Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Convention (n° 100) sur l'égalité de rémunération, 1951 - Sao Tomé-et-Principe (Ratification: 1982)

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislative developments and application. The Committee refers to its previous observation and welcomes the Government’s indication, it its report, that a review of the Labour Code is currently under way with the cooperation of the ILO. The Government also informs that the Labour Inspectorate has detected no cases implying the violation of the principle of the Convention and that some awareness-raising activities have been conducted for the social partners. The Committee recalls the importance of training labour inspectors to increase their capacity to prevent, detect and remedy instances of pay discrimination and of implementing adequate training programmes (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 875). The Committee expresses the firm hope that the new Labour Code will give full legal expression to the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value and asks the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide information on: (i) any cases or complaints concerning inequality of remuneration dealt with by the labour inspectorate, the courts or any other competent authority, specifying the penalties imposed and the compensation awarded; and (ii) the measures taken to enhance the capacity of the enforcement authorities, as well as workers, employers and their organizations, to detect and address violations of the principle of the Convention.

Articles 2 and 3. Reducing the gender wage gap. The Committee notes the Government’s statements that: (1) no gender wage gap exists in the public and private sectors, as the same remuneration is paid to workers performing the same functions, irrespective of gender; (2) no information is available on the distribution of men and women across economic sectors and occupations; and (3) more women than men tend to hold decision-making positions in the public sector and in private companies. The Committee reiterates that the concept of “work of equal value” requires the comparison of works which may involve different types of skills, responsibilities or working conditions, but may nevertheless be of equal value overall. This is essential in order to eliminate pay discrimination resulting from the failure to recognize the value of work performed by women and men free from gender bias (see the 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 673–675). The Committee also recalls that the Convention includes but does not limit application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value to men and women “in the same workplace” and provides that this principle should be applied across different enterprises to allow for a much broader comparison to be made between jobs performed by women and men. The Convention thus calls for the reach of comparison between jobs performed by men and women to be as wide as possible in the context of the level at which wage policies, systems and structures are coordinated (2012 General Survey, paragraphs 697 and 698). The Committee notes that the Government wishes to receive the support of the ILO to undertake a quantitative study on the issue of remuneration and evaluate the wage policies applied in the private sector. Therefore, the Committee encourages the Government to adopt measures to assess the gender wage gap in the country and gather statistical data on the distribution of men and women in the different economic sectors and occupations and their respective incomes, in order to develop informed policy measures to ensure the full application of the Convention in practice, in collaboration with the social partners and asks the Government to provide more detailed information in this regard.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes with regret the Government’s indication that there has been no further development concerning the revision of Act No. 1/99 on the National Council for Social Dialogue (CNCS). The Government also refers to some training activities on labour legislation directed at trade unions and the establishment of an arbitration centre for employers. In that regard, the Committee recalls that the DWCP for 2018–21 had set as a specific objective the strengthening of the CNCS and other institutions of social dialogue, as well as capacity-building of the tripartite constituents to promote, inter alia, gender equality and non-discrimination. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the steps taken to strengthen the role of the National Council for Social Dialogue on the promotion of gender equality and non-discrimination, either through the revision of Act No. 1/99 or otherwise. Please also provide information on the activities – specifically concerning the principle of the Convention – undertaken for the social partners and in collaboration with them, and clarify whether the arbitration centre mentioned is competent to address cases involving the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and if so, provide examples of cases dealt with.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.