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Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Zambia (RATIFICATION: 1972)

Article 2 of the Convention. Application of the principle by collective agreements. The Committee previously noted the collective agreements, including the wages scales, concluded for the public health sector, the building and engineering sector, the security services sector, the financial institutions and the mining sector and requested information, where available, on the distribution of men and women in the different grades and wages scales covered by these agreements. While noting that the Government does not provide this repeatedly requested information, the Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report, that an examination process of several collective agreements has been conducted and that no salary differentials between men and women have been detected. The Committee wishes to point out that even when a collective agreement does not explicitly provide for different remuneration rates for men and women or when it only prohibits sex-based wage discrimination, this will not normally be sufficient to give effect to the Convention as it does not fully capture the concept of work of equal value set out in the Convention (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 676). The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the examination process in relation to several collective agreements, including the collective agreements covered, the methods and criteria used for the assessment, as well as any specific activities undertaken in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations regarding the issue of wage disparities between men and women and how they can be reduced. The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the distribution of men and women in the different grades and wage scales provided for in collective agreements, including in those concluded in the public health sector, the building and engineering sector, the security services sector, the financial institutions and the mining sector. Please provide a copy of any relevant provisions of collective agreements currently in force which address the issue of equal remuneration for men and women.

Enforcement. The Committee notes that the Gender Equity and Equality Act, 2015, establishes the Gender Equity and Equality Commission and that section 41 provides that complaints alleging that any person, public body or private body has contravened this Act can be lodged before the Commission. The Commission may conduct investigations, make orders with respect to any remedies or compensation, and refer the case to the competent authorities. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Convention is being applied reasonably well, given that no complaint or court decision referring to the Convention has been made and labour inspections reports have not revealed any infringement regarding the application of the Convention. The Committee recalls that where no cases or complaints are being lodged, this may indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, lack of awareness of rights, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals (see 2012 General Survey, paragraph 870). The Committee requests the Government to take appropriate measures to raise public awareness of the relevant legislative provisions, the procedures and remedies available related to the principle of the Convention, including the establishment of the Gender Equity and Equality Commission, and to provide information on any activities undertaken in this regard. It further requests the Government to provide information on any cases or complaints concerning inequality of remuneration dealt with by the labour inspectorate, the Gender Equity and Equality Commission, the courts or any other competent authorities, as well as any decision issued in this regard.