Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2006, Publicación: 96ª reunión CIT (2007)

Convenio sobre igualdad de remuneración, 1951 (núm. 100) - Bulgaria (Ratificación : 1955)

1. Articles 1(a) and 2(a) of the Convention. Application through legislation. Definition of remuneration. Recalling its previous observation, the Committee notes the Government’s confirmation that the term “all remuneration” in section 14(1) of the Act on Protection Against Discrimination covers the basic salary and any additional payments, in accordance with Article 1(a) of the Convention.

2. Articles 2 and 3. Practical application. Assessment of the gender wage gap. The Committee notes that, according to the statistical information provided by the Government, the gender pay gap (average monthly salary) in the private sector has decreased from 24.8 per cent in 2001 to 22.5 per cent in 2003. In the public sector, the gender wage gap decreased during the same period from 27.3 per cent to 21.4 per cent. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide detailed statistical information on the earnings received by men and women, as far as possible in accordance with its general observation of 1998.

3. Measures to ensure and promote equal remuneration. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the difference in pay received by men and women was not due to discrimination but was the result of women being more frequently employed in lower positions than men and being over-represented in economic sectors with low levels of remuneration. In this regard, the Committee welcomes the various measures mentioned in the report to promote gender equality in the labour market (e.g. measures to promote women’s access to higher paying jobs and family-friendly workplace arrangements) which indeed have the potential to reduce the gender pay gap. However, the Committee also stresses the importance of addressing gender pay differentials that arise due to discrimination that occurs in the process of the determination of remuneration (e.g. lack of consideration of skills required for jobs that are traditionally performed by women and the resulting undervaluation of tasks performed by women). While noting the Government’s explanations concerning the manner in which salaries are determined in the civil service, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the development and use of objective job evaluation methods in the private sector, as encouraged under Article 3 of the Convention. The use of such job evaluation methods is an important means of avoiding gender bias in the determination of wages. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on any efforts made to seek the collaboration of workers’ and employers’ organizations with a view to promoting objective job evaluation. Please also indicate any measures taken under the National Action Plan on Employment and the National Action Plan on the Promotion of Equality between Women and Men that specifically aim at eliminating pay discrimination that arises from gender-biased determination of remuneration.

4. Enforcement. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Commission on the Protection against Discrimination is not yet operational. It therefore asks the Government to keep it informed of any further developments with regard to the establishment and functioning of the Commission, including information on whether any of its activities address equal pay issues. Finally, the Committee asks the Government once again to provide information on any judicial or administrative decisions issued based on the equal pay provisions of the Labour Code or the Act on Protection from Discrimination.