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Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Latvia (RATIFICATION: 1992)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia (FTUCL) communicated with the Government’s reports.

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wages. The Committee notes the information provided by Government, in its report, that an Informative Report was undertaken in 2021 “On the Application of the Regulations Stipulated in section 68.3 and 68.4 of the Labour Law in Practice and its Effect on the Legal Status of Employees” according to which it was found that the construction sector (a sector with a low proportion of women) is currently the only sector where current general agreement uses section 68.3 and 68.4 (which determines a lower amount of overtime pay, while at the same time providing for a higher minimum wage rate for employees in the sector). The report concluded that, in general, the possibility to pay a reduced bonus for overtime work provided for by the general agreement of the construction sector, while increasing the wages of those working in the industry, has contributed to the increase in wages for those working in the sector, and was assessed as an employee condition-improving measure. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, from January 2023, the minimum monthly wage within normal working time increased to €620, and from January 2024 – €700 (up from €500 in 2022). The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government that the share in number of employees with income who are paid the statutory minimum wage is 3.7 per cent for women and 4.4 per cent for men. In the absence of information provided in this regard,the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that minimum wage rates for specific groups of employees or sectors are determined on the basis of objective criteria free from gender bias, and that work in sectors with a high proportion of women is not undervalued in comparison with sectors in which men are predominantly employed. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on any increase in minimum wages, as well as statistical information on the percentage of women and men who are paid the statutory minimum wage.

Collective agreements. The Committee recalls the FTUCL’s intention to introduce specific provisions on equal remuneration for work of equal “value” in collective agreements, and that in 2019 both the FTUCL and the Employer’s Confederation of Latvia (ECL) had invited public authorities to support the development of collective agreements in Latvia, in particular at the sectoral level, to promote the inclusion of equal pay clauses in collective agreements. The Committee notes that, during the reporting period, no collective agreements incorporating the principle of equal pay has been concluded. In its observations, the FTUCL reiterates its regret that section 166 of the Administrative Violations Code (which provides for a fine in case of non-compliance with the provisions of a collective agreement) has not been reproduced in the Labour Law and points out that effective sanctions are important to ensure the effective implementation of collective agreements. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on: (i) the number of collective agreements that have incorporated the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value; (ii) any measures taken as a follow-up to the joint invitation by FTUCL and ECL to promote the inclusion of equal pay clauses in collective agreements, in particular at the sectoral level; and (iii) the number and outcome of cases of non-compliance with the equal pay provisions of collective agreements.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Public service. The Committee notes the 2021 amendments (in force in 2022) to the Law on Remuneration of Officials and Employees of State and Local Government Authorities of 1st December 2009 which introduced the first major changes to the public sector remuneration system since its adoption and aims to reform the remuneration system to increase salary for officials and employees in public sector institutions. It also notes the adoption by the Cabinet of Ministers of two regulations which came into force in 2022: (1) the Regulation No.262 - “Catalogue of Positions of State and Local Government Authorities, Procedure for Developing Job Classification and Job Description”, and (2) Regulation No. 361 – Regarding the Remuneration of Officials and Employees of State Authorities and the Procedures for Determining Such Remuneration and also Regarding the Professions and Specific Fields to which a Market Coefficient shall be Applicable. The Committee further notes the Governments indication that in the new Regulation No.361, the criteria for determining monthly salaries has been changed and will help State and local government institutions to use equivalent conditions in determining the remuneration of officials, including ensuring salary transparency standards and reducing the salary differences between women and men. It notes the information provided by the Government on the methodology used for job classification and assigning salaries, including that the purpose of job classification is to ensure that equal and equivalent positions are classified equally and that positions are compared using position or job descriptions and evaluating the job characteristics included in them, which include job complexity, mental effort, cooperation, management function, responsibility for work results, responsibility for decisions, as well as the education and professional experience necessary to fulfil the duties of the position; and that after classification, corresponding monthly salary groups are assigned. The Committee recalls that whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias, as often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting (2012 General survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 701). It notes that according to 2021 Eurostat data, the unadjusted pay gap in the public sector was slightly higher than the private sector at 15.6 per cent. (Gender Pay Gap Statistics, Eurostat data explained, data from November 2021). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the job evaluation methods used in the recent reform in the public sector remuneration system was free from gender bias, either directly or indirectly. It also asks the Government to provide statistical data on the distribution of women and men in the occupational categories established in the new system and their remuneration levels.

Private sector. In response to the Committee’s request for information on measures taken to promote in the private sector the use of objective job evaluation methods and criteria that are free from gender bias and on the methods used by private companies to conduct salary surveys, specifying the factors used to assess the value of the different jobs in practice, the Government reiterates that private companies conduct salary surveys or internal company audits without providing information at the methods used. The Committee notes the Governments indication that under the new European Union (EU) Directive 2023/970, employers in the EU will have to provide information on how much they pay women and men for work of the same or equal “value” and take action if the gender pay gap exceeds 5 per cent. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on any measures taken to promote the use in the private sector of objective job evaluation methods and criteria that are free from gender bias, such as qualifications and skills, effort, responsibilities, and conditions of work, including information on any cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations in this regard. It also asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken to implement EU Directive 2023/97.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. Pay transparency. The Committee recalls that, for several years, it has noted that the Tripartite Sub-council on Labour Affairs has reviewed the European Commission Recommendation 2014/124/EU of 7 March 2014 on strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency with the aim of determining how it could be implemented and that the FTUCL has identified a number of measures that should be adopted for this purpose and highlighted that particular difficulties exist in some sectors in gaining access to pay information. The Committee notes the Government repeated indication that ECL has carried out awareness-raising activities on wage transparency. It notes, from the 2022 EU Country report on Gender Equality, that there are no specific rules or procedures to provide wage transparency in the country. According to Article 11(1) of the Labour Law, workers’ representatives or trade unions have the right to require information on pay levels, however in practice there is no information on where such a right would have been used (Country report on gender equality, Latvia, 2022, page 23). The Committee recalls, in that regard, the adoption in May 2023 of the European Union Directive 2023/970 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal “value” between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and the Government indication that it is currently working on the transposition of the EU Directive. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken to transpose in its national legal framework the EU Directive 2023/970, in consultation with workers’ and employers’ organizations.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Governments indication that work has already begun on the adoption of the Directive 2023/970 requirement that Member States ensure limitation periods for bringing equal pay claims be no shorter than three years. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the trainings of judges on the EU anti-discrimination law where the topic of equal pay for work of equal “value” between women and men was discussed. It also notes that, over the reporting period, two applications were examined by the State Labour Inspectorate (both in 2020) regarding the application of section 60 of the Labour Law (equal work remuneration) but that no further information is available as the database is under reform. It further notes that the Ombudsman’s Office has not received any applications regarding equal pay for work of equal value between women and men. Given the low levels of reporting, the Committee asks the Government to step up its efforts to build the capacity of labour inspectors, judges, and the staff of the Office of the Ombudsperson to enable them to detect unequal pay cases and impose dissuasive penalties.It further asks the Government to provide any information on any awareness-raising activities undertaken on the principle of the Convention to ensure that worker, employers, and their organizations are aware of the complaint’s mechanisms related to the right to equal pay for work of equal “value” for women and men. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to amend section 60(3) of the Labour Law to extend the time limit to bring a claim to court for unequal pay.