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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Malta (Ratification: 1988)

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Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. Pay transparency. Equal Pay Tool. The Committee notes that, according to Eurostat, the unadjusted gender pay gap (the difference between average gross hourly earnings of male and female employees as a percentage of male gross earnings) in 2021 was 10.5 per cent and that it is below the average unadjusted gender pay gap in the European Union (13.7 per cent). The Committee notes that, according to the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE), the pay gap can be as high as 29.7 per cent in real estate activities and 24.3 per cent in financial and insurance activities. These differences in pay result from various inequalities in the labour market besides discrimination, which include gender segregation in employment and education, the lack of women in managerial positions and the lack of adequate work–life balance. In this regard, the Committee notes from the statement of the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls made on 7 July 2023 at the end of a 12-day visit in the country that: (1) Malta has faced challenges related to the gender pay gap, with women historically earning less than men for equal or comparable work; and (2) improvements have been made, and the gender pay gap has decreased significantly since 2018 when the country had the highest gender pay gap in Europe. According to the Working Group, women continue to face challenges in reconciling work and family life and sharing care responsibilities equally and gender discrimination often starts in the family and has a negative impact on all areas of girls’ and women’s lives. The Working Group also noted that patriarchal views suggesting that women are less fit to lead have a significant impact on women’s ability to participate in the public and economic life of the country. In addition, the Committee notes that, in 2019, an awareness-raising campaign forming part of the EU co-funded Project “Prepare the Ground for Economic Independence” (PGEI) implemented by the NCPE listed a number of reasons for the discrepancy in pay between women and men: gender segregation in education which ultimately results in gender segregation in the place of work; wage discrimination; part-time work; housework; the “care pay penalty” (i.e. a gap in hourly wages that cannot be attributed to differences in skills, experience or credentials but often to the difficulties encountered by women trying to balance work and care responsibilities); and lack of women in decision-making. In this regard, the Committee also refers the Government to its comments on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication in its report that, in 2020, the NCPE started developing an Equal Pay Tool within the framework of this project, which will be used to check whether companies opting for the Equal Pay Certification have equal pay for work of equal value between women and men, and to assist them in correcting situations of unequal pay. The Government adds that: (1) the ultimate objective of the Equal Pay Tool is for employers to be able to collect input data about their employees, which would be processed, and then help them identify any discrepancies in employees’ salaries or allowances which are not justifiable; (2) since the creation of the tool in 2020, the NCPE has worked on its finalization by pilot-testing; and (3) the tool is expected to be launched in November 2023 to mark Equal Pay Day and, subsequently, integrated into the NCPE Equality Mark Certification. Noting these positive developments with interest, the Committee asks the Government to continue to take proactive measures, in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations and the NCPE or any other relevant institutions, to address and eliminate the remaining gender pay gap and its underlying causes, including those identified by the NCPE, such as occupational gender segregation, gender stereotypes, and the difficulties for women to access a wider range of studies and jobs at all levels and to reconcile work and family responsibilities. It also asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Equal Pay Tool and its impact on the reduction of the gender pay gap and the results achieved at the workplace level. The Government is also asked to continue to provide updated statistical information, disaggregated by economic sector of activity, on the earnings of men and women; and the gender pay gap in the public and private sectors.

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a). Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation and application in practice. The Committee recalls that: (1) the general principle of equal pay for work of equal value is enshrined in article 27 of Employment and Industrial Relations Act (EIRA) which provides that “employees in the same class of employment are entitled to the same rate of remuneration for work of equal value”; and (2) “work of equal value” and “remuneration”, as mentioned in section 3(A)(1) of the Equal Treatment in Employment Regulations are not defined by the current legislation but, according to the Government, are determined on a case-by-case basis by the Industrial Tribunal. In the absence of information communicated in this regard, the Committee asks once again the Government to provide specific information on the practical application of section 3(A)(1) of the Equal Treatment in Employment Regulations, including by providing concrete examples on the manner in which the terms “work of equal value” and “remuneration” have been interpreted by the Industrial Tribunal. To ensure that the EIRA permits the broadest comparison possible between jobs, also going beyond the same employer, it asks the Government to indicate how section 27 and, in particular the notion of “same class of employment”, is interpreted when applying the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. In addition, it asks once again the Government to: (i) seize every opportunity to ensure that any new or revised legislation will explicitly define and give full expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, in particular as regards the manner in which “work of equal value” is determined and what is considered to be included in “remuneration”; and (ii) provide information on the status of the Equality Bill and the Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill, as well as a copy of both pieces of legislation once adopted.

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