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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Mozambique (Ratification: 1977)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Occupational gender segregation. The Committee notes the lack of specific information on concrete measures to address occupational gender segregation, challenge gender stereotypes, and promote women's access to formal employment. The Committee refers to its comment under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to: (i) address occupational gender segregation and stereotypes regarding women’s professional aspirations, preferences and capabilities, and their role in the family; and (ii) promote women’s access to formal jobs with career prospects and higher pay. Please provide statistical information on the earnings of men and women, disaggregated by occupational categories and positions, both in the public and private sectors, as well as in the informal economy.

Article 2(2)(b). Minimum wages. The Committee notes the information regarding recent increases in minimum wages across four of the nine economic sectors in the country: agriculture, livestock, hunting, and forestry (approximately US$90 per month), industrial and semi-industrial fishing (approximately US$97), kapenta fishing (approximately US$75), and manufacturing (approximately US$136). The Committee recalls its previous observation on the persistence of the horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women into lower-paying jobs or occupations, and lower-level positions. It further notes that no statistical data has been provided on the distribution of women and men within these sectors, nor on the percentage of women and men earning the minimum wage. The Committee wishes to emphasize the importance of this information in evaluating the potential impact of minimum wage policies on gender equality and reminds the Government that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard. The Committee, therefore, reiterates its request for the Government to provide detailed statistical data on sector-specific minimum wage rates, as well as the percentage of women and men who receive these wages.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to clarify how, in practice, the assessment of workers' skills and qualifications influences wage classification, as outlined in article 251 of the 2007 Labour Act, and the criteria used to evaluate these skills and qualifications. The Committee notes that article 245 of the new Labour Act No.13/2023 provides that companies or establishments may, where conditions permit, establish evaluation committees for their employees. These evaluations are to be conducted when it is necessary to fill vacant positions, by decision of the labour court, or upon proposal from the competent trade union body, among other situations. In this regard, the Committee wishes to point out that objective job evaluation is concerned with evaluating the relative value of a job based on its varying content and not the individual worker, unlike performance appraisal, which aims at evaluating the performance of an individual worker in carrying out his or her job. Therefore, the concept of equal “value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. There needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, undertaken based on entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias. Article 3 of the Convention presupposes appropriate techniques for objective job evaluation, comparing factors such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions, and 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. Measures for the objective evaluation of jobs can be taken at the enterprise, sectoral or national level, in the context of collective bargaining, as well as through wage-fixing mechanisms (General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 695–703). The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether article 245 of the new Labour Act refers to the evaluation of the worker’s performance or of the position he/she is occupying. It also asks the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to promote the establishment of methods for the objective evaluation of jobs (such as, for example, awareness-raising activities and public information, development of tools to guide social partners, etc.), in particular in the public sector.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee recalls the important role played by the social partners in giving effect in practice to the principle of the Convention, more particularly considering the absence of any provision reflecting the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value”. The Committee asks once again the Government to provide: (i) information on the actions undertaken to promote the implementation of the principle of the Convention with the cooperation of the social partners, and the results of such initiatives; and (ii) a copy of any collective agreements containing clauses reflecting the principle of the Convention.

Enforcement. The Government reports that labour inspectors regularly receive complaints from workers concerning unequal remuneration, which are addressed based on the provisions of the Labour Act. The Committee notes, however, that no specific details regarding these complaints have been provided. Furthermore, while the Committee acknowledges the Government’s indication that labour inspectors participated in ILO-funded activities aimed at training them on the implementation of the new Labour Act, it is unclear whether these sessions specifically addressed the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal “value”. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of: (i) labour inspectors who were trained on the new Labour Act, and whether any of the training sessions covered the principles of the Convention, particularly equal remuneration and objective job evaluation; and (ii) complaints received by the labour inspectorate regarding violations of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal “value” between men and women, along with any sanctions imposed and remedies provided.