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Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Poland (RATIFICATION: 1954)

The Committee notes the observations of the Employers of Poland (EP) supported by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 22 September 2014, which concern issues relating to the assessment of the gender pay gap and objective job evaluation, addressed by the Government in its report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls its previous comments regarding section 183c, paragraph 3, of the Labour Code which refers to work of equal value as work requiring comparable professional qualifications, responsibilities and effort, and case law of the Supreme Court concerning the comparability of positions that are “unique in the whole organisational structure of the employer”. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information in this respect. Recalling that the Convention does not limit the application of the principle of equal remuneration to the same enterprise and that the possibility of bringing equal pay claims should not be excluded due to the fact that no comparator is available within the enterprise (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 699) the Committee once again asks the Government to indicate how men and women are protected from discrimination in respect of remuneration in accordance with the principle of the Convention.

Assessment of the gender pay gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, due to discrepancies in available data, it is difficult to specify the extent of the gender pay gap. The Committee notes that both the Government and the EP refer to Eurostat data indicating that in 2012 the gross pay gap between men and women was 6.4 per cent, up from 4.5 per cent in 2010, but overall a decrease of more than 8 per cent since 2007. The Government also provides data from the Central Statistics Office that in 2012 the average remuneration of women was 20 per cent lower than that of men, and with respect to average hourly gross remuneration, the gap was 13.5 per cent. Women also continue to earn less in posts as higher officials, in managerial posts for business services and management, in posts of industrial workers and in the services sector. The Committee further notes, from the inspection carried out in 2013 by the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) on equal remuneration for men and women in the public sector, that disparities in wages in this sector amount to 10.82 per cent. Differences in the average remuneration of men and women ranged from 15.23 per cent (in favour of women) to 30.48 per cent for basic pay, and from 30.3 per cent to 37 per cent for total pay (including bonuses and allowances). Of the posts analysed, men had higher basic pay in almost 80 per cent of the cases. The Committee notes that in 2012 the Government established an informal team within the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy to address the wage gap, involving representatives of non-governmental organizations, the private sector and academia. The Government also indicates that the National Programme of Activities for Equal Treatment 2013–16 provides for measures aimed at reducing the gender wage gap, including promoting the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The EP draws attention to the need for measures to address individual factors causing wage differences between men and women (education, position, length of service, etc.), including promoting those aimed at reconciling work and family responsibilities. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide detailed statistical information on the remuneration of men and women in the public and private sectors, disaggregated by economic sector and occupation, and information on any measures taken to identify and address the underlying causes of gender-based differences in the payment of bonuses and allowances in the public service. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged, including in the framework of the National Programme of Activities for Equal Treatment 2013–16, to reduce the gender pay gap and promote the principle of the Convention.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that the 2013 SAO inspection in the public sector attributed the gender pay gap to the organizational structure of departments, as well as differences in qualifications, work experience, professional experience, competencies and commitment of employees. The Committee notes the comments by the EP that the inspection allowed employers to appreciate data regarding pay differences which resulted in two controlled entities raising the salaries of women. The EP considers that a tool to monitor wage differentiation along with objective measures to establish the impact of individual factors on remuneration levels could positively affect how remuneration levels are shaped. The Committee notes that the Government organized meetings with the social partners in order to evaluate the tools for eliminating differences in remuneration of women and men and that the National Programme of Activities for Equal Treatment for 2013–16 seeks to develop a methodology to evaluate the gender pay gap in enterprises. The Committee hopes that the methodology developed to evaluate gender pay gaps leads to the development and promotion of objective job evaluation free from gender bias in the private sector and asks the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide information on any objective job evaluation exercises undertaken, in cooperation with the social partners, in the public sector, including the results achieved.

Enforcement. The Committee notes from the information provided by the Government that, between January 2010 and 15 April 2014, 52 complaints of gender discrimination were submitted to the labour inspectorate which related to “remuneration for work or other conditions of employment”; as a result, 37 inspections were carried out and 11 queries were addressed to employers. Since 2011, only three cases have been recorded as “justified complaints.” The Government indicates that the labour inspectorate faces difficulties in overseeing compliance with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, primarily due to a lack of appropriate tools and objective measuring instruments with regard to wage differentiation. The Government also provides information on cases decided by the Supreme Court in 2012 and 2013 relating to equal remuneration for the same work. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the activities of the labour inspectorate with respect to the principle of the Convention, and to indicate the outcome of any cases of pay discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the steps taken or envisaged to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate to monitor wage differentials, including the provision of appropriate tools to evaluate whether jobs performed by men and women are of equal value. Please continue to provide information on relevant judicial decisions regarding the application of the Convention.