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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Fiji (Ratification: 2002)

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Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. For a number of years, the Committee has been asking the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is duly reflected in section 78 of the Employment Relations Act (ERA). The Committee reiterates that the 2015 amendments to section 78 of the ERA, to which the Government refers once again in its report, restrict equal remuneration to “persons of the same or substantially similar qualifications employed in the same or substantially similar circumstances” and therefore does not give full effect to the principle set out in the Convention. The Committee also notes that the National Gender Policy, to which the Government refers in its report, advocates the promotion of laws and policies which recognise the right to equal pay for equal work. The Committee emphasizes that the concept of “work of equal value” permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value overall. It further draws the Government’s attention to the fact that “work of equal value” for men and women can: (1) be performed under different working conditions; (2) require different qualifications or skills; (3) require different levels of effort; and (4) involve different responsibilities. When determining the value of different jobs, the value does not have to be the same with respect to each factor. Determining the value is about the overall value of the job when all the factors are taken into account together. While factors such as “qualifications” and “circumstances” mentioned in section 78 of the ERA are clearly relevant in determining the value of jobs for the purpose of equal remuneration, they do not have to be the “same” or “substantially similar” and may not be sufficient to assess the overall value of jobs. The Committee therefore stresses the importance of assessing the “value” – that is, namely the worth of a job for the purpose of determining remuneration – through objective job evaluation, which is used to establish classifications of jobs and the corresponding salary scales without gender bias. While the Convention does not prescribe any specific method for such an examination, Article 3 presupposes the use of appropriate techniques for objective job evaluation, comparing factors such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions. It also makes it clear that differential rates between workers are compatible with the principle of the Convention if they correspond, without regard to sex, to differences determined by such evaluation. In light of the above, the Committee urges once again the Government to: (i) take the necessary measures to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is duly reflected in the Employment Relations Act, and (ii) ensure that the determination of work of equal value is based on an objective job evaluation, using criteria such as qualifications and skills, responsibility, efforts and conditions of work.

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