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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 1992)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Definition of remuneration. Recalling that section 244 of the new Labour Code, which was adopted in March 2022 and will enter into force in April 2023, gives legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, the Committee asks the Government to specify the elements covered by the term “remuneration” in this provision.

Articles 2 and 4. Determination of rates of remuneration. Collective agreements and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee welcomes the fact that one of the key outputs of the Decent Work Country Programme for 2021-2025 is “the capacity of constituents strengthened to improve wage-setting regulations and their effective implementation and ensure equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal value”. It also welcomes the Government’s indication that: (1) in 2018, an industrial agreement was amended to include a list identifying occupations primarily held by women (group 2) such as cleaner or seamstress, and occupations primarily held by men (group 1) such a carpenter or gardener, that are equally remunerated. It was agreed that any changes in the conditions of pay for persons employed in occupations in group 1 led to equivalent changes for group 2; (2) in 2019, the following paragraph was included in the collective agreement template: “5.20. In accordance with the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), equal remuneration is provided for men and women for work of equal value that may have been completed in different conditions and making use of different capabilities and skills, and that are unrelated according to the Jobs and Professions List given in Annex 25”, with the list of jobs to be produced independently by each enterprise; and (3) in January 2020, the General Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan, and the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan on Social and Economic Issues for the period 2020–2022 was signed and provides for the “elimination of pay inequalities between women and men” (art. 62). While noting that this inclusion constitutes a real progress towards the implementation of the Convention, the Committee notes with regret that the social partners did not seize this opportunity to include in the General Agreement the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

As regards determination of rates of remuneration, the Committee notes that section 246 of the new Labour Code provides that “remuneration systems, including wage rates, salaries, additional compensatory payments and allowances, including for work in abnormal conditions, incentive payments and bonuses, are established by collective agreements, collective bargaining agreements and local acts adopted by the employer in agreement with the trade union committee, the employment contract in accordance with labour law”. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to promote the inclusion of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in the next General Agreement and to update the collective agreements template. It also asks the Government to provide information on the cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations and, more specifically, to indicate the manner in which such cooperation gives effect to the principle set in the Labour Code and the Convention.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee emphasizes that the concept of “work of equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. There needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, undertaken on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias. While the Convention does not prescribe any specific method for such an examination, Article 3 of the Convention presupposes the use of appropriate techniques for objective job evaluation, comparing factors such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions. This 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 (for more information on objective job evaluation, see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 695-708). The Committee notes that Law No. LRU-562 on guarantees with respect to equal rights and opportunities for women and men refers to “an equal approach to assessment of the quality of work of women and men”. It notes that such an approach does not amount to “objective job evaluation”, but it seems rather to amount to “performance appraisal”, which aims at evaluating the performance of an individual worker in carrying out his or her job. It also notes that section 246 of the new Labour Code provides that “remuneration conditions and amounts are determined by agreement between the employer and the employee, taking into account the complexity and conditions of the work, the employee's professional qualifications and business qualities, the results of his work and the organization's economic situation in accordance with the remuneration systems in force at the given employer.” In this regard, the Committee observes that factors such as “the results of [the worker’s] work” relate more to the performance appraisal of the individual worker rather than to objective job evaluation. In light of the above, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any objective job evaluation method and criteria developed and used to implement the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value set in the Labour Code and the Convention. It also encourages the Government to consider using gender neutral terminology in its legislation.

Classifications of jobs. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in accordance with Presidential Decision of 31 December 2020 on Measures to Fundamentally Improve the Qualification Assessment System and to Provide the Labour Market with Qualified Workers, the Classification of Established Jobs and Professions (KODP 2020) was developed and approved. It also notes that the Government affirms that: (1) the classification also serves as a foundation for drafting official sector-specific qualification and rate reference forms; and (2) the classification’s labour remuneration rates do not vary according to gender indicators and there are no predetermined differences in pay scale between men and women. Given the persisting gender segregation in the labour market, the Committee hopes that the remuneration rates based on the new classification were established without gender bias and in particular without undervaluing tasks mainly performed by women, and thus asks the Government to provide information on the impact of the new classification on the gender pay gap.

Enforcement, training and awareness-raising. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in the period 2018–2019, no cases relating to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value were heard by the courts and no such complaints were reviewed by the Prosecutor General’s Office nor by the Ombudsperson. Recalling that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is now included in the newly adopted Labour Code, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on:

• (i)any training activities envisaged to improve the capacity of labour inspectors to detect and address violations of this principle; and
• (ii)any awareness-raising activities among workers, employers and their organizations.

It also asks the Government to continue to provide information on:

• (i)the number, nature and outcome of any violations of the labour law which relate specifically to pay discrimination between men and women; and
• (ii)on any cases dealt with by the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the courts or the Ombudsperson which relate to the principle of the Convention.