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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls that the definitions of “work of equal value” in both section 77(1) of the Law on Labour of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and section 120(2) and (3) of the Law on Labour of the RepublikaSrpska limit the concept of “work of equal value” to the same level of each of the evaluation factors enumerated, such as qualifications, capacity to work and responsibility, physical and intellectual work, skills, working conditions and results of work. The Committee notes with regret that the definition of “work of equal value” in section 89 of the Law on Labour of the Brčko District No. 34/19, which entered into force on 1 January 2020, has a wording similar to the Law on Labour of the Republika Srpska and is therefore too restrictive to give full effect to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value set out in the Convention. The Committee emphasizes once again that the concept of “work of equal value” must permit a broad scope of comparison. While factors such as skills, responsibility, effort and working conditions are clearly relevant in determining the value of the jobs, when examining two jobs, the value does not have to be the same with respect to each factor – determining value is about the overall value of the job when all the factors are taken into account. In this regard, the Committee wishes to point out that, for the purpose of the Convention, the relative value of jobs with varying content is to be determined through objective job evaluation on the basis of the work performed and is different from performance appraisal, which aims at evaluating the performance of an individual worker in carrying out his or her job. Objective job evaluation is therefore concerned with evaluating the job and not the individual worker. The Committee therefore underlines that factors such as “capacity to work” and “results of work” relate to the performance appraisal of the individual worker rather than to objective job evaluation (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 673, 677 and 696). The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to amend the provisions regarding the definition of “work of equal value” in the Law on Labour of the FBiH, the Law on Labour of the Republika Srpska, and the Law on Labour of the Brčko District in the near future, so as to ensure that the legislation: (i) provides for a definition of “work of equal value” which is based on objective criteria; and (ii) addresses situations where men and women perform different work requiring different qualifications and skills, levels of responsibility and efforts and with different conditions of work but that is of equal value overall. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any initiatives taken to amend the labour legislation for this purpose.

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