Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Wage fixing and objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government on the wage rate distribution of men and women working in the public sector, according to which women represent only 19.13 per cent of the employees earning more than 3,000 Ethiopian birr (ETB) (38.57 per cent earning between ETB2,000 and ETB2,099 and 26.16 between ETB1,000 and ETB1,999). The Committee recalls that section 7 of Federal Civil Servants Proclamation No. 515/2007 provides that “all positions of equal value shall have equal base salary”. The Committee notes that the Government merely reiterates that the process of amending the Public Service Position Classification and Scale Regulation is still going on. The Committee recalls that an objective job evaluation process to establish a classification and determine corresponding remuneration entails an evaluation of the nature of the tasks that each job involves, in terms of qualifications, skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Furthermore, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that, when equal remuneration for work of equal value is not explicitly included in the objectives of the evaluation and classification method, there is often the risk that this method will reproduce sexist stereotypes concerning women’s capabilities and aspirations with regard to employment and that certain skills generally attached to women (such as manual dexterity) are undervalued in comparison with skills generally attached to men (such as physical strength). With regard to the private sector, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that the necessary measures are being taken, and the contents of job evaluation training include the following fundamental principles: objectives of the process; methods of job evaluation; steps to be undertaken; the principle of equal remuneration; wage fixing based on job grading; and the gender dimension of the process. The Committee asks once again the Government to ensure that, in the process of amending the Public Service Position Classification and Scale Regulation, determining the various job classifications and grading, the criteria and the methods used are free from gender bias, and it trusts that the Government will be soon in a position to report progress on the process of amendment. Recalling that occupational gender segregation is an underlying cause of remuneration gaps, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to address both vertical and horizontal occupational segregation of men and women in the labour market as well as gender stereotypes, and to promote the access of women to higher positions in the public sector through positive measures taken pursuant to section 13(3)(a) of the Federal Civil Service Proclamation (No. 515/2007) or any other appropriate measures such as the development of lifelong learning.

Articles 2(2)(c) and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the collective agreements are in Amharic and an English version will be provided with its next report. The Government further indicates that the issues regarding the procedure of job evaluation are well addressed in collective agreements through bargaining. It also states that training and awareness-raising activities are being undertaken on a regular basis (42 activities between 2012 and 2014 with the participation of 1,665 women and 3,331 men). The Committee asks once again the Government to provide extracts of clauses of collective agreements incorporating the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and providing for objective job evaluation. The Committee also asks the Government, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to continue promoting training and awareness raising in respect of the Convention’s principle among public officials, workers and employers and other relevant target groups, and indicating the steps taken in this regard.

Statistics. The Committee recalls that in its previous report of 2012, the Government had indicated that it would establish an appropriate system to compile and analyse statistics on the wage rates for men and women. Noting that the Government’s report does not contain any information in this respect, the Committee trusts once again that the Government will take concrete steps to compile and analyse statistics on the current wage rates for men and women in the different categories of jobs both in the public and private sectors, so as to enable an adequate assessment of the nature, extent and causes of the continuing gender pay gap, and asks once again the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide sex-disaggregated statistics on the distribution of men and women in the public and private sectors and their corresponding levels of earnings.