Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, as well as the attached statistics and a copy of a collective agreement.

1. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government, with a view to enabling it to assess the application of the principle of the Convention in the public sector, to provide data on the percentages of men and women in the various occupations and at the different levels of the public administration, as well as statistical information disaggregated by sex on the corresponding incomes. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided these data with its report. The Committee also emphasized that discrimination may arise from the existence of occupational categories and jobs or occupations reserved for women. In this respect, it once again requested the Government to supply statistical data on the percentages of men and women employed in the manufacture of certain types of textiles and clothing, foodstuffs and leather goods, with an indication of the various levels of these activities. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided these data with its report. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that in November 2001 a national survey was carried out to obtain detailed statistical information and that the Government will inform the Office of the results. The Committee trusts that the Government will provide the requested information with its next report. The Committee once again requests the Government to take into account, when preparing statistics, the comments that it made in its general observation of 1998.

2. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government to the effect that it has not been able to supply information on the number of inspections relating to wage matters and discrimination in general due to the lack of human, material and technical resources. The Committee recalls that it asked the Government to provide information on the methods used to determine whether there are any gender-based wage differentials. The Committee notes the Government’s request for technical assistance and trusts that the Office will be in a position to provide such assistance in the near future.

3. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Wage Council (CONADES) and/or the sectoral committees to ensure and promote the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its last report that the CONADES, in the same way as other state bodies, operates in accordance with the constitutional provisions setting forth the principle of equality. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information in its reply on any activity undertaken to ensure or promote the principle set out in Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Recalling the contents of paragraph 253 of its General Survey on equal remuneration, 1986, the Committee observes that it is difficult to accept statements suggesting that the application of the Convention has not given rise to difficulties, or that full effect is given to the Convention, without further details being provided. The Committee therefore trusts that the Government will reply to the requests referred to above to provide the most detailed information possible. The Committee trusts that the Government will indicate in its next report the manner in which CONADES and/or the sectoral committees and/or the National Remuneration Council for the Public Sector (CONAREM) are promoting and, where appropriate, ensuring the application to all workers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

4. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to indicate the methods adopted or envisaged to evaluate tasks in relation to the work performed, particularly in the public administration. The Committee notes the Government’s reply that the objective appraisal of jobs is carried out on the basis of the work involved and that wages are revised and analysed considering the work performed and its value without distinction on the basis of gender. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain a detailed reply with regard to the methodology used for the appraisal of jobs, with a view to the objective measurement and comparative analysis of the relative value of the work performed. As the Committee emphasized in paragraph 255 of its General Survey on equal remuneration, 1986, the reference by the Convention to the principle of "equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value" inevitably broadens the field of comparison, since jobs of a different nature have to be compared in terms of equal value. To compare the value of different jobs, it is important that there exist methods and procedures of easy use and ready access, capable of ensuring that the criterion of sex is not directly or indirectly taken into account in the comparison. By way of illustration, in paragraph 60 of its General Survey on equal remuneration, 1986, the Committee mentioned a number of criteria which are most commonly referred to in the various national laws on equal remuneration with a view to comparing the work to be performed by men and women. These include skill (or knowledge evidenced by a title or diploma or by practice in the job, and abilities following from experience acquired), effort (physical or mental effort, or physical, mental or nervous strain connected with the performance of the work) and responsibility (or decision) required to perform the work (having regard to the nature, scope and complexity of the duties inherent in each job) and the conditions under which the work is to be performed (including factors such as the level of danger associated with the work). The Committee trusts that the Government will provide information in its next report on any measure adopted in relation to the application of methodologies for objective job appraisals.

5. In its previous comment, the Committee noted the inter-institutional technical cooperation agreement signed on 22 February 1999 between the Ministry of Labour and the National Council for Women (CONAMU) concerning the establishment of a database on the income of men and women in the private sector for 1998, with a view to analysing the position of men and women in terms of their income, and to formulating policies and implementing measures to reduce the wage gap between men and women. The Committee trusts that the Government will provide information in its next report on the progress achieved in the context of the above agreement.

6. The Committee notes the statistical information compiled by the System of Integrated Social Indicators for Ecuador (SIISE). The Committee notes that in 1998, gender inequality affecting women in terms of income from work according to the level of utilization of the labour force increased in comparison with the previous year. The Committee also notes that, according to the statistics provided by the Government with its last report, of workers engaged in paid commercial work, 64.2 per cent are men, compared with 35.8 per cent for women. It also notes that the percentage of men engaged in unpaid commercial work is 39 per cent, compared with 61 per cent for women. Finally, it notes that women carry out 98.7 per cent of domestic work, compared with 1.3 per cent for men. The Committee recalls, as it noted in its previous comment, that discrimination may arise out of the existence of occupational categories and jobs or occupations that are reserved for women. It trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to address this type of discrimination.