors.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the social partners were unable to meet to discuss the draft revision of Act No. 1/99 on the National Council for Social Dialogue (CNCS) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made in revising Act No. 1/99 on the CNCS and on strengthening the capacities of the workers’ and employers’ organizations in respect of the principle of the Convention.

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