Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre igualdad de remuneración, 1951 (núm. 100) - Luxemburgo (Ratificación : 1967)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessment and reduction of the gender pay gap. The Government recalls that the Act of 15 December 2016 raises wage inequality to the level of an offence and directs employers to pay their employees a same wage for the same work or work of equal “value”, irrespective of their gender, failing which a fine between €251 and €25,000 is imposed. It is hence prohibited for any employer to determine the remuneration of an employee on any bases other than those of skills, experience and responsibilities. Further, any clause contained in a contract, or an individual or collective agreement, or the enterprise’s internal rules, that run counter to the principle of equal pay for men and women is deemed null and void. Since the establishment of the Gender Equality Observatory in 2023, it has been easier to monitor the development of gender pay gaps by economic activity and occupation. In this regard, the Committee notes that the 2023 report entitled Country Report: Gender equality of the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination of the European Commission noted that the gender pay gap was close to zero across the economy even though the gap remains important in some activity sectors. The Commission notes that, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, in 2022 the gender pay gap was at: (1) 19.2 per cent in the finance and insurance sectors (benefiting men); 20.9 per cent in the specialized, scientific and technical sectors; and -14.8 per cent in the construction sector; and (2) -15.10 per cent in the 15–19 age group and 27.54 per cent in the above 60 age group. The Committee requests the Government to provide details on the measures taken to address the gender pay gap and the underlying causes in the activity sectors most affected by wage inequality between men and women.

Articles 2 and 4. Collective agreements and collaboration with the social partners. The Government recalls that paragraphs 3 and 4 of section L.162-12 of the Labour Code set forth that all collective agreements must provide for the procedures for the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women, and the implementation of the principle of equal pay for men and women in the undertakings or enterprises to which the collective agreement applies; and that in this context, negotiations focus particularly on drawing up a plan on equal employment and pay. The Government draws attention to the fact that in Luxembourg, there is in principle no oversight concerning the substance of collective labour agreements. The substance of the agreement is not more subject to examination at the moment of deposition than at any other moment of the collective labour procedure. The courts are competent to judge conformity of the collective agreement provisions with the law. The Government indicates however that following the spot check carried out by the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines, it was found that only a third of the collective labour agreements addressed equality of treatment between men and women. The Government indicates that in order to improve the quality of collective labour agreements, measures could be taken such as building the resource capacities of the occupational organizations. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Country Report: Gender equality of the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination of the European Commission noted that discriminatory provisions were still present in collective agreements, like the productivity bonus in the trade sector which counts absence for maternity leave and parental leave when calculating attendance at work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken further to its findings to build the capacities of the workers’ and employers’ organizations to implement in practice the principle of equal pay for men and women for work of equal value enshrined by the Convention (for example through objective job evaluations to avoid the undervaluation of jobs traditionally occupied by women in comparison with those traditionally occupied by men).

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication concerning the application of the equal pay evaluation tool - Logib-Lux - emphasizing that it is voluntary and anonymous and that there is no registration. Consequently, the Government has no overview of the number of enterprises using the tool outside of any participation in the positive action programme. However, each year, it invites some ten enterprises to volunteer to participate in the positive action programme and to accept an inventory concerning gender equality within their establishment. In addition, the selected enterprises can be consulted on the website on positive action of the Ministry for Gender Equality. The Committee notes that the Government recommends continuing to regularly promote the use of Logib-lux tool in order to monitor the evolution of women’s and men’s pay, particularly in relation to the position held. It notes that the Government also promotes the introduction of a system for the classification of functions aimed at establishing a fairer and better adapted salary scale, as well as optimizing skills management. Lastly, the Committee also notes that in its Conclusions XXII-3 (2022) on Luxembourg, the European Committee of Social Rights suggested to the Government that there should be the possibility to challenge unequal remuneration resulting from the internal pay system within a company or a holding company (page 16). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to: (i) actively promote the use of the Logib-lux evaluation tool; and (ii) encourage the systematic establishment of an objective job evaluation system in both the public and the private sector. It requests the Government to provide examples of good practices implemented to ensure equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value”.

Enforcement and awareness-raising. The Government indicates that between 2021 and 2023, the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines received 20 requests for information, as well as one complaint regarding unequal pay, where ultimately unequal pay between men and women was not confirmed. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on measures taken to: (i) raise awareness among workers, employers and their respective organizations on the principle of the Convention and the penalties provided for in the Labour Code for non-observance; and (ii) strengthen the means of control of the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines with regard to pay inequality. It requests the Government to report the number of cases or complaints of pay inequality dealt with by the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines, the courts or any other competent authorities, the penalties imposed and remedies granted.