Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Trinidad and Tobago

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 1997)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 1970)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine the Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

The Committee notes the observations submitted by the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) on 30 August 2024, regarding the application of the Convention in the public service, The Committee also takes note of the response provided by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on 4 November 2024, addressing these issues.

Convention No. 111 – National p olicy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1 to 3. National policy for equality of opportunity and treatment. Migrant workers. In its report, the Government indicates that it has developed a draft Labour Migration Policy (aimed at protecting migrant workers, reducing inequalities, and promoting decent work and economic growth) which is currently before the Cabinet for consideration. It also highlights the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Living Water Community on 31 October 2023 to improve migrant workers’ access to justice in labour disputes, as well as the launch of a tri-lingual Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Helpline in the same year. From January 2021 to December 2023, the Labour Inspectorate Unit received 50 complaints from migrant workers concerning minimum wage and other working conditions, while the Equal Opportunity Commission recorded four complaints related to discrimination on the grounds of origin between January 2020 and August 2024. Additionally, the Conciliation Advisory and Advocacy Division (CAAD) received 53 complaints from migrant workers between 2022 and 2024. The Committee welcomes these efforts. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) any specific measures taken to protect migrant workers against discrimination in employment and occupation based on the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention; and (ii) any progress made in the adoption of the Labour Migration Policy, as well as statistical data on the participation of migrant workers in the labour market.

National policy for equality of opportunity and treatment.Sex. The Committee acknowledges the Government’s reaffirmation that the National Policy on Gender and Development (NPGD), though still in its ‘Green Paper’ stage, continues to serve as a guiding framework for promoting workplace rights, expanding employment opportunities, strengthening social protection, fostering social dialogue, implementing labour standards, and encouraging entrepreneurial initiatives. It also notes the Government’s assertion that the NPGD has influenced amendments to several national policies, such as those on sexual harassment (2019), youth (2020–2025), tourism (2021–2030), trade (2019–2023), and Climate Change (2011), as well as informed the implementation of various interventions. However, the Committee notes with regret the absence of specific information detailing the nature of these policy amendments and concrete examples of the intervention undertaken. In this context, the Committee further notes that, in its 2023 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Human Rights expressed concern about the continued under-representation of women in high-level decision-making positions across the judiciary, legislature, and executive, as well as the persistence of patriarchal stereotypes and gender-based discrimination (CCPR/C/TTO/CO/5, December 1, 2023, para. 19).

Occupational segregation. The Government reports that the Gender Affairs Division in the Office of the Prime Minister launched two key initiatives: the Youth Tech Initiative in 2023, which promotes equal access to technology education and training for both men and women, and the Survivors Transformation and Empowerment Initiative in March 2024, aimed at developing marketable skills among survivors of domestic violence. The Government also conducted several awareness-raising campaigns, including Women in Technical and Vocational Training, National Training Agency webinars, the Barbershop Initiative, the Women, Peace and Security Initiative, and gender sensitization outreach. These efforts are intended to challenge gender stereotypes, promote women’s leadership, and increase public understanding of gender and development, aligning with the National Policy on Gender and Development. The Committee observes that, in 2022, female enrolment in educational and vocational institutions was 43 per cent higher than male enrolment, with 30,781 females compared to 17,459 males. It also notes the Government statement that there is a noted increase in female interest in traditionally male-dominated fields such as electronics, carpentry, and welding and its efforts to collect gender-disaggregated employment data through the Job Vacancy Census and Survey are welcomed, as these will help shape future gender equity policies. However, the Committee notes the persistent gender gap in labour market participation, as highlighted in the 2021–22 UN Human Development Report (Uncertain times, unsettle lives: shaping our future in a transforming world, pages 291), which shows that female labour force participation stands at 46.7 per cent compared to 68 per cent for men, despite more women completing secondary education. In that regard, the Committee recalls that occupational segregation begins long before individuals enter the labour market, driven by gender norms and stereotypes that influence educational and training choices. These patterns continue to disadvantage women by funnelling them into lower-paid, less secure, and often female-dominated sectors that offer poorer working conditions and social protection (2023 General Survey on Achieving Gender Equality at Work, paras 335–340).

Consequently, the Committee asks the Government to continue its effort to address the structural causes behind the horizontal and vertical gender segregation in the labour market, including the position and status of men and women in employment and society more generally, such as for example, the traditional assumptions concerning gender roles in the labour market. Please provide statistical information on the participation of men and women in education and vocational training, as well as in employment and occupation, if possible disaggregated by occupational categories and sectors.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 to 4. Gender pay gap. Based on statistics provided by the Government, the Committee notes that men were employed at an average rate of 28 per cent higher than women between 2019 and 2022. It also remarks that research to address these disparities is ongoing and that a Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, Equality and Diversity has been established to examine the impact of gender on work parity, with particular attention to remuneration, working conditions, promotion opportunities, and the provision of a safe and healthy work environment. The Committee recalls that, while overtly discriminatory pay practices have largely been eliminated, the gender pay gap remains a clear manifestation of structural gender inequality. Its persistence underscores the need for more proactive and coordinated efforts by governments, employers, and workers’ organizations to raise awareness, conduct thorough assessments, and ensure the effective implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee refers, in this regard, to its comment above on occupational segregation. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed statistical data on the distribution of men and women across economic sectors and occupations, along with their respective earnings. In addition, it encourages the Government to consider promoting the transparency of pay structures to combat pay gaps between men and women more effectively and promote effective application of the principle of the Convention.

