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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Gambia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Legislation providing for equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes the adoption of the Labour Act 2023 and in particular of its sections 52(b) according to which an employee has the right to fair labour practices, including the right to receive equal pay for ‘equal work’ without distinction of any kind, while section 177(5) states that an employer shall pay his or her employee equal remuneration for work of equal ‘value’. The Committee wishes to point out that the concept of “work of equal value” enshrined in the Convention goes beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, as it also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, but which is nevertheless of equal ‘value’. While not defined in the Convention, ‘value’ refers to the worth of a job for the purpose of computing remuneration (see General Survey of 2012 on Fundamental conventions, paragraphs 672–675). The Committee requests the Government to bring section 52(b) of the new Labour Act (2023) in line with the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value enshrined in the Convention and to provide information on any progress in this respect.

Articles 2(2)(c) and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that section 147 of the Labour Act 2023 provides for the Joint Industrial Councils (for agriculture, artisan, commerce, fisheries, port operations and transportation industries), which are comprised of representatives of employers and workers. These councils adopt joint industrial council agreements that set minimum terms and conditions of employment, including wage levels, for specific industries or job categories. Per section 153 of the Labour Act, employers are mandated to apply terms and conditions that are no less favourable than those contained in the joint industrial council agreements. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that joint industrial council agreements are published by the Minister of Labour and enforced by the Commissioner of Labour, provided that their conditions are not less favourable than those of the Labour Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide: (i) information on how it is ensured that the remuneration rates set by Joint Industrial Councils are free from gender bias, i.e. that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued; (ii) information on measures in place in industries not covered by Joint Industrial Council agreements; and (iii) copies of joint industrial council agreements containing clauses on equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government's statement that in the private sector, regular job evaluation exercises are undertaken at enterprise levels. However, the results of these evaluations are not shared with the Labour Department. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that there is an ongoing public sector job evaluation exercise carried out by the Personnel Management Office. In the absence of a reply to its previous request, the Committee once again requests the Government: (i) to indicate the evaluation method and the criteria used by the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Agency, in collaboration with the Labour Advisory Board, for evaluating jobs performed by men and women in the private and parastatal enterprises; and (ii) to provide a copy of the interim report on the implementation of the job evaluation exercise in the public sector.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no case of discrimination relating to equal remuneration for men and women for jobs of equal ‘value’ has been brought before the Industrial Tribunal. It also notes that, according to: (1) the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 of the World Economic Forum, the Gambia ranks 119th out of 146 on the Global Gender Gap Index (with a wage gap between men and women remaining at 35 per cent, as in 2020), and (2) the Analytical Report of the 2022–23 Labour Force Survey (LFS) of the Gambia, 8 out of every 10 working women work in the informal economy or are engaged in informal employment. This high level of informality often translates into low wages and poor working conditions. The Committee, therefore, reiterates its request to the Government to: (i) raise the awareness of the general public, in particular women, on the concept of equal pay for work of equal ‘value’ stated in the Convention, the relevant legislation as well as on the judicial and extra-judicial mechanisms of settlement of such disputes;and (ii) reinforce the resources available to the competent authorities, including magistrates, labour inspectors and other public service officials, to identify and address cases of discrimination and inequality of remuneration.

Statistics. The Committee notes the information in the 2023 LFS conducted by the Gambia Bureau of Statistics, which sets out inter alia sex-disaggregated statistics. However, the Government indicates that the data on wages contained in the LFS is unreliable as the participants were not reporting their actual earnings. The Committee wishes to recall that accurate data and statistics are crucial in determining the nature, extent and causes of discrimination and unequal remuneration, to set priorities and design appropriate measures, to monitor and evaluate the impact of such measures, and make any necessary adjustments. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to collect and analyse relevant data, including comparable statistics to enable an accurate assessment of progress over time and reporton the measures taken or envisaged to collect reliable sex-disaggregated data on wages.