Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Burundi (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU), received on 29 August 2022 and 29 August 2023.

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. Private sector and public service. In its report, the Government informs the Committee of the adoption of Act No. 1/11 of 24 November 2020 revising the Labour Code of Burundi and Act No. 1/03 of 8 February 2023 amending the General Regulations governing public employees. The Committee notes that, under the terms of the last paragraph of section 2 of the Labour Code, agricultural, stock-rearing, commercial and industrial family workers are excluded from the scope of application of the Labour Code and that, under section 3 of the General Regulations governing public employees, the Regulations do not apply to persons engaged in public jobs subject to specific legal regimes. The Committee recalls that no exclusions are permitted from the Convention and that it applies to all workers, both nationals and non-nationals, in all sectors of activity, in the public and private sectors (see the General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 658). The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate how the categories of workers that are excluded from the scope of application of the Labour Code and the General Regulations governing public employees are specifically protected against inequality of remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and, in the absence of any applicable text, to indicate whether it is envisaged to adopt legislation covering these specific categories of workers.

Article 2. Minimum wages. With reference to the establishment of a system of minimum wages, the Government indicates that draft regulations on the minimum guaranteed inter-occupational wage (SMIG), which take into account the principle of equal remuneration, are under preparation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in the adoption of the regulations on the minimum wage.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation and classification. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s indications provided in reply to its previous comment, the methods applied to undertake the objective evaluation of the jobs of State employees and employees in the para-State sector on the basis of the work performed are founded on three elements: (1) the classification of jobs (which is carried out without taking sex into consideration, as it is established as a function of the level of training required, the complexity and technical level of the job, contextual factors and the level of independence required); (2) the rating of jobs (which is established without taking into account any direct or indirect discriminatory elements); and (3) the indexed component (which is a function of the qualifications and seniority of the employee). The Committee recalls that the use of appropriate methods for the objective evaluation of jobs to determine their value generally requires a comparison of four key factors, namely the required skills and qualifications, effort, responsibilities and working conditions. It further notes that the Government does not refer to the use of objective job evaluation methods in the private sector and that the COSYBU confirms that no measures have been taken to encourage such evaluation. Finally, the Committee emphasizes that direct and indirect sexist distortions can slip into all stages of the process of evaluation (the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out), affect the final outcome and result in the undervaluation of jobs that are generally occupied by women. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) indicate the extent to which the three factors identified by the Government to measure the value of jobs in the public service cover the four factors generally included in job evaluation exercises; and (ii) provide information on any measures adopted or envisaged, within or outside the context of collective bargaining, to promote the objective evaluation of jobs in the private sector. The Committee also reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance for this purpose.

Article 4. Collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the reference by the COSYBU on several occasions in its observations to the fact that the Government does not keep it informed of the measures taken to give effect to the Convention and does not associate it with these measures. The COSYBU adds that the Government has not really negotiated with it the equitable wage policy applicable in the public sector and that it has refused to engage in consultations and negotiations on the wage policy applicable in the private sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on this subject.

Enforcement. Awareness raising. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments, the courts have not handed down any decisions on matters of principle concerning the application of the Convention, and that the work of the labour inspection services has not up to now been the subject of an annual report. On this latter point, the Committee refers the Government to the comment that it is making on Articles 20 and 21 of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), in which it requests it to take the necessary measures for the publication by the central authority of an annual report on the work of the labour inspection services. The Committee also notes that the Government has not provided information on any awareness-raising activities relating specifically to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal “value”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures adopted or envisaged to improve understanding and acceptance of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value” and to reinforce the resources available to the competent authorities, and particularly magistrates, labour inspectors and other public officials, to identify and deal with cases of discrimination and unequal remuneration, for example through training targeted at equal remuneration issues. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information, where appropriate, on the nature and number of complaints received by the labour inspection services and any decisions handed down by the courts in this field.