Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 1964)

Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention. Applying the principle of equal remuneration by means of collective agreements. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide samples of collective agreements or enterprise agreements with wage clauses incorporating the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the methods used in conducting an objective evaluation of jobs on the basis of the work involved are: “the carrying out of studies at government level which may be the subject of government decisions through the publication of decrees and orders”; and tripartite negotiations for the purpose of framing collective agreements and enterprise agreements. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of any studies carried out at government level that concern job evaluation and to specify the job evaluation methods used where wage clauses and collective agreements are negotiated between the social partners, in order to compare the various jobs and determine whether they are of equal value.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, collaboration with the social partners exists at two levels: consultation with workers’ unions on any decision regarding wage earners in the public sector and tripartite collaboration for the private sector. Recalling that the active participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations is essential for the effective application of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the manner in which cooperation with the social partners takes place in practice and on the awareness-raising activities carried out or planned to facilitate greater understanding and more effective application of the principle of equal remuneration within the meaning of the Convention, and in particular of the concept “work of equal value”, by employers, workers and their organizations.

Statistics. In the absence of a reply from the Government on this matter, the Committee again asks it to indicate the measures taken to ensure that statistics are gathered on the remuneration of men and women in the public and private sectors, such data being essential to assessing the application of the principle of equal remuneration as set out in the Convention. Please also send any available statistical data allowing a comparison of the remuneration of men and women in the same branch of activity and in different branches of activity.

Labour inspection. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, following a seminar for judges and labour inspectors, a recommendation was adopted with a view to initiating cooperation between them. The Committee hopes that it will be possible for this cooperation to begin in the near future and asks the Government to send information on the measures taken to this end and on the results obtained. The Committee furthermore strongly encourages the Government to provide labour inspectors with the resources and tools they need in order to identify and deal with wage discrimination. The Government is asked to keep the Committee informed of measures taken in this regard. Please also provide information on the work done by labour inspectors in connection with equal remuneration (e.g. awareness raising among employers and workers and their organizations, and supervision of workplaces), and on any judicial decisions in cases involving equal remuneration issues.