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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Kyrgyzstan (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes the observations of the Federation of the Trade Unions in Kyrgyzstan (FPK) received on 1 September 2023.

The Committee notes that the report provided by the Government merely reproduces the same information contained in its last report of 2019. In this regard, the Committee recalls that Governments have undertaken the obligation to provide information on the application of ratified ILO Conventions in law and in practice. It is on the grounds of that information that the Committee fulfils its duty of assessment of the effective implementation of the ratified Conventions. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that the next report contains full and updated information on the matters raised below.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. The Committee notes from the FPK’s observations that the restriction on employment of women for hazardous and dangerous work constitutes a factor contributing to gender inequality and gender pay gap. According to the FPK, the gender segregation in the labour market, is due to the prevalence of women in the least prestigious employment sectors with low pay. For example, women predominate in fields such as education (79 per cent) and healthcare and social services (78 per cent); while men are more prominent in sectors like construction (99 per cent), and extraction of mineral resources, transportation, and cargo storage (96 per cent). Education and healthcare are among the lowest-paid areas of economic activity, whereas construction and extraction of mineral resources are among the highest-paid. The FPK stresses that in many cases women face both horizontal and vertical occupational gender segregation. In terms of qualifications, women typically occupy positions as high-level specialists at a rate of 65 per cent, and middle-level specialists at 50 per cent. There are fewer women in leadership positions, accounting for 47 per cent. As at the beginning of 2021, women comprised 30.5 per cent of leaders in small enterprises. With regard to the public sector, the Committee notes the FPK’s observations, according to which female representation in the political life of the Kyrgyz Republic is insufficient. Women's representation in decision-making positions is lower than that of men and, as at the beginning of 2021, men predominated in the sphere of state governance activities, with women accounting for 39 per cent of civil servants and men for 61 per cent. Among them, the ratio is even more skewed in favour of men in political and specialized positions: 24 per cent women versus 76 per cent men. The FPK observes that regarding local self-government bodies, only 37 per cent of municipal officials are women. As at the beginning of 2021, out of 120 members of the Supreme Council (the national Parliament, known as Jogorku Kenesh), only 17 per cent were women. The Committee also notes that in its 2023 report (published after an official visit to the country), the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, expressed concern that, despite women accounting for around half the working-age population, only 46 per cent of women – as against 76 per cent of men – actually participate in the labour force. This difference is more pronounced when comparing rural (43 per cent) and urban residents (50 per cent); women also account for 70 per cent of the economically inactive population (A/HRC/53/39/Add.1, 8 May 2023, paragraphs 24 and 25). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken or envisaged to address horizontal and vertical occupational gender segregation, such as, for example, measures to: (i) remove the social, cultural and legal barriers regarding women’s access to certain jobs with higher pay for both the private and public sectors; (ii) increase the number of women in male-dominated sectors; and (iii) ensure that female-dominated occupations are not undervalued in terms of remuneration. The Committee asks the Government to provide updated statistical information on the number of public employees by occupation and position disaggregated by sex and the corresponding wage scales.

Article 1(b). Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls that section 17 of the Gender Equality Act 2003 does not give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and recalls the Government’s indication that amendments to the Act will be considered by the National Tripartite Commission. The Committee also observes that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concerns with respect to the absence of legislation to ensure the application of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, which is enshrined in article 20 of the Labour Code and article 5 of the Act on State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women (CEDAW/C/KGZ/CO/5, 29 November 2021, paragraph 33). In light of the fact that a new draft Labour Code has been submitted to theSupreme Council (Jogorku Kenesh) for consideration in May 2024, the Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of the progress of the legislative process and indicate if section 17 of the Gender Equality Act 2003 is amended to give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on the steps taken in this regard, so as to ensure that men and women receive equal remuneration not only for “work of a similar nature”, but also for work that is of an entirely different nature but nevertheless of equal value.

Articles 2(c) and 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. Collective agreements. The Committee notes that the FPK indicates in its observations that, in the General Agreement on Regulation of Remuneration and Social Security for 2022-2024, the parties have agreed to take measures to prevent wage discrepancies for work of equal value among workers. The Committee, however, stresses that the General Agreement does not contain any provisions delineating measures aimed at ensuring the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value between men and women. The FPK points out that clause 4 of section 2 of the General Agreement, contains the following formulation: "[…] to prevent discrepancies in the wage size for work of equal value among workers, citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic, and foreign citizens engaging in labour activities within the Kyrgyz Republic.” In that regard, the Committee wishes to recall that the Convention is limited to the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, i.e. its scope of application does not extend to the principle of equal remuneration between nationals and foreigners. Finally, the Committee wishes to stress that: (1) collective bargaining can play an important role in reducing the gender pay gap and therefore be key in the effective implementation of the Convention; and (2) legislation often interacts with collective agreements in requiring that they include provisions related to equal remuneration for men and women, to address wage discrimination, or declaring null and void provisions in contracts or collective agreements that are in violation of the principle of equal remuneration (see the General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 662). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) the anti-discrimination provisions included in the General Agreement for 2022–24; and (ii) any measures taken or envisaged in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations to implement the principle of the Convention, including with respect to the promotion of objective job evaluation methods. It also reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on any activities carried out by the National Tripartite Commission in relation to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value”.

Enforcement and awareness-raising.The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the number and outcomes of equal pay complaints submitted under the Labour Code and the Gender Equality Act 2003. It also encourages the Government to develop training programmes to enhance the capacity of labour inspectors to deal with gender-based discrimination, and particularly wage discrimination cases, as well as awareness-raising initiatives on equal remuneration for workers, employers and their organizations. Once again, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Council for Women, Family and Gender Development in relation to equal remuneration for men and women.