Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Ghana (Ratification: 1968)

Previous comment

Articles 1(b) and 2(1) Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Public service. The Committee notes that the 2022 Earnings Inequality Public sector report reveals the existence of a gender pay gap between men and women in the public sector. Men have a higher average monthly net salary, of GH₵2,669 (US$217.74), while women have an average of GH₵2,504 (US$209). The difference between the average net salary of men and women is GH₵165 (US$13). This means that the gender pay gap is 6.0 per cent (page 18). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that under the White Paper on Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) adopted in 2009, the public sector jobs grouped public service institutions based on similarities of jobs in terms of requirements for education, skills and training to perform their work and other institutional roles. Consequently, nine service classifications were created, such as: (1) public policy, planning, services, administration and related services; (2) health services, (3) security services; (4) legal and judicial services; and (5) revenue and accounting services. The Government also indicates that the evaluation of the value of the public services jobs is based on four main job factors (knowledge and skill, responsibility, working conditions and effort) to ensure that there is no gender bias in the public sector. The Government adds that not all state organizations are on the SSPP at the moment and that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) is about to dispatch a communication to all public service organizations to request extensive information on their salaries for review and advice. There are also active engagements with the State Interest & Governance Authority to bring the determination of salaries of State-owned enterprises under the supervision of FWSC. The Committee notes that the “single spine salary structure” annexed to the Government’s report does not contain information on the types of jobs that fall within each level of pay and thus does not allow the Committee to assess whether the method of evaluation of jobs used is effectively free from gender bias. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any follow-up actions taken to correct the remaining gender pay gap in the public sector and provide information on the progress made in covering all public service employees by the single spine salary structure.

Article 2(2)(c). Collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that collective agreements concluded after the adoption of the Labour Act in 2003 do not contain provisions that are discriminatory on the basis of sex, especially in respect of remuneration. The Government also refers to the provisions of the collective agreement annexed to its report, in which basic salary and allowances benefit both male and female employees (section 6). The agreement however does not contain any clause providing explicitly for the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the social partners within the National Tripartite Committee have held discussions on remuneration and other incentives such as maternity, annual leave with pay, and bonus, among others. The Committee also observes that the social partners participated in the 2022 International Labour Standards Reporting Validation Workshop. In the context of the current labour law reform, the Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to ensure that the principle of the Convention is explicitly taken into account in collective agreements, and to continue to provide extracts from collective agreements relating to remuneration.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation in the private sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, job evaluation in the private sector is governed by the employers’ association and the union. The Government also indicates that it will ensure that steps are taken, through the National Tripartite Committee’s sensitization programmes, to promote objective job evaluation methods in the private sector to eliminate unequal pay. In this regard, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the objective job evaluation already undertaken in the public sector, which is based on four main job factors (knowledge and skill, responsibility, working conditions and effort). The Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to promote the adoption and the use of objective job evaluation methods in the private sector and to provide information on any measures taken in this regard, following consultations with the National Tripartite Committee. It also asks the Government to indicate how it will ensure that such methods and criteria are exempt from any gender bias and do not give rise, in practice, to an under-evaluation of jobs mainly occupied by women.

Awareness-raising and enforcement. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that capacity building was provided for 78 labour inspectors, 10 factory inspectorates as well as 24 other public officials in order to help them sensitize workers and employers on issues related to wage discrimination in workplaces. Regarding grievances of workers, the Government adds that there are no records of violations relating to equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value reported or identified during establishment inspections carried out by the labour inspectors or cases brought before tribunals on this issue. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to take steps to: (i) continue to raise awareness of the relevant legislation, and (ii) enhance the capacity of the competent authorities, including judges, labour inspectors and other public officials, to identify and address cases of discrimination and unequal pay. In addition, the Government is asked to provide information on any decisions by the courts, the National Labour Commission, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre or any other competent body, as well as on any violations identified by, or reported to, labour inspectors, relating specifically to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.