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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Belgium (Ratification: 1952)

The Committee notes the joint observations submitted on 1 September 2022 by the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (CGSLB), the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC) and the General Labour Federation of Belgium (FGTB).

Articles 1–4 of the Convention. Pay gaps and their causes. Measures to combat pay gaps. The Committee notes the publication, in 2021 as every year since 2007, by the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IEFH) and the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, of the “Report on the pay gap between women and men in Belgium”. The 2021 report is an "extended report" that covers all indicators and also includes policy recommendations. It provides a comprehensive overview of the wage situation of men and women. According to the report, which covers 2018 data, the wage gap based on average gross annual wages was 23.1 per cent (9.2 per cent when adjusted for working time). The most recent data, for 2019 published in December 2021, indicate a wage gap of 22.7 per cent (9.1 per cent when adjusted for working time). As the Government indicates in its report, this shows a slight decrease compared with 2017 (23.4 and 9.4 per cent respectively). The report on the pay gap also reveals the casualization of employment at the lower end of the labour market and emphasizes that women with low pay and part-time work are even more vulnerable than men. Thus, the wage gap between men and women in private sector manual work is 20.6 per cent when corrected for working time and 42.6 per cent without such correction (2019 data). The Committee notes the report's conclusion that a number of obstacles remain to be overcome and recommends, inter alia, (a) making information on wages accessible as a matter of principle; (b) in addition to eliminating the wage gap, continuing to pay sufficient attention to the employment of women, particularly to employment that is as "full-time" as possible; (c) paying particular attention to vulnerable groups, especially women with low levels of education, migrant women and older women; (d) improving the practical implementation of the Wage Gap Act of 22 April 2012; (e) ensuring that efforts made by enterprises in this regard produce more results in practice; (f) introducing penalties with regard to certain legal obligations; and (g) eliminating segregation of the labour market and strengthening women's position therein. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the situation and measures taken at federal level, as well as in the various Regions or Communities of Belgium. It also notes the indication that the Government agreement adopted in September 2020 provides for further steps to be taken to make the Wage Gap Act more effective, including a potential legislative review that would take into account a possible new directive, currently under discussion at the European Union, aimed at improving pay transparency. In this regard, the Committee notes that in their observations the CGSLB, CSC and FGTB echo the finding in the pay gap report that full pay transparency is a crucial weapon in combating pay discrimination. This is because, according to the report, the existence of a taboo on workers' actual wages hinders further progress towards a clear and balanced wage system. Finally, the Committee notes that in its concluding observations adopted in 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended that the Government review wages in all sectors, apply gender sensitive analytical job classification and evaluation methods, conduct regular pay surveys, and encourage employers to publish a narrative with their gender pay gap data, with a view to better understanding the reasons behind the gender wage gap, and strictly enforce the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in order to narrow and ultimately close the gender pay gap (CEDAW/C/BEL/CO/8, 31 October 2022, paragraph 44(a)). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken – and progress made – to:

• (i)combat wage inequality and involuntary part-time work; and
• (ii)implement the recommendations contained in the 2021 report on the pay gap between women and men, particularly those relating to vulnerable groups, the practical implementation of the Wage Gap Act, pay transparency, and combating gender stereotypes.

Gender pay gaps. Other benefits. As in its previous comments, the Committee notes that the wage gap increases considerably when “extra-legal benefits” paid by the employer (contribution to a supplementary pension, allowance for travel between home and work, share in the capital of the enterprise, etc.) are taken into account. The 2021 report on the pay gap by the IEFH and the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue indicates that for many years the pay gap in extra-legal benefits has been higher than the pay gap in more regulated wages, is harder to measure and appears to be highly resistant to policy efforts. The report shows that in 2018: (i) 62.4 per cent of men and 54.9 per cent of women received compensation for their travel between home and work, with an average of 14.8 per cent less for women (a slight increase since 2013); and (ii) 12.3 per cent of men and 8.9 per cent of women received a contribution to a supplementary pension from their employer, with an average of 32.3 per cent less for women (a slight decrease compared with 2013). The report specifies that employer-granted share options can no longer be calculated on the basis of tax statistics, unlike in 2013 and 2014 (2017 report) when the difference in value was 40 per cent in favour of men. The IEFH recommends including in the analytical report other gender indicators that enterprises usually employing a minimum of 50 persons are required to prepare every two years, including the gender proportion of extra-legal benefits granted (in number and in value). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged - including through the preparation and use of the report analysing the pay structure of workers in enterprises and, where applicable, any resulting action plan - to enable men and women to benefit on an equal footing from the advantages beyond the basic wage, whether paid directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, by the employer.

Articles 2(2)(c) and 3(2). Collective agreements. Revision of job classifications at the sectoral level. Job evaluation. The Committee recalls the importance of reviewing occupational classifications in light of the principle of equality to effectively combat the undervaluation of certain jobs, and thereby to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government's indications that, in accordance with the Wage Gap Act, the General Directorate of Collective Labour Relations of the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue is drawing up a list of joint committees and sub-committees whose job classification is not gender-neutral and which have not made the necessary changes within the two-year time frame without valid justification. This "name and shame" list is forwarded to the Minister of Employment and to the IEFH. According to the Government, almost all joint committees have a gender-neutral classification. The Committee notes, however, that in their 2021 report on the pay gap, the IEFH and the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue recommend that, to make the Wage Gap Act more effective, clear objectives should be set and monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms introduced: violations of gender-equality obligations should be sanctioned in the same way as other labour law violations. In this regard, they suggest that the labour inspectorate be given broader competencies to identify and sanction wage discrimination in enterprises. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on:

• (i)the results of the assessment exercises with regard to the gender neutrality of classifications;
• (ii)the measures taken when assessments have found that classifications are not neutral; and
• (iii)the action taken on the relevant recommendations contained in the 2021 report on the pay gap.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government's indication that in 2020 the IEFH received 350 employment-related reports (of which 125 were complaints) and that 31 per cent of such reports concerned discrimination related to working conditions or pay. Between 1 June 2018 and 31 May 2022, the IEFH brought five court cases (yet to be ruled upon), two of which concern situations of comparison between men and women carrying out comparable work. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number, nature and outcome of the complaints addressed by the IEFH, the labour inspectorate and the courts, specifying the penalties imposed, the compensation awarded, and any other measures taken to remedy the wage inequalities observed. The Government is also requested to indicate whether specific measures have been taken to strengthen the training of labour inspectors on combating wage inequalities and promoting the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.