Article 2. National minimum wage. The Committee notes that, from 2018 to 2023, men consistently outnumbered women by an average of 25 per cent in all income groups. Additionally, there is a consistent gender disparity among those earning the national minimum wage of 20.50 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar (TTD). Considering these findings, the Committee emphasizes the importance of ensuring that minimum wage-setting mechanisms do not undervalue jobs predominantly held by women and that the criteria used are free from gender bias.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes with regret that the results of the public service job evaluation and compensation exercise, expected by June 2022, have yet to be communicated. It nevertheless notes that a point-factor system – considering factors such as knowledge, problem-solving, responsibility, and working conditions – is being used for the evaluation of roles in the Teaching, Police, Fire, and Prison services. Similarly, judicial and legal services are evaluated using the criteria of know-how, problem-solving, accountability, and physical demand. The same point-based system has also been applied to the Civil Service and the Salaries Review Commission (SRC). While the SRC’s job evaluation has been completed and awaits Cabinet approval, the evaluation for the Civil Service was expected to conclude by December 2024. In its observation, the JTMU raised concerns that male-dominated essential services like the police and fire departments enjoy statutory benefits and higher pay despite lower educational requirements, whereas female-dominated sectors such as nursing and midwifery receive lower wages and lack comparable benefits. In this regard, the Committee wishes to emphasize that effective implementation of the Convention requires objective methods to assess and compare the value of different jobs through non-discriminatory criteria. Unconscious gender bias can subtly infiltrate objective job evaluation exercises unintentionally and favour certain qualities more associated with one gender than another (physical strength versus manual dexterity for example). Further, such evaluations must ensure that the scope of job comparisons extends beyond individual enterprises to address systemic inequalities in compensation across sectors, (see 2012 General Survey, paras 695 and 698). In light of the persistent occupational segregation and substantive gender pay gap, the Committee asks the Government: (i) to take measures to ensure that job evaluation systems are designed and implemented in a way that address potential bias; (ii) to clarify how “physical demand” is defined and applied in judicial and legal job evaluation assessments; (iii) to continue providing gender-disaggregated data on minimum wage earners; and (iv) to report on the findings of the job evaluation exercise for the public service completed in June 2022 and the planned job evaluation exercise for the Civil Service scheduled for December 2024.

Convention No. 100 and No. 111 – Application in practice

Awareness-raising. Convention No. 100. The Committee requests the Government to take steps to raise awareness of the concept of “equal remuneration for work of equal value” among workers, employers and their respective organizations as well as enforcement officials and the general public.

Convention No. 111. The Committee recalls that the purpose of the Convention goes beyond protecting against discrimination in employment and occupation on the basis of sex or gender. The Committee thus asks the Government to provide information on anyawareness-raising activities promoting equality of treatment and opportunity in employment and occupation on all the prohibited grounds of the Convention (i.e. race, colour, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin).

Enforcement. Convention No. 111. The Committee notes the Government’s efforts to strengthen the Labour Inspectorate Unit through the recruitment of additional inspectors and the digitalization of the labour inspection system, which aims to enhance data collection, including gender-disaggregated data. It also takes note of information provided by the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) on employment discrimination complaints based on sex filed between 2020 and mid-2024, during which 68 complaints were recorded – most of them submitted by women. Some of these complaints concerned pay disparities, as well as cases involving denial of promotion, unequal access to training, and pay inequality. However, the Committee notes with concern that the EOC has not published an annual report since 2019, despite the legal requirement under Sections 53 and 54 of the Equal Opportunity Act (2000) (The Act) to submit operational reports within three months of each calendar year’s end. It recalls that, under Section 27(1) of the Act, the EOC is mandated to eliminate discrimination by receiving, investigating, and resolving related complaints. In this context, the Committee stresses the importance of access to information on the outcomes of discrimination cases – including sanctions imposed and remedies granted – as such data is critical to assessing the effectiveness of the enforcement system.

Convention No. 100. The Committee welcomes the role of Labour Inspectors in ensuring compliance with minimum wage and other employment standards for both men and women. However, it notes that these inspections are limited to minimum wage enforcement, with no specific mechanism to monitor pay inequality above the minimum wage threshold.

The Committee asks the Government: (i) to provide detailed information on the number of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation, including cases of unequal remuneration for work of equal value,brought before the EOC and their outcomes, the information on sanctions imposed and remedies granted; (ii) to take steps to prepare the Annual Report of the EOC and provide it with a copy; and (iii) to supply information on the number and nature of any complaints related to discrimination based on marital status under the Civil Service Act or the Pension Regulations, or cases of discrimination against migrants, dealt with by the Labour Inspectorate, EOC, Equal Opportunity Tribunal, Ombudsman, or other competent authorities.